Accessing the Power of Storytelling

With journalists for parents, stories were part of my life from an early age, and knowing how to tell a good one was a requirement under our roof.

Now, as an adult – and, more importantly, as an adult who writes about marketing – I’ve noticed that storytelling is a significantly undervalued and under-used skill by many marketing teams.

The power (and influence) of a captivating story can contribute to almost every element of a marketing campaign – not just for articles and blogs, as many marketing professionals whom I’ve spoken with seem to think.

Indeed, in these post-Cambridge Analytica times, and when the concept of “fake news” has become a longstanding theme across every media, digital-first consumers are seeking out and demanding reliable and trustworthy content.

That’s why storytelling matters.

Ultimately, a good story can be the vehicle that makes a product or service appeal to an audience. It can be the pivotal aspect at the center of a marketing campaign that ensures every component contributes to answering the key questions prospective customers will ask: “What’s in it for me? What is it you do better than your competitors?”

Storytelling for business

Although the data revolution is creating a business landscape where sales and marketing must be more tightly linkedOpens a new window , marketing leaders must be careful not to get lost in a sales-focused mentality.

In fact, straight sales doesn’t work anymore. We know that sales pitches are simply ineffective as consumers become tired of feeling like all companies want is to sell to them.

This consumer attitude parallels the growing demand for personalization in marketingOpens a new window  as consumers look for content that appeals to them individually and approaches them on a personal level. Finding ways to create that connection with consumers has become critical to successful marketing operations, and the best way to do that, marketers have learned, is by showcasing the brand, product or service’s value.

Consumers need information that helps guide decisions, and that’s what a well-crafted and engaging story can help achieve. That’s why marketers must think about the story they’re telling through every piece of content they create and, crucially, those stories should not be seen merely as simple marketing gimmicks.

Rather, the customer experience must be at the center of a marketing-sales strategy. That’s where thinking about the story told to consumers – whether in a blog, social media campaign, video, landing page or any other form of content – can play an important role.

When crafting a story, you should ask yourself the following questions:

• Does it reflect your organization’s mission and values? This is imperative to ensure it resonate with your audience.
• Will it make them believe in your brand?
• Does it home in on the right emotional triggers? The best stories will show people how your product or service can solve their problems, satisfy their desires, meet their needs, identify opportunities – or even threats – to their future.
• Is the focus your company? It shouldn’t be. Instead, it should appeal to your target audience’s problems and aspirations – the spotlight, or the star, of the story, should be the consumer.

Storytelling ROI

As most marketers can attest, convincing decision-makers to adopt a new strategy or technology comes down to real dollars.

Unfortunately, proving the ROI of a story isn’t really possible. Although that hasn’t stopped people from trying.

A group of writers ran what they called the Significant Object ExperimentOpens a new window , in which they bought 100 knick-knacks from flea markets, spending a total of $128.74. They then resold the items online. However, they added an invented origin story to each of the items.

The resale value of those trinkets chalked up to $3,612.51, an ROI of 27.06 to 1.

Admittedly, that experiment is mostly anecdotal. But that doesn’t diminish the point of how powerful of a tool storytelling can be.

Although real ROI of content marketing can’t necessarily be measured, the general success of that content can. That can be achieved by evaluating improved KPIs like page impressions, session times and bounce rates.

What we know is that digital audiences want to be engaged and connected to the brands and companies they buy from and engage with online.

Consequently, the content they consume must have value, and a good story can provide that and, as a result, more.