Everyone has a story and everyone loves to listen to a good story.

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This is the reason why storytelling is a powerful way to drive your brand. The truth is that there is a story behind every brand that exists.

What’s more, people are keen to listen to that story but only if you tell it right.

Whether you are selling a product or service, you need to think back to when you realized that your product or service can meet certain needs for your customers. That is where your story begins.

The good thing about stories is that they change and evolve as your brand grows. In other words, you can never run out of stories to tell. All you need to do is be a little creative each time.

What’s the storytelling alternative?

Unlike using images and direct marketing that asks customers to buy into your brand, storytelling helps to establish a deeper connection with your customers.

They can relate to various aspects in your story including your vulnerabilities, happiness, laughter, sadness and all emotions that you bring through.

Your customers will feel a connection to your brand because emotions are universal and you will have managed to do the one thing that all brands look for; to be felt by customers.

Read: Is Storytelling Changing The Marketing Narrative?

Marketing has become diverse with multiple platforms on which to sell, not to mention the number of brands that are competing for customers’ attention.

I have come to appreciate storytelling because it helps me understand where a brand is coming from.

Whether it is a twitter thread or a television ad, I love when something captures my attention and I have to follow the story to see where it leads.

There are so many serious things in the world, and even though your brand is a serious matter, the way you present it to the world doesn’t have to be serious and straight-cut.

Your marketing can be edgy and fun through storytelling.

A story creates suspense and when it is dramatic, keeps your customers engaged and even prompts them to share it and talk about it. 

They also stick around to see what more you’ve got. Isn’t this the whole idea of marketing?

Take the time to create great stories

One interesting fact about storytelling in content marketing is that your brand gains a reputation for strategic marketing through storytelling.

Customers trust that if you have taken the time to create a brilliant story about your brand, you certainly have taken the time to create a great brand.

The first step to building a great story is to ask yourself; what do you want to achieve?

In most cases, the answer to this question is that you want to establish lasting relationships with your customers.

Relationships promote loyalty and give you a competitive advantage.

Great stories have a personal touch that evokes empathy. A story must be as truthful as possible because it is the only way your customers can trust in what you are trying to sell.

Truthful stories are sometimes raw because the emotions involved are laid bare for your customers to see.  

I have never come cross a great story that did not leave people smiling. The ways in which to tell endearing stories are endless.

Stories do not have to be all serious, laden with heavy emotion. They can be fun; injecting life into every day habits that may otherwise seem mundane.

One characteristic of storytelling in content marketing is the ability to highlight problems and their solutions.

A story will systematically describe a problem, why it is important to find an immediate solution, the steps to follow towards solving the problem, and the product or service that will help solve the problem.

In the traditional way of marketing, the audience is presented with the image of a product and they had to decipher how that product can work for them.

Storytelling, on the other hand, lays the facts out in front of your audience and leaves them with as few questions as possible.

Capitalizing on hyperconnectivity

Content marketing is today thriving in a digital world where there are numerous platforms on which to share your content.

Customers have access to a lot of information anytime and anywhere through mobile devices. Technology has been likened to “the campfire around which we tell our stories” in today’s digital age.

Many brands are competing for customers’ attention. The customers, on the other hand, are seeking convenience and reliability or else they will easily move to the next brand, product or service.

Immediate gratification that has been occasioned by an overflow of information has led customers to want to affiliate only with brands that make sense to them in the here and now.

Storytelling is certainly a fundamental way to approach content marketing. A good story will capture the attention of your customers and they will stay with you to see how the story unfolds.

By telling one great story after another, your customers will be hooked and they will stay loyal to your brand because of the interesting and comprehensive way in which you deliver information to them.

Hyperconnectivity through technology has also fostered the creation of communities of people with similar needs and interests.

A stronger connector of people in these communities is storytelling. People are easily brought together by a good story, which also gives them the opportunity to share their experiences or desires.

When brands share their stories on different online platforms, they can easily connect with people from different backgrounds and demographics.

Storytelling can easily be said to be a people magnet.

Bottom Line

The bottom line is that storytelling is a powerful content marketing tool. A story helps customers gauge your values in comparison to their own.

When you take the time to tell a good story, you will come off as warm and humane. People will be drawn to your brand because they can relate to you more easily.

Storytelling sets you apart from your competitors in the sense that you have incorporated the wow factor into the way you present your brand.

Stories are inspiring and when your customers are able to say things like, “Wow!”, “Amazing”, “Interesting”, and “Awe inspiring”, as they read or listen to your story, your marketing is well on its way to great success.

Photo by Joanna Kosinska on Unsplash