Storytelling can be difficult for brands that are focused on selling products or services, converting customers, and meeting revenue figures. Whether they succeed or not, storytelling is at the core of what every brand does across their communications channels. Unfortunately, many brands fall short of storytelling and what they end up with is simply the “telling” part of communicating.
People have been using storytelling to convey ideas and communicate with each other for thousands of years. In fact, some of the first accounts of storytelling date back about 30,000 years and depict animal, humans, and other items.
Since then, the way we tell stories really hasn’t changed that much. We still use images that cultivate emotion, they’re just on social media instead of cave walls. Subject matter experts are still trusted resources of information, and stories are passed from generation to generation or campaign to campaign.
The tools available to brands have made storytelling more effective, but certainly more complicated. The available communications channels have gone from a few to a few thousand. The result is often a lack of storytelling and talking at your audiences instead of making a connection.
You’d be hard pressed to find a communicator or marketer that doesn’t understand the value of effective storytelling. In short, it all boils down to making connections in a meaningful way.
The more connections you make, the more potential customers you have. And more potential customers mean more potential revenue and greater profits for the company. Conceptually there’s a simple connection between storytelling and business success.
What does effective storytelling look like? There are a lot of experts out there with a lot of recommendations, but effective storytelling has a few key elements:
Apologies for the alliteration, but I couldn’t resist. Subject matter experts can take the form of individuals or companies and brands and they communicate with authority, clarity, and confidence. Audiences look to these experts as trusted resources, and brands need to embrace that idea.
Your storytelling should align with and reinforce your brand mission, vision, and values. Any deviation from this will be noticed and called out by your audiences, costing your brand credibility.
Effective storytelling connects beyond being an interesting or intriguing piece of content. It resonates with audiences on an emotional level and makes a connection with them creating brand advocates, not just customers.
Audiences want to be a part of something bigger than themselves, and they expect the brands they support to do the same for them. Meaningful storytelling brings some sort of value to audiences’ lives. Sometimes it’s a break from the day, sometimes it’s making their lives easier, and sometimes it’s just making them feel better. It’s different for every audience, but effective storytelling always adds value.
Making an emotional connection is only half the battle. If your audiences don’t know what action to take once you’ve made that connection then they’re lost, and you don’t see the benefit. Effective storytelling gives your audiences a way to take action. Visit a website, make a purchase, share information with your friends and family. All of these are CTA’s that engage your audience beyond that piece of content.
If humans have spent tens of thousands of years refining storytelling, how are brands supposed to be able to do it effectively? The truth is that it’s a moving target and constantly evolving. Your brand values may be consistent, but what your audiences value, how they consume content, and what their expectations are of your brand are always moving.
There are a few questions you can ask as you’re creating content campaigns that will help you ensure you’re efforts are driving real results.
If you can’t tie it back to your brand mission, vision, or values, then you should reevaluate your campaign. Every piece of content, from lighthearted social media posts to in-depth case studies, needs to reinforce your brand values.
This requires you to know who your audiences are and what they care about. If they don’t care about the content or message, even on a subconscious level, then your content is falling on deaf ears.
As we’ve discussed, what your audiences value is a constantly moving target, so keeping a finger on the pulse of their demands is crucial. If you can’t add value to their lives in some way, they won’t engage with your content and it certainly won’t resonate with them in a meaningful way.
Fluffy storytelling is fine (sometimes) but you need to get your messages across in an efficient and meaningful way. Attention spans continue to decrease so you need to put the important information up front, and then give them a call to action so they can continue to engage past that piece of content.
Audiences are always looking for new and exciting content, which means they are looking to you to fulfill that for them. Utilize graphics and videos, check out new platforms and think about ways you can deliver that message so it’s fresh, exciting, and new.
I’ve also been discussing how you can find success following the Coronavirus crisis through the RADD approach, which is Recognize, Adapt, Develop, and Deploy. Check out our previous posts to see how you can succeed with the RADD process:
– Get RADD And Plan For Success Following Coronavirus Crisis
– Prepare for Success and Get RADD, Part 1: Recognize
– Finding Success By Getting RADD, Part 2: Adapt
– Get RADD, Part 3: Develop Plans For Success
– Deploying Your RADD Communications Plan
Here are some recent posts to help as you create your Strategic Communications campaigns:
– Tips For Managing Unethical Communications Requests
– Internal Communications During A Crisis
– A Meaningful Message, Or Pandering Without Purpose
– Pitching Media Like The Pros
– Don’t Let Perfect Be The Enemy Of Effective
– Wake Up. Kick Ass. Repeat.
– How to Create Content That Engages Audiences and Builds Brand Trust Quickly
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