Since time immemorial, stories have compelled people. For example, reading storybooks is how children start to learn. It’s the same case with adults, which is very obvious in many ways.
Ted Talks have millions of audiences around the world by virtue of storytelling. Most movies even start with it. This shows how powerful storytelling is to everyone, young or old, and from all walks of life.
Why Do We Love Storytelling?
Humans feel compelled, even addicted, to stories. Even when we sleep, our dreams tell stories. Businesses use it as their most effective marketing technique. But just what gives stories their power?
Science has the answer. When we hear stories that resonate with us, our body releases higher oxytocin levels, the hormone that makes us feel good, which, in turn, makes us feel many positive emotions such as compassion, empathy, and trust.
Different parts of the brain activate when we hear facts versus stories. With facts, our brain’s data processing center is activated, while with stories, it’s the sensory center that’s awakened.
Princeton University has a group of neuroscientists studying this. Both the listener and storytellers’ brain lights up in the same parts when listening to and telling the story. Listeners feel as if they are experiencing the story themselves too.
Humans are naturally empathetic. This is why we respond to stories personally. We get the sense of connection or togetherness. It’s the easiest way people can feel like they’re part of something bigger than themselves.
Marketing and the Power of Storytelling
Businesses recognize this power in storytelling, which is why most marketing content usually orbits around telling stories. How does storytelling impact businesses?
In content marketing, it’s a well-known fact that emotional branding can be very effective at gaining customer attention and retention. How consumers feel about a brand or product indicates whether they’d buy it or not.
Storytelling is businesses’ way to allow their audience to resonate with their story, primarily through a corporate video. It’s the best way they can get their message to their audience and their information be well-remembered.
Customers nowadays are more informed, hating apparent advertisements than ever. Audiences even tend to stop watching videos that obviously advertise; take, for instance, logo appearing throughout the video, and worse, located in the center. Storytelling, with the right visuals, can buffer this effect.
No matter what form, stories can get your audience to trust your brand more quickly as you share your brand’s vision in the simplest way. Hence, if done correctly, it can be a great technique to getting people loyal on your side; thus, creating brand loyalty.
Storytelling Tips for Businesses
You may want to tell stories that ignite positive emotions, making the audience feel joy, inspired, surprised, and many other emotions that convict them to take action. Here are some tips to keep in mind:
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Put together the three main elements
There are three elements for telling a great story about your brand. These elements include personalization, emotion, and supporting data. Almost every audience tends to envision themselves in a story as if they are experiencing those things themselves, so personalization is crucial.
Find concerns and problems that can resonate with your audience to engage them in your narrative and evoke empathy. After that, you can already present your service or product as the best solution.
Emotion can be anything from humor to fear, whatever makes the audience feel compelled to take action. Alongside emotions, use research and accurate data to appeal to the audience with more rational thinking. Well-researched information can make your story more persuasive.
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Know the storytelling basics
Every business should follow the storytelling basics. These storytelling principles include the best choice of the main character, a great hook for the beginning, and of course, conflict.
Make sure to choose a very relatable character. The character should be attractive, not necessarily physically but with well-fleshed and interesting elements. The audience will tend to remember the unique characters.
The beginning part is the most crucial; hence, you don’t have to save the best part for the end. Let all the best out from the beginning. This is the easiest way to make people share your blog or videos.
Then, create conflict. No matter how strange it sounds, it works. The hero or the main character needs a problem to be solved, which is the first thing the audience sees. Next, the hero fails, yet many obstacles continue to get in the way. Lastly, the hero overcomes the obstacles with your service or product.
Originality Is Key
Any way you present your content, make sure that you offer it authentically. Don’t just impress your audience. Stay true to your brand; always strive to connect your audience to your story. The sale will happen naturally in the end.