5 reasons why brands should master their Storytelling
Author: Ricardo Castro — Marketing Lead at Readl
We have always come across stories. From the earliest moments in human history, stories have been told, by whatever means were available at the time.
Stories are told because they take us back to those moments, even if they are fictitious. Also, some studies around the world have shown that a story makes information more memorable for the listener/reader, and this is something that we have to pay close attention to.
With the amount of information we are bombarded with daily, it becomes almost impossible to memorize everything healthily and practically. Without a doubt, storytelling plays a fundamental role in this area.
Storytelling… is that still a thing?
Parents tell stories to their children to put them to sleep at night, grandparents tell stories of their incredible experiences from the past that stay in our hearts, and friends also tell us stories, even only to see us happy and with a smile on our faces.
But then, do brands also use stories to convey their values and ideas to the market, as well as capture new customers and stand out from the competition?
Marketing is no longer about the stuff that brands make, but about the stories they tell
What is Brand Storytelling?
This strategy is nothing more than a combination of creativity, product, vision, narrative, and data that are able to produce an identity, connection, and relationship with the audience.
We all remember the famous Coca-Cola Santa Claus story, right?
That is an example of how a story, being well done, can stay in our memories for years, and yet, the story with the same character and décor can have a completely new unfolding, without losing its essence — connection with the consumer.
Let’s meet the top 5 reasons why big brands focus on storytelling
1 — It creates an emotional bond between the brand and the consumer
You might be wondering why brands would use storytelling. It seems like a lot of work to develop a story, especially if you’re not a writer by trade. But one of the main reasons is because it helps to emotionally connect with consumers in ways that other forms of marketing simply can’t.
Stories can be used to create a bond between the brand and its customers by making them feel like they belong together, even though they may be from different worlds (or countries).
Research created by a brand storytelling agency, Aesop has concluded that a good story behind a product or brand not only transmits more trust to its consumers, but they also identify more easily with the brand’s values and mission, increasing the likelihood that they can become customers — because they feel that their time and money is worthwhile.
Furthermore, marketing departments of large companies believe that by taking into account the connection between storytelling and the human mind, they can captivate and transmit the message in a much more assertive way, leading to a better understanding, trust, comprehension, and receptivity.
2 — It Gives Brands a Human Face
Brands are made up of people. We are all human, and people like to hear stories about other people. If a brand has a story, we can relate to it on an emotional level as if it were our own story. This gets us invested in the brand in question, and we’re more likely to become loyal customers and advocates for that brand when we’ve experienced these feelings firsthand.
Storytelling makes brands relatable through its ability to help us understand them better as well — and this is where the real magic happens: by understanding your audience better than anyone else does (because you know their fears), you can build trust with them more easily than any competitor could ever hope for themselves!
Authenticity above all.
In a market increasingly saturated with products, services, and competition, it is believed that strategies aimed at the human mind may have much more expressive results, but here we may find a small problem. Consumers don’t like to be deceived, so if at any point they feel they are being “deceived” or that somehow the story or vision the brand is trying to convey is just “to sell”, they may act as ambassadors, in a negative way of that brand. Remember, word-of-mouth marketing remains the most powerful yet.
3 — It Helps People Understand What the Brand Stands For
You can tell a story about a brand in many different ways, but what we’re looking at here is the kind of story that helps people understand what the brand stands for.
When you think about it, brands are made up of people, who have their own values and beliefs and goals, and objectives. These are the things that make them unique — and this is what makes their stories so interesting to hear. But if you want your audience to be engaged with your brand narrative (and you should because it pays off), then you need to know how storytelling can help communicate who your company really is.
As a marketer, you’ve got to keep your brand relevant and real by creating content that connects with people on an emotional level. The best way to do this is by telling stories about who your brand really is: what it stands for; what its personality is like; why it does what it does (and why you love it).
4 — It Allows Brands to Communicate Easily with Their Audience
Connecting with your audience through storytelling is simple and easy to do, which makes it a popular marketing tactic. The most important part of the story is its ability to resonate with people — the way the story makes you feel when you hear it. You don’t have to be an expert in storytelling or have a background in film or writing to create compelling content that will connect with your audience.
Stories are easier to remember than data and facts, so they are also easier for your readers or viewers to share with others. That’s why we see so many videos go “viral” on social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube today; people love sharing their favorite stories with others because they want others to enjoy them as much as they did (or more).
Stories allow brands the opportunity not only to communicate easily but also to relate easily with their audiences by providing relatable characters and situations for them into which customers could place themselves easily enough without feeling like everything was being spoon-fed from above. This connection helps build brand loyalty over time because it offers up something worth believing in at its core — something that resonates within someone who happens upon such content online: namely that there’s still hope for humanity despite all odds stacked against us!
Remember:
- Stories are easy to remember;
- Stories are easy to share;
- Stories are easy to relate to;
- Stories are easy to understand;
5 — It Allows Brands to Stand Out from the Competition
It’s not just about telling a story, but also listening to them. Brands that tell stories are able to build loyal audiences that identify closely with the brand and become advocates for it.
It’s also an excellent way of building both a business and a brand in general. The story you tell about yourself as a company will help people understand what makes you different from all the other businesses out there. And creating stories that show off what makes your business unique (or at least more unique than others), reinforces that uniqueness in people’s minds — even if they don’t know why they think this way; they just do!
They can also use storytelling as a way to build community — by connecting with their fans in a personal way and creating experiences around those connections so that they feel like part of something bigger than themselves. This can lead to increased loyalty among customers and long-term relationships with them over time, which has value for both parties involved (the consumer/fan feels invested in the brand or its products/services; business owners benefit by having higher conversion rates).
Storytelling is an experience that brings people together, develops a connection, and drives meaningful relations.
In a nutshell
It’s clear that storytelling is an incredibly powerful tool for brands to use in their marketing campaigns. It allows them to emotionally connect with consumers, gives them a human face, and makes it easy for people to understand what they stand for. It also helps brands stand out from their competitors, by allowing them to communicate easily with their audiences or tell stories that are unique and engaging.
While some companies may think it’s too expensive or time-consuming, others are realizing that the payoff can be worth it. It’s important to remember that not all stories are created equal: storytelling only works if your audience relates to it in some way. If they don’t see themselves in your brand’s story, they won’t care what happens next.
If you are looking to build a brand and create engagement with your audience, storytelling is the best way to do so. There are many different ways that you can use stories to help show who you are as a company and why people should care about what it is that you do.
Are you a storyteller who wants to publish on the blockchain? You can now publish your stories on Readl
With Readl we want to provide the tools to publishers, production houses, and web3 storytellers to bring their books and stories to the blockchain. We believe that technology is a tool of freedom and that it can be used to empower creators.
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