Storytelling is the art of drawing out empathy from your audience. As I said in Mean People Suck, we can use the power of storytelling to truly get what we want in life and in business.
Storytelling has played a major role in human communication since the beginning of time. We use stories to share ideas, connect with strangers, and create meaning in our lives. It’s no surprise that storytelling has become an essential tool for marketers who want to build meaningful relationships with their audience members.
Not convinced? A recent survey shows that 92% of consumers want brands to make ads that feel like a story. And according to Edelman, 63% of consumers said they remembered a brand story when making a purchase decision.
Storytelling isn’t just about pushing a product or service. It’s about crafting an aura around your brand that grabs your customers, stirs up their feelings, and gets them to take action.
But it’s even more than that. It’s about making an experience they won’t forget, one that hits home with your audience and builds connections that go way deeper. Through stories, the marketer builds an emotion-bridge from brand to customer that is far stronger and more compelling than traditional motivators such as price, extra features, or loyalty programs.
Stay ahead of the competition
Let’s take a closer look at why storytelling is so important and how you can elevate your brand with tips for great story-driven marketing.
Quick Takeaways:
- Storytelling is one of the most powerful methods available for getting results.
- Because of its ability to resonate deeply, you should incorporate storytelling into your content marketing.
- The story should not be about your brand or product. It should be about the customer.
Marketing with stories makes your brand more relatable, creates an emotional connection, and gets your audience to act.
Storytelling Makes Your Brand More Relatable
Oftentimes, marketers throw facts, figures, features, and brand attributes at their target audience, trying to appeal to a customer’s rational side. While these elements can be important, they can also overwhelm the consumer.
What’s more effective is creating stories and a relatable connection with your audience. People connect with stories because they provide context, emotion, and empathy. It humanizes your brand. Learning how to tell a brand story is possibly one of the most important skills marketers can have today.
Storytelling Evokes Emotion
Brand powerhouses like Google, Nike, Apple, and Coca-Cola share something in common – they all rely on emotional advertising to strengthen their brand presence.
Emotion is a powerful motivator in marketing. When you effectively tap into your customer’s emotions, you can inspire them to take action. Successful storytelling can elicit positive emotions about your brand because it allows you to create a narrative that resonates with your audience.
Nike, arguably one of the best storytelling brands, elicits emotions in almost every ad campaign. For example, Nike’s “You Can’t Stop Us” campaign, which features a split-screen video of athletes from different sports and backgrounds, highlights the similarities between athletes and how they all face similar challenges and struggles.
Storytelling Builds Trust
Authenticity and trust are essential components in marketing. When customers trust your brand, they’re more likely to do business with you and recommend your products or services to others, and it can build brand loyalty over time.
Patagonia is a great example of a brand that successfully uses storytelling. They have clearly defined their brand’s mission, values, and expertise, which is clearly communicated through their showcase and commitment to environmental sustainability and ethical business practices.
Storytelling Delivers ROI
Because storytelling taps into the power of human emotion, it makes your brand more relatable and trustworthy. We buy from brands we know, like and trust. And so, brand storytelling delivers better ROI.
Stories make your customers the heroes and not your product. Your customers love seeing themselves as heroes. This makes them much more likely to buy from you than from brands that shamelessly promote themselves.
9 Tips for Great Story-Driven Marketing
A recent study shows that 65% of people feel an emotional connection to a brand after hearing their story. Here are five things to consider when trying to craft your own engaging brand story:
1. Create a strong narrative
If you’re unsure where to begin, try starting with the basics of brand building. Identify your brand story by defining who your brand is, what it stands for, and why it exists. The story you craft should be authentic, compelling, and easy to understand.
2. Know your audience
This is marketing 101. You’ve got to know who you’re talking to.
What do they like? What are their pain points? The better you know your audience, the better your stories will resonate.
3. View your consumers as the heroes
So often, marketers try to make their brand their hero, but this can come across as too sales-y, and we know that consumers don’t want to be sold.
Put your consumers and the problems they need to have solved at the center of your narrative, then define their challenges and motivations. This will help you craft a compelling story that resonates with your target audience.
4. Be authentic
Nobody likes a phony. Be real, be you.
Authenticity creates trust and people love brands they can trust. Share your brand’s journey, its ups and downs, and its victories. Authenticity is about being human and relatable.
5. Make it emotional
The best stories tug at the heartstrings.
6. Clearly define your marketing channels
To be effective, your brand story needs to be communicated across multiple channels. While some channels may be better suited for long-form content, like websites and videos, short-form content is better suited for social media platforms, email marketing, and advertising.
7. Consistency is key
To reinforce your brand story, keep the message consistent across all channels and touch points. Not only will this create a unified brand message, but it will help build brand recognition.
8. Make it visual
A picture is worth a thousand words, right?
Consumers love a strong visual. Pull them into your story using engaging and compelling creativity to support your overall narrative and reinforce your message.
9. Show, don’t tell
This is a golden rule in storytelling. Don’t just tell your audience about your brand’s values or mission – show them through stories. Use real-life examples, case studies, and testimonials to illustrate your points.
Perfect Story-Driven Marketing Today
When storytelling is done right and authentic stories are shared across multiple channels, it can be an effective tool for building long-term relationships with your audience.
By making your brand more relatable, evoking emotion, creating a memorable experience, and building trust, you can use storytelling to create a powerful narrative that resonates with your audience and inspires action.
