THE POWER OF STORYTELLING IN CONTENT MARKETING IT’S ALL ABOUT THE MEANINGFUL STORIES YOUR SHARE Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world today. — Robert McKee The age of superlative words and shallow advertising is long gone. This is the era of storytelling, where powerful stories make an instant connect with the target audience. We all love an inspiring story, don’t we? That’s why storytelling in content marketing is such a successful strategy. These stories are not just about where you started, how you grew, and what your inspiration was. It is equally about the stories of your customers, your followers, and your recent experiences. That’s why Facebook’s “Your Year in Review” and Google’s ever-popular “year in search” recaps are quite a rage with users. So, why are stories so popular? How can we tap into this brilliant resource for IT solutions? Let’s find some answers, shall we?
THE HUMAN OBSESSION WITH STORIES Many studies have assessed the effect of stories on the human brain. They have proved that the human brain digs interesting stories, especially emotional content that helps create an immediate connect. Remember your emotions when you see images of a loving puppy, a cooing baby, or a smiling elderly woman? Humans are great listeners, we are equally curious about what happens around us. Club this with an interesting narrative, and what you get is a captivated audience. Genuine stories are proof of your honesty. It’s one of the best approaches you can use to gain trust with your audience. That’s why digital marketing has adopted storytelling as a trusted friend.
HOW DOES STORYTELLING IN CONTENT MARKETING WORK AS A GREAT TOOL? Storytelling is an art – definitely a tough one when you are into digital marketing for IT services and solutions! You’ll first need to start with understanding your brand completely, its identity, and what message it conveys to the audience. So, if your brand stands for integrating disparate systems and simplifying operational complexities, then your stories will have to reflect the power of simplicity and integration. Go in for stories that support your approach and tell these stories in an engaging tone. What are these stories? 1.
Case stories that cite examples of your implementations
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Videos from the customer’s perspective
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Storiefied whitepapers that give the client a clear perspective of how your service or product can solve their problem
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Blog series that deal in detail about every aspect of the solution, telling one story at a time
CHARACTERISTICS OF BRAND STORYTELLING Of course, these stories must describe the challenge, the hunt for the solution, why you were the chosen one, how you helped them overcome the challenge, and what benefits they reaped. But remember, all the stories must be from your customers’ perspective. It should be all about what they wanted and what they gained. Only one form of storytelling can be in the me-me-me format and that’s the story about your entrepreneurial journey. Your stories can also be woven around your content personas. Personas are the most critical players of every content marketing strategy. These personas represent your target audience, their characteristics, likes, and dislikes. Hence each of these stories is aimed at a specific section of your target audience and is told with a specific call to action in mind. There are many more such storytelling strategies, but the key point to remember is that every story needs to be consistent in its message. It should convey a consistent brand image to the audience.
CONCLUSION – STORYTELLING AS A TOOL TO CONVEY IDEAS It’s not enough to tell stories. Your stories must be interesting, they must reflect your brand, and it must resonate with your target audience. Hence, you need to focus on a lot of research before you even begin to write your stories. The homework is extensive, from understanding your target audience to incorporating the right brand flavor in your stories. But the results are incredibly rewarding, whether you choose the visual or the textual route. So, what’s your story going to be?