We crave storytelling.
We crave storytelling. Our brains are hardwired to find stories in everything we see. They help us to communicate, to express our emotions, and to contextualize our surroundings. We are far more likely to retain information when we engage with a story because it creates an experience, and experiences are far more captivating than stone, cold facts.
It comes as no shock that brands employ storytelling methods in their marketing strategies. Keeping customers entertained is crucial now more than ever, especially when content bombards people at every turn. If a brand aspires to survive and thrive they need compelling content to catch the eye of their target audience.
SHAPING A BRAND STORY
There are a number of key elements to keep in mind when creating branded stories. The first crucial element is identifying what stories to tell. Honesty is critical in brand storytelling. Stories must be grounded in the brand and in the industry. Testimonials are excellent and can be powerful if told in the right way. Airbnb has a fantastic section on their website dedicated to different stories from their community. Both hosts and guests are featured on the site and share their anecdotes. It is engaging and creates consumer loyalty by building a community based brand.
Stories must be grounded in the brand and in the industry. Testimonials are excellent and can be powerful if told in the right way.
Never Better is a digital video campaign that uses interactive stories to highlight how different organizations are using Cisco technology. “There’s never been a better time…” opens each new video. What follows is a story about the different challenges facing various organizations’, and how Cisco technology has helped these clients to innovate and to evolve. The stories are told through documentary-style clips, photographs, and written content.
The second crucial element is how to structure your story. All stories need a beginning, a middle, and an end. The beginning sets up the characters and the setting. The middle presents the conflict, and the end resolves it. This is the basic story arc, simple but effective. Cisco’s latest marketing initiative-- Never Better-- is a brilliant example of well structured storytelling.
Finally, the third element to shaping a good brand story is knowing how to tell your story. There are many different mediums in which to share your content: blogs, social media, film, photo to name a few. You need to know which medium is right for your story. Social media is better for shorter and snappier messages, while long-form content works better with multimedia.
If a consumer likes a story it will stick with them, and they are more likely to share it with others.
Need some help with your company’s brand story? Each piece of content built on the Fabl platform is shareable on social media. One story can create a strong marketing campaign with many shareable and influential pieces. Once your story is live, readers can share a quote, image or video with a click of a button.