Due to the explosion of various types of videos, there are many formats that require one to know how to tell a story in 30 seconds. Here are some pointers that you can use while creating the 30 second video. It will work for all formats for any marketing or personal approach.

1. Concept: Whether it is a Corporate office story or a personal story every 30-second video needs to start with an idea, concept etc. If you are working on a corporate film or personal story, research and figure out the spine of your idea - what is the big message that you want to give through it? How is it that you want the audience to perceive the brand of the film? What is the concept that you want to put across?
2. Storyline: The storyline is the spine of any narrative. Each story has a problem and you will have to provide a solution. This conflict and solution will drive the storyline forward. So you have the protagonist, then the goal, the obstacles, and the final solution. We can say, here is the space for you to be more creative. You will have only 30 seconds to develop a story that is clear and engrossing.
3. ESP and USP: When there was a technological boom, Unique Selling Point was what drove the sales. There were new and unique products introduced in the market. The users were excited as sales were made. But, now the pace of innovation has slowed so unless your product is really unique, it is the Emotional Selling Point that you should focus on. ESP can be of any emotion joy, guilt, anger, fear, thrill sadness - are all emotions that you can delve into. People lean towards stories that they identify with.
4. Keep it Simple: Once you zero in on the message, the character and the storyline re-look at the draft and cut down all the excess.