“What is your USP?”, “Why should I choose your brand?” How many episodes of Shark Tank have you seen where they face the questions?
Their answer will usually start with a story. An origin story usually tugs at the heartstrings of The Shark, makes them reflect on their values, needs and desires, or connects them to the brand.
Once your contestants have closed them, they can work on influencing their own buying decisions, which is the ultimate goal as an Entrepreneur, Marketing Manager or Content Creator! So what is the power of storytelling in marketing and why is it important?
In a world of increasing artificial intelligence and robots, storytelling is now more important than ever to the future of marketing as it taps into the basic human need for connection and emotional resonance, shifting from product-centric marketing strategies to customer-centric marketing strategies.
5 Ways to Implement Effective Storytelling for Your Brand
Whether you’re a small business owner, startup, or marketing manager, If your marketing campaign doesn’t include your brand’s story, here are some ways to change that!
Think Long Term Goal and Short Term Success
Unlike one-off ads that only focus on short-term conversions, stories help build long-term customer relationships, communities, and loyalty.
When brands share ongoing stories, they create a narrative that keeps customers engaged over time, drives repeat engagement and even brand advocacy. Read more about brand word and promotion here.
This can take longer than quick marketing campaigns; however, harnessing the power of storytelling is likely to increase lifetime customer value, resulting in longer-term success.
Get your customers up to speed
As Taylor Swift once said, ‘It’s a love story’ and the customer is the Romeo to your Juliet! Know your customers inside out. What are their likes, dislikes, passions, values? They want to connect with your mission and support your vision.
You have the power to create that emotional connection through your brand’s stories, driving your customers to come back and share you with their social circles, increasing organic brand awareness. This helps build buzz and organic engagement without breaking the bank. A dating app based in the UK is called Thursday pop-up speed dating in London to get to know their customers better.
Their mission was to solve the pain points of modern dating. This can work for your brand or you can go and talk to people on the street, do a focus group, do a survey on social media, basically get to know your customers! You can read more about engaging your audience with social media polls and surveys here.
Repurpose, redefine!
Work smarter, not harder! A piece of content can go a long way… With the rise of social media and digital platforms, stories offer endless opportunities to create content that can be shared and distributed for free across multiple channels! You can create viral campaigns with minimal budget.
A piece of the story can be repurposed for your YouTube shorts, TikTok, Instagram Live, or created as a blog post, podcast, infographic, the list goes on and on. It also ensures that your brand tone and messaging is consistent across multiple platforms.
This is important if you want to build loyalty and trust, so make sure your story is consistent.
Differentiation is Key
In a highly competitive market, compelling stories will help your brand stand out. Many products and services are similar in quality or function, so differentiation often comes from your unique selling proposition and its connection to consumer values.
Effective storytelling can foster a sense of community, so be open and honest with your customers. Tell them about your passions, your dreams, the “why” you got out of bed, and your desire to make your brand a success, because it won’t be the same story as your competitors.
Fenty Beauty wanted to shake up the “normalized” beauty standards “Inclusive Beauty” campaign In 2017. By launching more than 40 foundations to suit a wider range of skin tones, it stands out from the rest of the market, meaning it reached $100 million within 40 days of its launch.
it happened It was chosen as one of Time magazine’s best inventions of 2017 and has become one of the most influential beauty brands thanks to its unique value proposition and storytelling.
Be Shakespeare, not Pythagoras
Your customer is a person, not just a conversion. Use the data you have to get to know your customers more deeply. Tailor your messaging to their needs, wants or desires to make the customer journey a more memorable experience.
People remember 63% of stories and only 5% of factsso avoid hitting customers (not literally) with dry numbers about why your brand is better than the competition. OK, data is important, but if you want customers to become brand ambassadors without paying influencer fees, storytelling is essential!
charities such as WaterUse stories to show how donations directly impact people who need clean water. These stories encourage people to donate and share this cause with their networks.
Take Your Next Marketing Campaign to New Heights
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Frequently asked questions about brand stories
How do you create a brand story in a marketing campaign?
Marketers and business owners need to be able to define the “why” of their brand. What core values drive your business? These are sustainability, innovation, community, quality, etc. can be Show how these values shape everything you do.
What are the benefits of storytelling in marketing?
Not only is it an inexpensive, if not free, tool in your marketing arsenal, but if used correctly, it can increase organic engagement, differentiate your brand from the competition, build customer trust, and build brand loyalty.
What mistakes should you avoid in brand stories?
Some of the biggest mistakes business owners, copywriters, and marketers make when creating their brand stories is making their “why” or brand vision and mission too sales-focused. This runs the risk of sounding vague, which will result in a lack of trust with your customers.