Stories aren’t just for children

Brands have been using storytelling for years

#Storytelling is the art of telling stories, either verbally or through written words, to engage an audience and convey information, emotions, and experiences. The goal of #digitalstorytelling is to create a story that captures the audience's attention, engages their emotions, and inspires them to take action.

Storytelling can take many forms, including myths, legends, fairy tales, novels, and memoirs, among others — including #blogs, #podcasts, and TV shows.

Storytelling is not a new phenomenon. Rather, humans have been using it for centuries to share information (cue to drawings inside of cave walls during caveman days). It forms the fundamentals of being human and is used for a variety of purposes, including entertainment, education, and cultural preservation.

Over time, we’ve come to draw out tactics that we can weave in when telling our stories so that we can captivate our audiences more effectively than our competitors.

Stories have the power to inspire

When a great story is told, people are influenced. How many of you walked out of the cinema after watching Gladiator with feelings? Yup, same here. The power of storytelling lies in its ability to evoke emotions, inspire empathy, and create a sense of connection between the storyteller and the audience.

Therefore, brands that adopt great #storytellingtechniques can better influence their audience toward their products and services. When done impactfully, brands can even stir urgency toward purchase.

Apply proven storytelling techniques to your marketing

A story typically consists of a protagonist (the main character) — you’d want to make this your brand. Following, the protagonist would need to have a problem or conflict, followed by a resolution.

The storyteller (i.e. you, the #content marketer) can leverage several proven techniques to bring the brand’s story to life and engage the audience:

1. Use Emotional Storytelling: Emotional stories can be powerful in engaging the audience and creating a lasting impact. #Marketing executives can tap into emotions such as fear, joy, anger, and hope to connect with their audience and create a compelling narrative.

2. Use Metaphors and Analogies: Metaphors and analogies can be effective in helping your audience understand complex ideas and concepts in a simple and memorable way.

3. Make it Personal: Personal stories can be relatable and engaging. By sharing personal experiences and stories, marketing executives can build a connection with their audience and make their brand more human.

4. Create a Story Arc: A well-structured story arc can help keep the audience engaged and anticipate what comes next. A story arc typically consists of a beginning, middle, and end, and can include a clear problem, rising action, climax, and resolution.

5. Use Visual Storytelling: Visual storytelling can be a powerful tool for engaging your audience. Marketing executives can use images, videos, infographics, and other visual media to tell their story in a way that is both entertaining and informative.

6. Show, Don't Tell: Instead of simply telling the audience what to do or what your product does, use storytelling to show the audience what it can do for them. This will help to engage the audience and build a deeper connection with your brand.

By applying these storytelling techniques, marketing executives can create engaging and memorable narratives that help to build brand awareness, establish trust, and drive customer engagement.