“This is a really tasty drink; you should try it.” Sounds pretty boring, right? How about if I say, “Thirsty? You should try this drink; it was made by extracting dragon fruit juice that makes you never thirst again.” How’s that? It might be far-fetched, but it certainly caught your attention. This is why storytelling is one of the most powerful techniques in content marketing. Don’t believe me, ask Calvin Klein, one of the companies to use storytelling to create the popular “my Calvin’s” ad campaign, taking their business to the next level.

Unfortunately, many businesses have not mastered the art of storytelling while trying to sell their products or services. Often, the best way to engage your customers is by providing something to connect to in relation to the product you are selling.

HOW POWERFUL IS STORYTELLING IN CONTENT MARKETING?

• Storytelling evokes emotion. Remember the first novel you read that made you feel almost everything you could ever feel? The background story of the characters that you could relate to and the use of words that best described how they felt made you shudder a bit. The same applies for content marketing, whether it is through a video or a simple write-up or a picture, if you tell a story with it. It evokes emotion with consumers and creates an emotional connection. This emotional connection is what makes your product stand out amongst others. Without story telling, there is nothing your consumers can connect to, and so it leaves your product completely boring.

• Stories are memorable. Using storytelling makes your product or service extremely memorable. For example, the famous Calvin Klein ad campaign known as “My Calvin’s” employed celebrities to talk about themselves or do something relating to Calvin Klein underwear. With it, they were able to tell a story that cool and beautiful people wear Calvin’s and you should too, driving engagement with not only their product but their brand.

• Storytelling simplifies complex messages and shows the human side of a brand: Your brand should be more than what you are selling, and storytelling helps to achieve this exceptionally. Your brand should have an identity, a human side that makes your consumers know that you consider them and find them as important as your profits. People in general love to feel important and cared for, and storytelling in branding helps you achieve what your consumers need.

Aside from that, it makes the complex messages of your brand easier to understand and more informative. This can be very good for medical businesses that might want to share important information about a particular drug. Storytelling helps the consumers properly understand the cause and effects of the drug on the body, making them assured before their purchase.

HOW TO TELL A STORY FOR CONTENT MARKETING 

• Identify your brand story: Your brand should have a story that will create intimacy with your consumers, and it cannot be any story. It has to be something that relates to your brand, assures your consumers, and entertains them. Picking a brand story might be tough at first, but once you know the aims and objectives of your brand, picking a brand story should come to you easily.

• Understand your target audience: When trying to tell a story, it is important to identify the pain points of your consumers, their age group, and their interests. For example, if you want to sell baby nappies, you can’t tell a story that teenagers relate to; your storytelling would be a waste and not connect to your target audience. When trying to pick your audience, consider asking yourself: What job does my target audience have? How old are they? How do they see the world? Is there any element I can add to my story that will connect with them? What do their day-to-day activities look like? After considering this, you should be able to tell a story that resonates with your audience.

• Create an intriguing narrative. Your story should not be a plain story just for the sake of storytelling. It should be a story that strikes a chord with your audience; it may be a story that is out of this world, something that relates to a historical event, or a story that relates to a societal trend. If you tell a plain story, then your profit margins will be plain. Make use of creativity to enhance your engagement.

CONCLUSION 

The role of storytelling in content marketing is extremely important, and it helps evoke emotion, makes your brand memorable, and simplifies complex messages while showing the human side of your brand. Telling a story for some may not be an easy task, but with the story-telling tips, you should be able to create something that resonates with your consumers.