Telling your story, building your brand, is key to staying full and successful. There are tons of good ways to do this and video can be a big part of it.

Telling your story, building your brand, is key to staying full and successful. There are tons of good ways to do this and video can be a big part of it. I recently read an article from the Content Marketing Institute titled: โ€œHow REI is Unlocking the Power of Long-Form Videoโ€, about how the outdoor equipment company REI has done an amazing, effective job building their brand using long- and short-form video storytelling.

This video titled โ€œBrothers of Climbingโ€ really makes the point:

Video Storytelling

  • You need to start with your brand identity. This might be your very local community-level brand or it could be regional or company wide. You need to have a brand identity that is very clearly defined, that makes you unique at least in your marketplace. What are those things that make you an ideal choice for residents in your community.

  • You need to be on the lookout for stories that touch the heart. Sometimes they are perfect in video, sometimes they are better told in print. It might even be that they are better told in person or on a podcast.

  • A lot of the best stories both touch the heart and teach a lesson: โ€œHow I came to move into a communityโ€; โ€œHow I managed the downsizing process’; โ€œHow I made new friends in my senior living communityโ€.

  • Partner with other organizations. It could be a not-for-profit where your residents volunteer, a local hospice or home care agency, a hospital or even a nursing home. This becomes a great way to get more views and share the costs.

It Is Not Hard To Get Started

Here are some suggestions:

  1. Get a Mevo and do some live streaming. You can checkout the Senior Housing Forum Facebook Page to see some of what I am doing with my Mevo livestream camera.

  2. Use the Senior Housing Forum partnerโ€™s OneDay App. They make the process of creating stories unbelievably easy.

  3. Shoot movies from your smartphone and upload them to Youtube or Vimeo.

  4. Hire a video crew.

  5. Develop an internal group to do video.

As you do this kind of storytelling I would love to help you share your work.