June 09, 2015

Why Brands Should Pay More Attention to Storytelling

When asked by the Content Marketing Institute (CMI) a core area of content marketing they would like to learn more about, B2B marketers were quick to state aligning goals with content, content curation and content discovery tools. Surprisingly, storytelling—the use of words or images to create a story or narrative—was listed second to last as an area of interest.

                        

In a world centered upon measuring ROI, lead generation and nurturing customers through every stage of the purchasing cycle, initiatives such as storytelling can easily fall off of marketers’ radars. It’s important, however, that you do not allow the art of storytelling to go from being a priority within your content marketing strategy to an afterthought.  Storytelling should play a fundamental role in the way your company approaches prospective and existing customers, uniquely positions its brand, displays its core offerings and gains market share.

Let’s explore this concept further...

Why is storytelling important for content marketing?

Some of the most meaningful stories in our personal lives are told around camp fires or when our child asks us to make up a bedtime story.  Stories are meant to evoke a specific emotion within an audience, such as excitement, fear, happiness… the list goes on. Sometimes the story will be tried and true, having been passed down through generations. Other times the narrative will be created off the top of someone’s head.

Content marketers must be able to tell their brand stories through this same creative lens. We should be just as, if not more, creative in our corporate worlds than in our personal lives. In other words, content marketers should not be taking either of these approaches to storytelling; rather, they should be constantly willing to change and modernize their narrative as needed, which requires building out a strategy.

Meanwhile, it’s of course important that you tell your brand’s story in order to incite a specific emotion within your audience (aka customers). This emotion should drive them to want to take action in the form of making a purchase or spreading the word about your company, whether it’s by telling a friend or being a brand advocate on social media.

How can I tell my company’s story?

To begin storytelling, you must first identify what purpose your story will serve. For example, perhaps your narrative will serve as a means of education; say you’re educating consumers on a new feature added to your flagship product.

Or, perhaps your story is simply meant for entertainment. Maybe all you want to do is bring levity to your target market’s day or get them to laugh out loud. Perhaps your story is meant to relay your brand’s moral values or a cause that your company firmly stands behind. You should be including storytelling as a key element of your brand strategy, including your company’s brand, culture, history and how it ultimately came to be. Identifying the purpose of your story enables you to establish its foundation, which will make it that much easier to tell.

It’s okay if you don’t know where to start when it comes to storytelling—after all, it is a skill that requires mastering. Click here to contact Content Boost’s team of storytellers to see how we can help you tell your company’s unique story.







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