In 2006, Rob Walker, a journalist for The New York Times Magazine, set out to determine the most powerful writing tool of all. He bought 200 ordinary items from eBay, each costing no more than $4. Walker then reached out to 200 authors, asking each one to write a story about one of the objects.
One of the items was a beautiful horse’s head figurine, which he had purchased for 99 cents.
After an author crafted a story around this figurine, Walker resold it on eBay for $62.95. In total, he spent $129 acquiring the 200 objects but sold them for a staggering $8,000 after attaching stories to them.
The emotional value that comes from attaching a story to an everyday object is so strong that it can be measured in terms of objective, actual value. In other words, you can put a price tag on the value that a story creates by appealing to potential buyers on an emotional level.
To boost your sales, here’s how you to master storytelling :
Before me begin, let me be clear on something, I don’t think stories will increase your product’s price points by 6,201% like in the expert above that ridiculous.
But I KNOW that by improving storytelling in your content will increase your relatability and value and in turn, generate more engaged customers and followers.
Stories aren’t just for books, movies, or entertainment.
They are one of the most powerful tools on the planet to connect, persuade, and influence our mindsets, beliefs, and behaviors.
That’s why storytelling is one of the most powerful marketing and leadership tools.
Research by psychologist Jerome Bruner suggests that facts are 20 times more likely to be remembered if they’re part of a story. Not only that, but stories create powerful connections between the storyteller and the listener.
Yuri Hasson, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Princeton University, discovered that as you hear a story unfold, your brain waves actually start to sync with those of the storyteller.
The greater the listener’s comprehension, the more closely the brain wave patterns matched. But here’s the best part: stories are proven to affect behavior.
For example, in healthcare, Melanie Green, a communication professor at the University of Buffalo, says people are more likely to make lifestyle and health changes if they see a character they relate to making the same change.
So if you’ve ever wanted someone to do something, you would do well to learn how to tell better stories.
Your story is relevant if it adds real value to your product and helps you stand out from others.
Actively being true to that story will give naturalness and credibility to what you’re saying.
Interacting with your customers while sharing it and making them participate will help you connect emotionally with them, exponentially increasing the chances of retaining them.
Master storytelling for your business:
1.The problem and the pursuit
Get to know your ideal customers inside and out. Research their needs, goals, challenges, fears, and aspirations.
Your audience is on a journey, facing problems in their current situation but pursuing a better future state.
Truly grasping this “problem and pursuit” is crucial before crafting your story.
Liz J Simpson, a top LinkedIn sales expert, excels at this. She listens intently to clients, extracting key details to infuse into her messaging across emails, websites, and social media. The result deeply resonates with her audience.
2.Define your core message and value proposition
Clarify the main point or benefit you want to convey and why it matters to your audience. Distill your value proposition into this formula: [Your brand] helps [your audience] [solve their problem] by [your solution].
3.Choose the Right Storytelling Medium
Use different story types and formats tailored to each purpose and platform. Consider where your audience engages online and what content formats they prefer.
4.Follow the Classic Story Structure Set up your story by introducing the characters (your brand and audience), their current challenging situation, and their desired goal. Present the obstacles preventing them from reaching that goal. Finally, show how the characters overcome this conflict to achieve their objective through your solution.
5.Use the Classic Storytelling Structure (setup, conflict and resolution)
Introduce your characters (your brand and your audience), the situation (your audience’s problem or challenge) and the goal (your audience’s desired outcome).
Present the obstacles or difficulties that prevent them from achieving their goal (your competitors, market conditions, internal issues and so on).
Show how your characters overcome the conflict and reach their goal (your solution, value proposition and call to action).
6.Incorporate sensory details and emotions
Use descriptive language that appeals to your audience’s senses and emotions.
Paint a vivid picture of your story in their mind.
Use sensory details that involve sight, sound, smell, taste and touch.
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