Telling stories has been a part of the human fabric since the beginning of time. The ability to enthrall listeners and readers is a coveted skill. We have become familiar with the saying content is king. Storytelling is an asset for marketers because it allows them to bring personality to their brands. Furthermore, stories foster conversations between brands and consumers through packaging, websites, e-newsletters, blogs, brochures, magazines, and social media channels like Facebook and Twitter. The infographic below illustrates how storytelling is a great way to connect with consumers.
There are key steps marketers should think about when developing a story.
- Who is the target audience
- What message you want to conveyed
- Which channels are best for the message (print, social media, email, television)
People love a good story and if a brand can incorporate this into advertising, it can be a huge plus. At the very least a story brings awareness of your company to an audience. You can even boost the story by encouraging user-generated content and share different perspectives of your overarching story. When companies use interactive content, it increases engagement from customers.
Non-profits that are working on building awareness of their organization can benefit from using stories. It can motivate people to act on a call to action (CTA). If the story is creative, thought provoking or humorous, it may be shared with people outside of the target audience. Lastly, a good story can put a face to dull facts and figures.
Thanks for reading!
Kimberly Webber 
Wow! Kimberly, what an awesome blog post. I really enjoyed the science of storytelling infographic you shared. The psychology behind marketing is simply fascinating – and highly relevant to content marketers. After all, it would be impossible for us to create compelling content (or tell engaging stories), if we don’t know why they would be compelling to our audience in the first place. Understanding some key principles of psychology can help us take our storytelling from good to unforgettably amazing! Thanks for the awesome read!
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Great blog post, Kimberly! The brands that set the bar for storytelling seem to be the ones that also invite the consumer to become part of the story. They rely on consumer feedback and a never-ending discovery process to tell fan-inspired stories. Top-notch examples include Coca-Cola’s Share A Coke, Starbuck’s Meet Me at Starbucks, and Bud Light’s Wherever, USA campaign. And when a consumer makes the brand story a part of their experience, we go from storytelling to story-making.
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Good points! In fact, isn’t one of the reasons people hate TV commercials because it interrupts the story they are watching? If marketers are the ones doing the storytelling, they are going to be that much more successful.
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Great points! In fact, isn’t one of the reasons people don’t like marketing in the form of commercials because it interrupts the story they are watching? If marketers are the ones with the story, they are going to be that much more successful.
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Great post!
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