The importance of storytelling is essential to generate a great impact, but let's start with the meaning of the word storytelling, Story and telling, the action of telling stories, applied for a long time in the journalistic field and of course in all literary genres. Google, Apple, Adidas, Nike, Microsoft ... are great examples of storytelling applied to companies that, through brand storytelling, have been able to get closer to their audience and retain them.
The audience identifies with the brand’s philosophy and thinking, simply your brand name is enough as an endorsement of quality and trust.
But how does storytelling applied to the world of marketing and branding work?
Well, it basically works in the same way, as human beings every day we are surrounded by stories that some have the ability to transmit in a more emotional and effective way than others to a captive audience, with the aim of communicating a message and connecting with their audience, looking for those points where they feel identified.
Currently, a universe of media and formats are presented to convey our story, telling it is a work of research and creativity. The importance of storytelling in brands arises in order to impact on an emotional and rational level.
Humanize our product or service
If we treat our brand as a person, we can define that it has values, attributes, tastes, personality, way of being, there is something that makes it different. This leads us to the fact that the brand has a voice and a story to tell.
Build a concept, what do we want to communicate? What will the message be?
We need an idea that generates interest, the central axis for the story to unfold. If the idea is not clear and concise, our audience will never have understood our message. We can start from a very deep concept, yes, but one that is projected in an affordable way.
But who is our audience?
If our story intends to connect, then our audience will be looking to laugh, get excited; we have to know them to know what form or tone our message will have. Remember that by seeking to empathize with our audience we are creating a solid bond.
How will we tell it?
Let's say we pass the research part and get to the creative part. It is a matter of sensitivity, seeking to inspire through images, sounds, graphics, etc. Here we can leave aside the sales part. The platforms are there to place our story, the content must be adaptable to the means that suit us best. These are some basic keys for a story to have the ability to attract an audience and grow your business:
Unique and memorable experience. Storytelling is about allowing people to feel and experience something. The ability to transport the audience to the depths of your story is closely related to knowing their profile. Goal: to provide a customer experience that they can't get anywhere else.
True and personal stories. In general, the audience does not care what you do, they are more interested in knowing why you do what you do and how it affects them. Publicizing your business from a more personal and different prism is a very good point to build loyalty and empathize with the target audience.
Be authentic. Authentic storytelling is key to gaining consumer trust. Don't try to fool your audience with an exaggerated story that is far from your true philosophy.
Clear objective. A great story leaves the audience with a clear and specific message.
Let us bear in mind the value of who we are, that a brand will always be made up of people who in turn share the same emotions and situations as those who listen to their stories. The more honest we are when we tell them, the easier we will reach an audience that identifies with us.