Storytelling in marketing - Myth & Facts.

These days, storytelling is in trend. Every marketer is told to be a storyteller by his manager or departmental head. Students are told to become storytellers as storytelling gets the business and brings the company to new heights.

There is some misconception about storytelling and marketing, which floats everywhere.

Few myths -

All Stories Are Fictional - This says that all stories are fictional and have no relation with reality. This myth is so potent that even some of the history books are referred to as epic. In truth, many stories are inspired by real-life events, experiences, or historical milestones.

Storytelling Is Only Verbal - This again is a big myth, where we can see stories presented in visual forms too, in art, cinema, music or a series of marketing campaigns, which is a mix of all art forms.

Stories Have a Happy Ending - in reality, there is no ending, not even happy. The audience should keep guessing and curious about the story's next phase.

Heroes, Heroines and Villains in a story - in modern storytelling in marketing, every character is necessary; here, the story and message are the hero and villain.

Storytelling has no rules - This is also one of the strong myths that it has no rules. It allows creative freedom, but the tales should drive the audience towards the company's objective and principles in modern marketing.

Storytellers are the most critical team members, and they are highly paid - In reality, the storyteller is as essential as others who create the number and execute the things for the team.

These are some myths and completely wrong narratives set by some storytellers to make themselves valuable and relevant. Marketing is a giant canvas, and storytelling is just one crucial colour.

Why storytelling is essential -

Emotional Connection - In an era where consumers are targeted with information , a well-crafted story can cut through the noise and connect personally. When people feel emotionally connected to a brand or product, they more likely to become loyal customers. Less Electronics - More Emotion.

Differentiation in a Crowded Market - today, all markets are super crowded with so much information that creates noise. It is impossible to inform the customer about our unique feature because of a deficit of trust, time and temptation. Here, storytelling works; a genuine story of the customer can set the brand apart from its competition.

• Humanizing the Brand - It is said that the brand is alive. If it's alive and has a soul, it must look good, kicking, happy and sad like a human. Storytelling humanizes a brand by giving it a relatable and personable identity.
• Enhancing Brand Recall & Loyalty - Humans are wired to remember stories; this is the reason we still feel nostalgic when we see old advertisements like Maggi, Rasna, Santoor, and Lifeboy and still watch ancient Ramayana and Mahabharat on T.V. because it brings us our old day, our childhood. A story identifying a customer's life moment is always registered in our minds.
• Building brand loyalty is the ultimate dream of a marketer; people who have been associated with a brand journey from the early days are likelier to remain loyal, like Apple customers who bought Apple 7 -8-9. Now, they are customers of the newly launched Apple 15, too. With each new launch, they feel they are part of the evolving Apple story.

How storytelling can be more effective -

Be Authentic - The content of your story should be authentic and genuine. Everyone loves to hear a real story, whether it's not so good or engaging, but genuineness pays its due, even in the long term.

Clear, Concise and No ambiguity:- when I was working with Dishtv, they launched a rural marketing program which was not clear and dicey, so funny even the company managers were not clear on the messaging and plan. The entire program failed even though it was based on a super promotion plan, so before launching a marketing plan, check on these three parameters.

Tailor the Story across Multiple Platforms - Thanks to the current digital world, everyone is a storyteller. It was never easy to reach a wider audience; sometimes, a good story takes years and generations to become famous.

Today, Marketing is everywhere, and every hand is distributing content, and every eye is looking for great content which takes him from his daily cores or helps him to move forward. A heartfelt Instagram post, an engaging LinkedIn post.

Storytelling can be tailored to effectively reach and engage audiences like you are reading my story here.

Data-Driven Marketing and Storytelling - storytelling is perceived as unrelated to data and its analysis. But a good story complements with data, market insights and trends. When reports are made to cater to customer aspirations and tailor different customer sets, then it is set to bring the brand story to a broader customer base.

Be Consistent - the theme and tone of your story should be consistent, and if different, then it evolves and connects each story with others. It is like the episode of the same serial or series where stories would develop after each other. Consistency is essential for brand building and staying relevant.

Let's do an exercise. Just close your eyes, think about your products and solutions and try to remember any such story is floating around you.

If yes, then good.

If No, then your company marketing department is just fooling around.

But storytelling is not marketing. It's part of an extensive marketing plan. Storytelling is not everything;

storytellers are not marketers Unless they are equipped with a vision of the company and an execution plan to meet the target.

Talkative people with an art of storytelling are just storytellers who tantalize someone for some time but don't drive the company's overall objective. Even the executive in the team, who is good at storytelling but not in execution, doesn't carry any value.

Tell me whether your marketing team has any storytellers. Enlighten us with your marketing plan, which is based on storytelling. Which of your solutions is presented in a story among the audience.