3 Storytelling Tips To Make You a Better Digital Marketer
“Good stories surprise us. They make us think and feel. They stick in our minds and help us remember ideas and concepts in a way that a PowerPoint crammed with bar graphs never can.” — Joe Lazauskas and Shane Snow, The Storytelling Edge.
Does your best-cherished childhood memory starts with “Once Upon a Time”?
When you hear “once upon a time,” your mind likely flashes to a portion of your favorite stories. The contention between Cinderella and her stepmother. The dichotomy that Jack won a ticket on the Titanic at the last conceivable minute. The various social standards crossed, broken, or overlooked in Alice in the Wonderland Or how come Peter pan never grew older?
We have a whole generation grown up reading & watching the Harry Potter series. No matter how old they get, they still love to defend their favorite characters!
We as humans love recounting and hearing stories. From youngsters’ nursery rhymes to weekly storyboards to daily blog posts from your favorite author.
Stories characterize our identity and how we understand the world. And that is the reason storytelling is a standout amongst the most significant ways to breathe life into a brand. It gives your product/service a personality.
Marketers have always been storytellers. They genuinely understand what it takes to create an emotional, authentic association in the tales they tell through their ad campaigns. But with social media marketing, the universe of marketing and storytelling has entered a new era.
Purchasers’ social media channels have sidestepped the traditional sales pipe to interact with brands.
Today when someone says “story” it doesn’t necessarily mean a princess trapped in a castle waiting for someone to get her out. Or a cool thief who owns a flying carpet or a genie. Rather a 24-hours stay snaps on Snapchat and Instagram!
Instagram, the most popular in Gen Y & Z, launched Instagram Stories in August 2016 & within one year, it had more than 300 million daily users! This explains how society has changed the pace and profundity of storytelling. This new era of social storytelling gives customers & and fans to engage with the brand they’re consuming or the celebrity they love in a far more emotionally engaging and informative way.
All in all, what are three ways marketers can take to recount their story? What storytelling tips can marketers associate with their audience in this new world in a trustworthy, fascinating, and believable way?
#1. Spotlight on the Stories Fans Want to Hear
Brand marketing is not anymore about long, general, anonymous tales about the company. Instead, it is about particular stories about the brand, the general population working in the company, and the clients.
For stories to stimulate stable emotions and move the image, there has to be a strong association between the teller and the audience. “The story has to be based in reality — and it also has to be conveyed, or told, in a way that is entertaining, engaging, and memorable.”
Take the “Visa Campaign” for example; ahead of the Olympic Winter Games 2018’s opening ceremony, they launched a campaign called “Resetting Finish Lines,” which highlighted the historical & inspirational stories of Olympic & Paralympic athletes & legends from all around the world en route to the Games.
Along the way, athletes use payment innovations, such as Visa Checkout, contactless cards & wearable payment devices. It also features Visa’s suite of sensory branding, developed to support an expanded universe of connected, payment-enabled devices.
#2. Search for the Visuals
Stories can be told in numerous visual and interactive ways. Utilizing new innovations like Snapchat Filters or Instagram Stories. This means that usually, the center uses imagery, video, and interactive features to recount your story instead of too many words.
If your story is set in a restaurant, you should share photos of individuals having supper. Add profundity to your social story and adventure. Offer your audience a visual layer of information that doesn’t need words to explain further.
Make use of Instagram Stories’s interactive poll feature; these are some fun & frictionless ways to interact & engage with your audience. Hear their opinion, listen to their suggestions, and give them a chance to share their thoughts.
” By taking only the two cents of your loyal audience’s opinion on any point or decision, you could actually save time, money & energy on your brand.”
Take the example of Airbnb; they asked their followers to participate in a poll last November on Travel Tuesday, and as simple as it might look, it was both well-structured & professional.
#3. Combining the Incompatibles
Brands are judged on authenticity. They shouldn’t waste time and exertion in producing a supposed authentic brand story. Keep in mind that you may just have the capacity to tackle one story at a time. “You won’t want to lose all the great ideas you or your team created. One way to avoid that is to create a story bank that you can pull from constantly.”
How to Combine Unexpected Content & Relevancy Both in your Story?
Let’s take the example of Milka.
“They have several commercials with the Alps, fresh air, green meadows & cows eating the grass there, & giving the best milk to use for chocolate afterward: all these components make the story relevant to their product. Relevant yet expected.”
“But what made Milka a strong brand & standing-out-on-the-shelves type of brand was the color of the cow: “An unexpected Detail.”
We all know & expect to see cows on the meadows eating grass, but who expects to see a PURPLE COW there?
Are You Living Your Brand’s Story to the Fullest?
Overall, make sure to center around the tales that your fans want to hear. Recount the best stories about the general population and the situation behind your product. That way, you grab your audiences’ attention, incite their advantage, and change over them to action.
What are the brands that you think create and recount amazing stories? Keep an eye on the brands producing some fantastic content either online or offline to take inspiration.
Knowing where to start incorporating storytelling into your content marketing strategy can be a daunting task.
