Storytelling can seem like such a buzzword in the world of marketing.
“If you want to gain customers, you have to use storytelling.”
“If you want to engage customers on a deeper level, you must use storytelling.”
But, do people even understand what storytelling really is? Let me make it simple.
Right out of college, I worked at a daily newspaper as a reporter/writer for five years. I was required to write at least eight stories a week. Of the thousands of stories I wrote, the stories people commented on (they even mention them now 10 years after I left that job) were the ones about people; stories that described hardships and triumphs, and the things that make us who we are.
At a basic level, we all just want to connect with each other and find things we have in common. This is where you can use storytelling to help your business or organization. Knowing what your business does best and sharing why you are passionate about your work will help customers connect with you.
Storytelling Diagram Process Plan Relevant Emotion 3d Illustration
As a small business, you will never be able to compete with giant organizations like Walmart, McDonalds, Amazon, etc., but storytelling can help you connect with people on a human level. You can make customers feel like they really know the people at your organization, and when people feel connected, they tend to come back for more.
A blog on Writer’s Access defines storytelling:
“Storytelling is when a person conveys useful information in a narrative style, rather than in a list of boring statistics and talking points. The narrative tells people about your company’s motivations, rather than discussing your production numbers and sales goals.
Proper storytelling has an engaging beginning, a gripping crisis and a fulfilling resolution. This approach to communication creates an opportunity for interaction between Wally’s Widgets and the customers you want to reach.”
We use storytelling in many different ways. Storytelling does not always need to be written to be effective. Storytelling can be done through videos, photos, social media posts, blogs, website content, and more.
The Writer’s Access blog quoted a Harvard Business Review study that found that making an emotional connection is more important than customer satisfaction:
“The company in the case study was able to increase its number of active customers by 15 percent and boost same-store-sales growth by 50 percent simply by using a customer experience strategy based on emotional connection. This suggests that your customers care more about how emotionally connected Wally’s Widgets is than they care about their own satisfaction.”
A blog post on Sproutworth, shared how a few well-known brands use storytelling:
Since 2008, Burberry has focused on brand level story-driven tactics rather than traditional campaign-specific tactics. Its stock prices have risen more than 750% since.
Nike has used storytelling for decades, but its recent video series, “Find Your Greatness,” has really resonated with customers. The videos do not talk about Nike’s products, but instead tell a story of people achieving inner greatness. Without bluntly saying it, Nike is saying that if you wear Nike products, you too can achieve your inner greatness.
For many years, Dove has used storytelling to connect with customers on an emotional level. Many of their ads focus on women finding confidence in their natural beauty. One ad in particular demonstrates demonstrates why parents should talk to their daughters about beauty.
Ultimately, what makes storytelling so compelling and effective is the truth behind the story. For example, at SIOD, we regularly tell the story about each of our connections to small business and what the struggles, breakthroughs, and successes of a small business mean to us. Through sharing our stories with each of you, we are able to convey that we don’t just know what you are going through – but we understand and walk alongside you in many similar situations.
Next time you’re preparing facts and figures or setting up a slide deck, consider how telling a story instead might be more persuasive and engaging. Need help adding storytelling to your marketing strategy? Give us a shout!
