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Once upon a time, in a far faraway land called Persia there was a King named Shahryar. He married a succession of virgins only to kill each one the next morning as he believed that all women eventually become unfaithful. Scheherazade, the vizier’s daughter, offered herself as the bride when there were no virgins left in the kingdom. On the night of their marriage, Scheherazade began to tell the king a story, but did not end it. The king, curious about how the story ended, was thus forced to postpone her execution in order to hear the conclusion. The next night, as soon as she finished the tale, she began a new one, and the king, eager to know the conclusion, postponed her execution once again. So it went on for 1,001 nights.
This is what a story can do. It can arrest your attention, engage you and influence you (it may also save your life!)…
Do we even need to write about the power of stories? After all, who has not been persuaded by stories? Stories are an indelible part of every person – right from a toddler to an adult. A medium so potent in all aspects of life has to be equally effective in marketing. However, many marketers have been quite late at realizing this. They have been tiring the audience with tons of data, statistics, and mindboggling charts (I am not undermining their importance).
Only compelling content can drive the customers closer to you. Brands like Red Bull have been hugely successful in attracting large audiences through content. It is always easier for B2C mar keters to extract the greatest benefits by using storytelling techniques. However, B2B marketers have also begun corporate storytelling and are doing a great job. The GE website projects the company as an innovator with fascinating videos and articles.
Let’s see, in brief, why storytelling is such a potent medium:
Stories bring content to life
Stories create a relationship between the brand and the audience
Stories give a personality to the brand
Stories have high memory retention
Stories appeal to emotion, which guides decision making
In spite of being aware of the power of storytelling, what stops most marketers from wielding this weapon? The truth is that they feel lost, just as Alice in Wonderland when it comes to implementing.
These tips can help marketers find their way around stories:
1) Wring out your stories
You need not struggle for story ideas. You are your story. Your struggles, challenges, problems and how you overcame them, your mistakes, your achievements, your legacy, your history…all could be your stories. Provide value addition through them.
2) Get the emotional quotient right
Dig deep to bring out the realest emotions. It becomes difficult for a marketer to relate products or services to any emotion. All you have to do is to go to the basics. Try to understand how your services or products can touch people’s lives and make a difference to them. Draw a compelling word picture that tells them how you have affected their life.
3) Create a connect
It is important that the audience connects to your story. This can be ensured in various ways. One of the successful methods is to tell the ‘origin’ story. When an audience knows the beginning of a business/product/service, affinity and fondness for that brand grow naturally. They start rooting for its success, especially if it had humble origins.
Take the instance of Google The story of two young guys starting an experiment in their bedrooms to build a huge success story caught our fancy. We instantly wanted them to succeed. A story that connects creates a deep relationship.
Then there are transformational stories, which highlight how businesses overcame failure. Such reports build trust and credibility. Starbucks is one company that went through rough times but bounced back in a big way. They managed to win back the trust of their customers by showing grit.
Heritage stories, based on function and factual history, are often told by longstanding legacy brands to explain how a specific product will make your life easier or better in some way. A great example of heritage storytelling is Kleenex®. Their brand story on the website uses a history-book feel, letting the visitors recognize the brand’s experience without much effort.
Additionally, validation from a user or a customer makes the prospect invariably want to trust the seller. Brands like Proactive and Dove have hit the nail on the head with testimonial storytelling. Celebrity testimonials also do wonders.
4) Know your target audience
You cannot have a story unless you know your audience inside out. A specific audience needs a specific story. One size does not fit all. An example is Monster Energy Drinks. It is clear on positioning and its audience – energy drinks for extreme sports enthusiasts and their on-package story make that evident.
5) Keep it real
Simple…if the story is contrived; your audience will know it and get turned off.
6) Lace emotion with reasoning
When a story has data to back it up, it becomes a complete potent package. This will lend it credibility and help it build trust.
7) Get a personality
People can easily identify with a personality. Give your brand a personality. This invariably makes your audience feel that your product/service can really impact their lives. Disney does a very good job out of that. They portray Disney as the dreamland for kids where they can meet fairytale and cartoon characters. And the kids lap it up! Red Bull, as already mentioned, has also used compelling content to make a personality for itself.
8) Take a personal approach
This is the approach that always works, as people can relate easily to a personal journey.
9) Give your story a proper start, middle and end
The story should have a hero, a plot, a setting, and most importantly a conflict. The element of conflict has to take the reader through sequential phases towards a decisive end. Build the momentum, create the excitement!
10) Never leave the audience hanging
Give a proper solution to the problem in the story and how you can help or what the solution is. The success of your story and your marketing effort do depend on that. And more significantly, remember to add a call to action in the end.
Curious about what happened to Scheherazade?
During those 1,001 nights of storytelling, the King fell in love with Scheherazade, and had three sons with her. So, having been made a wiser and kinder man by her stories, he spared her life, and made her his Queen.
About the Author: Suresh Thomas has over 13 years of experience in Sales and Marketing. He has facilitated in the execution of online marketing strategies for a variety of companies and directed teams to produce clear and differentiated campaigns involving various aspects of digital marketing. He is currently GM -- Marketing, Strategic Outsourcing Services. About the company: Strategic Outsourcing Services was established in the year 1999 in the US and 2003 in India with the aim of helping companies do marketing in an organized and innovative manner.
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