Call it an art we grew up on or one that exists since time immemorial, storytelling is a colorful element of life with which we are all quite familiar. Remember those childhood stories that we paid rapt attention to because they were so interesting in every way? They not only seemed wonderfully amazing to listen to, but also gave us the opportunity to take our imagination on a wild ride! Apparently, they have plenty of other benefits too. Some of those stories still linger in our memories and will stay with us forever.
Now would you believe me if I told you that your content marketing strategies could create the same magic by weaving the storytelling element into them? If this sounds too farfetched and dreamy for the real-time, unsparing and competitive scenarios that exist in the marketing world, here’s a peek into how it’s all going down.
Why storytelling
Well, how many of you have been able to tear yourselves away from a nice story, and of course, one that is being narrated in the right way? Whether it is a great movie, an anecdote, a good book or a beautiful play, stories seem to catch our attention and keep us interested no matter what is going on in the sidelines. We then go ahead and share these story with everyone we know, coz we want them to feel good or learn something too.
Now doesn’t this seem like a dream sequence a content marketing campaign wishes to achieve – where the audience latches on to every word, does exactly what is told, and then even goes out and spreads the word! If you get it right, your campaign could truly reap these very benefits.
The difference of course, is that only the good stories are retold, the bland ones forgotten. The great ones have elements like mystery, romance, drama, happiness and more. Get this mix right and a miracle campaign is underway.
Hey, we all got it right!
There are several campaigns out there trying the storytelling trick and doing it right. Here are some that make for wonderful, well, stories!
Brand stories: These stories are wonderful to share with the audience – the birth and evolution of your brand. It helps in telling the audience that you are not just a company trying to sell a product or service, but an entity that has gone through birth pangs, struggles, challenges or simply wonderful coincidences, thus being able to understand exactly what the customer wants. This list of brand stories on the American Express open forum will tell you to do it right and so will this list of the top 50 brand stories of 2013.
Advertising stories: Creating an advertising wave with stories that evolve or come together to create a direct advertising campaign is a unique way to launch or sell a product. Doing it right is of course the vital link here, since we all know that without a riveting story, even kids tend to lose interest! Take a look at the Burberry Kisses campaign. This one may be more than a year old but still gives you goose bumps if you are the romantic kind – a campaign that made for amazing stories and got the whole world talking about it.
Customer stories:These stories inspire the audience like no other, since they come from people just like them. A company is perceived as, well, a non-human entity by most. Bring in real people and their experiences into the picture and everything changes. Customer stories help build trust, Look at the way Coca Coladoes it. Love them or hate them, you just cannot ignore their campaigns. The company has a special page on its website with dozens of story revolving around the cola, and of course, their touching advertising campaigns are more often than not among the best too.
So the next time you think of creating a content marketing campaign, think stories – they make people smile, wonder, remember, dream and yes, they help sell a lot of stuff too!
Image Credit: Five Technology.com
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