Storytelling (German: telling stories) is of great importance in marketing. Through a story, information about a company, a product or service can be conveyed. Storytelling is used in marketing, PR, journalism, as well as in psychotherapy and child and adult education.
Storytelling Marketing: Meaning, Opportunities and What Matters
Big brands like Apple, Tesla, Mercedes or RedBull have long understood Storytelling Marketing and have been successfully using this tool for decades. It can be observed that the unique stories evoke emotions in consumers. Storytelling has an identity-forming effect and thus a company also gets a face.
As recently as 2019, little attention was paid to the Storytelling Method in Content Marketing. In fact, the term „storytelling“ was decried as a buzzword. Meanwhile, companies have understood how to use this tool for themselves. In the following, we at Pictibe explain how Multimedia Storytelling can be implemented.
What Storytelling means in Business and for Marketing: Deliberately addressing human thinking and evoking emotions
Psychology assumes that people, regions, objects, and the environment are defined and explained by stories. Stories are therefore an identity-forming tool, from which, for example, beliefs, fears, or desires result.
According to Professor Charles Bartlett’s study „War of the Ghosts,“ a person’s experiences are a collection of schemas from which memory arises. Based on these schemas, experiences can be evaluated. Accordingly, storytelling would be not just a building block of Content Marketing, but the foundation of human thought.
- Neurological Connection: The story is perceived based on one’s own experiences and impressions.
- Dopamine: When an emotional or dramatic story is told, dopamine is released in the brain. This makes what is heard easier to remember.
- Mirroring: The listener’s brain activity adapts to that of the storyteller.
Why is Storytelling Marketing so important for revenue?
Now the question arises, why is storytelling (or rather: Corporate Storytelling) so important for every company? Stories can convey messages and emotions that have a direct positive impact on brand awareness.
Selling without sellingandseeing with your ears!
Activating effect with storytelling
The connection between brand and customer can be filled or linked with meaning. This is also important, because every day people are confronted with a flood of information. But for the product to remain in memory, an impressive story should be provided for this. Furthermore, stories also serve to help the target group identify with the product or to extract information more easily.
Connecting effect with storytelling
Long-term customer loyalty is, of course, the alpha and omega of every company. Stories offer an ideal basis for shared experiences – a story can connect. This can even be perfected by discussing these stories (including one’s own regarding the brand) within social networks. The bond within the target group is also achieved through this.
Interactive effect with corporate storytelling
Meanwhile, customers no longer want to experience stories, but actively co-create them. Interactive marketing has long been a trend and can also be understood within storytelling. An ideal example is the fast-food chain Kentucky Fried Chicken, whose target group, when prompted, shot their own commercials. The best clips were then broadcast nationwide during prime time.
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Positive effects on the entire company
If the entire target group talks about the company, then it hardly needs a high budget to spread the advertising message. Advertising costs can be saved through the storytelling method, or invested in the next content marketing strategy.
In what formats can storytelling be presented?
Stories can be presented through any medium and in any format. Multimedia storytelling is generally an area that every company should utilize. This includes text, audio, images, videos, and much more.
Suitable options would be a podcast, a YouTube channel, online newspapers or blogs, and perhaps even documentaries that are broadcast on television. There are always documentaries about companies on TV, and this is where storytelling fully takes place.
A crucial component is primarily sales psychology & neuromarketing and their effect. Through clean and well-timed scripts, the „story“ can be transferred to all media.
How can one learn professional storytelling?
Anyone who has dealt with how stories work in marketing will already possess relevant knowledge and could apply it independently. Through practice, one also gains certain experiences that can be used later.
However, it is undeniable that a storytelling seminar offers immensely many advantages. In a storytelling course, one learns from someone who truly masters their craft. Furthermore, there are numerous case studies and secret tips and tricks, which theoretically anyone can find on the internet, but if the implementation fails, even the best knowledge is useless.
How can storytelling marketing be implemented?
There are storytelling tools that can support this work and perhaps even provide the user with tips. Bloggers and entrepreneurs can use these tools to tell the story behind the founding more memorably.
The Storytelling Tool Shorthand, for example, is a tool with which even BBC publishes high-quality reports. The trademark of the tool are impressive landing pages, through which every story can be told visually. Shorthand is free – billing is based on published stories.
Another well-known example is Pageflow, which is available as both a desktop and cloud version. This tool also offers many useful modules for a varied story design. The tool is particularly suitable for stories with strong visual material.
These tools would allow for the creation of a dedicated Storytelling Website. However, there would also be the option to publish the content on one’s own WordPress website. In principle, there are no limits.
Conclusion: Does my company need effective storytelling?
Yes, every company needs effective storytelling. For this, a professional can be hired, or the CEO can take the initiative and attend a Storytelling Seminar and then create their own digital story with Storytelling Tools. This will be noticeable through increased reach and higher revenue.
Florian Ibe
CEO & Marketing Consultant
Your contact person: Florian Ibe
DE
