STORYTELLING IN MARKETING: WHAT IS IT USEFUL FOR AND HOW TO USE IT?
Author: Cristina Cristea
Date of publication: 18/04/2022
What is storytelling and how is it related to marketing? Why is knowledge of storytelling technology useful for company development? In this article, we will fully reveal each of these topics, as well as teach you how to write scripts for product promotion. Storytelling is a marketing tool, but compared to others, it has a little more nuances in use. However, these nuances greatly affect the effectiveness of the company's promotion.
The concept of "storytelling" comes from a combination of two English words: "story" - a story and "tell" - to tell. It turns out that storytelling is a genre of writing texts in which there are main characters and a plot.
In marketing, storytelling is used to convey an idea to an audience by luring a potential buyer into a story. In this way, you can express any thought, endearing your target audience and answering questions as the plot develops.
THE ART OF STORYTELLING: HOW DOES THE BUSINESS BENEFIT FROM IT?
The advantage of texts written in the storytelling genre is that they can illustrate problems in an accessible way, talk about solutions and the necessary tools. As with reading literary works, if the plot and characters are well developed, then the reader begins to empathize and think about how they would act in this situation. This allows the brand to get closer to customers, improve communication and increase trust.
Vivid emotions, plot twists and non-flat characters are more attractive than loud advertising slogans and catchy banners. This is why storytelling marketing is so popular.
HOW TO GET YOUR MESSAGE TO THE AUDIENCE WITH THE HELP OF STORYTELLING
Companies from various fields use storytelling to increase audience loyalty. Here are five examples of how a story can be told:
History of the company or brand.
A book or documentary that tells the story of a company's journey can help you grow your audience and grab attention. Surely those of you who have watched the movie The Founder and others have felt closer to the company than following the brand on social media.
A story about the development of a specific product.
Dedicate the audience to the process of developing a new product or service. Explain why this is important to the company and how it will help customers. Seeing everything with their own eyes, people will understand that you can be trusted.
Correct values.
It is not necessary to regularly remind people that your product is cheaper than the one of the competitors and what advantages it brings. It is better to tell potential customers what they will gain by choosing you. Let people buy products based on quality, not to save money.
Use different methods to develop a story about your values and ideas: show what impression your products make on buyers, focus on positive emotions.
Answers on questions.
The FAQ section is popular with customers. Clear and structured information entices the user to learn more about the product. However, this section can be made more original and thus more attractive if you give answers to questions in the form of stories with heroes.
Development of the company.
Tell about the life of the company, highlighting the successes and joyful stories of employees. Well-developed heroes also get a response from buyers, but the life of ordinary people is closer.
Storytelling cases can be found everywhere, there are many tricks, but how to deal with them correctly?
STORYTELLING IN MARKETING: HOW TO USE IT CORRECTLY
The main thing in the art of storytelling is to correctly pack the idea into a concise shell. Think about the setting for the story about the company, what kind of characters are needed and why. Do not forget that the text must contain the forces of good (heroes) and evil (client problems), ways to deal with evil, battle and victory, after which a conclusion should follow. Sometimes the ways to fight evil can be individual qualities of heroes, and not specific characters or actions.
Let's simplify the task and consider the structures of texts for storytelling that you can use.
TEXTS FOR STORYTELLING: MAIN STORIES
The plot is the basis for building a story. Let's look at those that can serve as a suitable shell for promoting a product.
A popular script for storytelling text is the battle: a classic story about the victory of good over evil, which is so loved by the mass public.
The next scenario is a quest in which the heroes find a solution with the help of ingenuity or exceptional skills. Here, the product can act as a reward for the characters.
The Journey is a story about the adventures of the protagonist, during which he gains new abilities, finds friends and enemies, and eventually gets to the goal, becoming happy.
Transformation is like a journey, but instead of a thorny path, the hero reaches the goal with the help of help or luck.
Becoming is a story of spiritual growth. Here the hero does not struggle with external problems, but tries to cope with internal problems. It is important to show that the hero is similar to the reader and also learns to cope with experiences.
Defeat - stories about characters who fail can also bring the company and target audience closer. Readers will find a part of themselves in the hero, because he, like everyone else, can go through hard times and not find the strength to cope with what is happening.
STORYTELLING FORMATS
We note right away that the right structure of the text also makes it easier for readers to perceive the story. Therefore, you should not ignore the rules of storytelling.
There are two popular structures for storytelling:
Three acts.
The story consists of an introduction, a development of events and a denouement. There is a more difficult version, which contains five acts: introduction, development of events, peak of history, fading and denouement.
"Before and after".
History, without development of events: the initial situation and the result of its resolution are shown here. This structure can be turned on its head to create a scenario for Hollywood: show the plot peak at the beginning, and then tell how the characters came to this twist.
STORYTELLING IN MARKETING: PLUSES AND MINUSES
The storytelling format is universal, which cannot be a minus. It can be used in a wide range of areas, solving various problems. Original stories are easy to remember and associated with the creators, inspire confidence. With the right presentation, storytelling in marketing will not be perceived as advertising.
The only disadvantage of storytelling technology is complexity. To create a working story that will lead the audience and increase loyalty, you need to try and follow the mandatory rules.
TO WRITE A MARKETING STORY, YOU MUST FOLLOW THE FOLLOWING RULES:
Express as clearly as possible the idea you want to convey to the public
Write a well thought out and engaging script.
Choose a place and time for the story, characters, main elements.
Work on the structure of the text under which the plot will be framed.