What are the most effective ways to use storytelling to raise awareness for social issues?

Too often this kind of content uses “officials” to tell the story — the CEO, the board member, etc. It is most impactful to find a real person affected by the topic at hand. It is also powerful to go deep with this individual. Rather than several homeless people, following a homeless family to truly show the situation - the job search, the benefits conundrum, the search for housing, etc. This approach can portrays how the general population is affected in a meaningful way.

Determining the purpose requires a thoughtful approach rooted in clarity and intention. I constantly research beforehand to understand its nuances, impact, and relevance. Define the primary objective of the video, whether it aims to educate, inspire action, invoke empathy, or prompt change. Tailor the message and storytelling technique to resonate with the target audience, ensuring the content is relatable and impactful. Collaborate with experts, activists, or individuals directly affected by the issue to portray their experiences authentically. Use compelling visuals, storytelling, and data to communicate the issue's significance and urgency effectively. A clear, focused purpose is vital for impactful videos.

Classic structure is one way, but there are many others to help stimulate your creative brain 💡 💪 Hero's Journey - showcases individuals directly affected by the social issue, creating a personal connection with the audience. 🧐 Problem-Solution-Benefit present the issue, then illustrate how specific actions or changes can address it. 🌉 Before-After-Bridge framework is impactful for social issues by starkly contrasting the current state of the issue (Before) with the potential improved reality (After), and then proposing actionable steps (Bridge) 🧙🏼♀️ Quest Framework can dramatize the struggle against a social issue, presenting a series of challenges to overcome, which can inspire the audience to join the cause.

After 25 years of making brand messages into effective content I developed a structure called EFA. It’s a simple and effective narrative order for brands. It stands for Emotion, fact and Action Your story should open with an emotional driver that resonates with your target audience. This is the thing really makes them feel something for your brand. (This ties into system one thinking and There’s a whole masterclass on that topic alone which can be done later). We then have to have some key messages (facts) which work on a system two. There should be enough of these to be convincing and as few as you can get away with Finally we need to drive the viewers to take action. The CTA should directly link back to the emotive driver

When in storytelling you want to raise awareness for basically anything, making the characters relatable is always important. Maybe the main character is sad about the issues that concerns you too at start of the video? Like this, its easy for you to relate. After this its also easier to keep viewer attached to persons emotions and story itself, and make the message more impactful.

When raising awareness on social issues on video, the emotions plays big role. Every decision etc. people make, always starts with emotions. So making the video emotional is pretty good way to make it all more impactful. Even when someone is buying something. First its emotions and after that justification with logic.