Storytelling is an art. As a business, when you tell a story about your values, products or solutions, this depicts an image and allows your audience to connect to your business. When your audience hears a story or anecdote similar to his experiences of real life, he is intrigued and establishes a link with your brand. Storytelling does not only improve your brand perception, but when executed properly, it can really have an impact on your business. Neil Patel, famous marketer, said in 2017: “62% of B2B marketing specialists evaluated storytelling as an effective content marketing tactics”.
Storytelling: Why do we tell stories?
There are various reasons to tell stories: sell, entertain, educate or highlight yourself. We will talk about it below. We will discuss here the reason why we choose the narration rather, than a simple powerpoint based on data or a flea list. Why are stories our privileged means of sharing, explaining and selling information?
The stories strengthen abstract concepts and simplify complex messages
We have all experienced confusion by trying to understand a new idea. The stories provide a way to get around this. Think of the moments when stories have helped you better understand a concept … Perhaps a teacher used a concrete example to explain a mathematics problem or a speaker used a case study to transmit complex data.
The stories help solidify abstract concepts and simplify complex messages. Taking a non -tangible concept and connecting it using concrete ideas is one of the greatest forces of narration in business. Take Apple, for example. Computers and smartphones are a fairly complicated subject to describe a typical consumer. Using real stories, they were able to describe exactly how their products benefit users … Instead of relying on a technical jargon that very few customers would understand.
Stories bring people together
The stories are in a way a universal language. We all understand the story of the hero, the oppressed or the sorrow. We all deal with emotions and can share feelings of exaltation, hope, despair and anger. Sharing a story even gives the most diverse people a feeling of belonging to a community. In a world as divided as now, stories bring people together. Despite our difference in language, religion, political preferences or ethnicity, stories connect us by the way we feel them and answer them … the stories make us human.
The stories inspire and motivate
If the stories make us human, the same goes for brands. When brands become transparent and authentic, this brings them back to earth and help consumers connect with them. To draw from people's emotions and denounce both good and evil is the way stories inspire and motivate and, ultimately, push for action. Stories also promote brand loyalty. The creation of a story around your brand or your product does not only humanize it, but also intrinsically markets your business. Few brands use inspiration as a sales tactic, so do not hesitate to rush into this niche.
The essential elements of storytelling
First of all, you have to decide what emotion the story intends to trigger. It can be a positive emotion such as joy, interest, fun, freedom or passion. Alternatively, a negative element such as worry, anxiety, jealousy or anger to which the brand brings a solution.
You can also target a complex set of emotions instead of only one or two. For example, products from fair trade often allow their customers to identify emotionally with a specific and well -defined objective. When you have the brand positioning statement and the key emotion you want to target, you can start building your story. Do not only think of written stories but also of audiovisual content such as music, video, imagery, animations, 3D graphics or infographics. Even graphic elements such as the logo and typography of the website will be integral parts of the history of the brand.
Nowadays, marketing specialists have more tools and resources to deploy a story than before. However, most brands do not need a complicated story, especially because too much complexity can make history monitoring.
Know your target audience with storytelling
The key to successful marketing storytelling lies in the in -depth knowledge of its target. Companies must carefully define the profile of their audience, taking into account various criteria such as age, gender, socio-professional category, location, and the specific needs to which their products or services meet. Take the example of a fashion brand targeting young and active women, belonging to a high socio-professional category, with children. Based on this profile, the brand can develop a captivating story that speaks directly to this audience. Imagine a story centered on a professional young mother, carefully choosing her outfits to combine elegance and functionality in her daily life. This type of storytelling creates an emotional resonance, thus increasing customer engagement with the brand and its products.
Nowadays, a successful inbound marketing strategy is unimaginable without calling on the art of narration. This is not only important due to the brand's positioning, but it can also help marketing specialists directly increase conversion rates. You don't necessarily need to use the same story on all marketing channels. However, stories must be consistent. For example, they should not claim contradictory things.
In fact, you can integrate the narration into any type of digital marketing, it all depends on the marketing channels you use and the objectives you want to achieve.
Storytelling and content marketing
The art of narration can greatly help marketing specialists to create a brand story with which consumers interact happily. The most important thing is to use various types of content (text, images, audio, video, memes, surveys, etc.) where everyone works as a pillar in history. Titles and first strong and interesting sentences can attract customers and move them, which is the ultimate objective of narration. You can also strengthen the story using local stories, stories of famous people and supporting them with figures and specific facts.
Marketing on social networks
According to research The Power of Storytelling from Facebook IQ, storytelling on social networks has a direct impact on purchases. The Refinery29 brand, as a participant in the experience, experienced a 10% increase in online purchases and a 7% increase in store purchases when it sequenced their Facebook advertisements as stories. If you add call to action and high impact visuals to a story, you can further increase visibility and conversion rates.
Viral marketing
Essentially, you must create an abbreviated content element such as a blog post, a meme or a video that you broadcast on as many marketing channels as possible in a short period of time. The objective is to distribute content as a “virus” on the Internet. As with most people, emotional commitment is the only motivation to share viral content. A well -designed story can do wonders for the success of a viral marketing campaign.
3 tips for effective storytelling
Development of a solid narrative frame
For an impacting storytelling in the field of marketing, the development of a structured narrative is essential. Use a classic narrative diagram which begins with an initial situation, introduces a disturbing element, develops adventures, leads to a outcome and ends with a final situation. This method offers a solid foundation to your history, capturing the attention of your audience and highlighting the products or services of your business consistently.
Incorporation of the identity of the target in the story
Integrate aspects of the identity of your target audience in the roles of your history strengthens the relevance of your marketing communication. By developing characters and scenarios with which your customers can identify, you create a deeper and personal connection with them. This technique improves the efficiency of your brand message and increases customer engagement to your products.
Consistency and consistency with the values of the brand
Make sure your stories reflect the values and identity of your business. The consistency between the story and what your brand represents is crucial to maintain credibility and confidence with your audience. Each story must be aligned with the mission, vision and values of your business. This strengthens the brand's recognition and guarantees that the messages transmitted through your stories are authentically resonate with your customers. For example, if a brand advocates sustainability, its stories should illustrate how its products or services contribute to a sustainable lifestyle.
