A question that often pops up is “why are the advertising commercials of big and famous brands more successful than those of lesser known ones?” Although their large budget is to credit for laying the sound foundation for their success, another factor that not many of us acknowledge in their promotional campaigns is storytelling. If you carefully observe the ads of these giant moguls, you will notice that their campaigns always tell a story. This universal feature is the attribute that determines their success.
Here is why storytelling is a critical tool used often in the world of content marketing.
1. Conveys real experiences
Stories creatively convey real experiences. What is the difference between listing down facts and a unique narrative that interestingly connects those same facts? While the former may impart more information and tell you everything there is to know about something, the latter manages to incorporate additional elements into the mix that make these facts more relatable. These additional elements are experiences.
As consumers, we all want to know how other people’s experiences were with a specific product or service. Basing content marketing on stories enables customers to believe that the product or service comes with additional facts and features.
2. A Unique edge
Storytelling sets you apart from others and gives you a unique edge. Every product is unique and has its own particular set of features that are exclusive to it. However, similarities are always there. How is one product better than the other when it is essentially the same product that serves the same purpose? What sets you apart from everyone else in the crowd is your story as it makes you memorable, unique, and interesting. If your story comes with an unexpected twist, a heart-touching sentiment, or a peculiar outlook, all these things are enough for your product to be memorable. Good storytelling always gets the conversation started because of its uniqueness.
3. Humanised approach
We, as humans, prioritize emotions over other things. In our quest for relatability, we search for things around us that we can associate ourselves with. Storytelling brings a unique human element to a brand’s content. Business is boring. What isn’t boring, is a story. The second you infuse human elements into content marketing, you will find yourself attracting customers because they can relate to the characters. We try to identify with others, and good storytelling allows customers to identify with you as a brand. Sharing your common ground with your audience allows you to become the top choice because all we want is someone to understand us.
4. Empathy factor
Empathy is a very cashing emotion. While it may sound superficial and almost demeaning to the emotion, it is true that nothing brings in revenue like a good heartwarming point of concern and empathy. If a brand develops an emotional connection with their audience using a compelling story that strikes a chord in their heart, rest assured they have a customer for life. Make your audience feel something by incorporating elements into your story that ignites their empathy.
5. Cloaked and subtle
Storytelling is very subtle with its marketing which is primarily why it is a success as it does not sound like you are merely here to sell something. Storytelling takes a somewhat intricately curated approach to the typical marketing strategy and uses various elements to get the point across without being too pushy.
When storytelling is a part of an advertising or promotional campaign, you are not simply telling the world to buy your stuff, but you are simply sharing an experience with them in a unique way. The beauty of storytelling is that it just leaves an impression on you and the rest is for you to decide as to the audience and the consumer. When customers feel like they are in control of their decisions (which they always are but fail to recognize it) their response is more accepting and positive.
So the question remains: How should you as a business master the art of storytelling in an attempt to improve your content marketing strategy? Here is how.
– Make relevant content: Focus on your target audience and narrow down your focus. One story does not appeal to everyone so do not adopt the one for all approach. Instead, put yourself in the position of the question and ask yourself all the concerned questions in order to have a more detailed and relevant approach to the matter. If your content is not relevant; it is not going to do anything except being a waste of time.
– Strategic approach: Make sure to include storytelling in your content with every piece of content you produce. One of the best ways to do this is by sharing the stories of real users. Make it strategic by maintaining the same approach or characters and give your audience a chance to become emotionally connected to those characters.
– Identify with the audience: It is essential to relate to your target audience. Acknowledge and identify with their belief system regardless of your personal opinions or concerns. See the world through their eyes when developing a strategy and creatively think of things that would attract them.
As for online content, here is how you can craft a story for your business.
- Know your audience by first doing extensive market and keyword research. Familiarize with them if you wish to cater to their needs truly.
- Define the message that you wish to convey to them. Before putting it all out in front of your market, make sure first to know everything yourself and know your approach towards the matter.
- Create a structural outline of your story as it will help you visualize your thoughts and organize them. Create a mental map and list your priority destinations, so you know what direction to head in case you get carried away.
- Start writing and create a rough draft. Once that is done, go back to edit and refine. This is a rather taxing endeavor, but it is the part that will ensure you produce quality content.
- Finally, implement a distribution strategy. Creating content is only a part of the task. The real challenge is getting it out to the people. Know how you wish to publicize your content. Look into different platforms keeping your audience in mind and get started.
From a young age, we are taught to relate to stories. They teach valuable lessons in an interesting way that is engaging, attention-grabbing and creative. For these reasons, storytelling is a powerful tool in content marketing. Not only does it manage to snag the attention of audiences but it also allows them to relate to something.
Digital marketing is the future of business and to make sure your business is a success; you can employ the use of various digital marketing agencies such as SEtalks.com who work to help brands with SEO solutions for better conversions. Once that element of sharing comes into the equation, as a consumer, it would not be surprising to find yourself inclining towards one particular product or service.
