When we think of stories, we typically think of books – “Once upon a time…” and “They all lived happily ever after.” The truth is, though, that stories are more than just words on a page, particularly for brands that want to connect with their audiences in a meaningful way.
Here are 10 ways to fold storytelling into any brand marketing activity:
- Design
Sometimes, a story doesn’t require words. A beautiful series of images, perfectly detailed, can tell the story on their own and engage the reader. Just look at cartoons – animation that gives life to an image and has the ability to tell a story without spoken text.
- Content
Words! Look at all of them, there on the page…hanging in the space between…creating scenes and fueling drama, harnessing laughs. Amazing.
- Interactivity
Get your audience involved. Musical instruments, sound effects, dance – whatever it takes, allow your audience to interact with the story.
- Multimedia
Videos are human, dynamic, attention-grabbing, and tell stories within stories. We watch, captured. Audio, too, allows us to experience through all five senses.
- Personalization
If you’re telling a story to a group of six-year-olds who love dinosaurs, then add a bit to it where they’re all riding around on stegosauruses – use their names, their characteristics. Adding a little bit of personal detail to the tale completely engrosses and engages the audience because, suddenly, they’re a part of it.
- Shareable
The whole point of a story is to tell it, to share it. Jump on social media and tell the world!
- Multi-Device
Phones, computers, tablets, pagers – if it can convey text and/or images, it can share a story. Remember that when you’re wondering how to relay your Big Fish tale to Grandma Sue in Florida.
- Conversation
Stories provide entertainment, which gives others inspiration. They may aspire to go out and do what you did, which may lead them to act on an adventure…leading to an entertaining story of their own, which they share. It’s a cycle and it begins with a conversation.
- Marketable
Did you buy a bottle of Hennessy and proceed to have the most amazing night of your life, leading to the biggest set of entertaining stories you’ve ever told? Marketing. Right. There.
- Measurable
If you’re sharing your stories online, are people finding them? Are they sharing them, as well? How can you tell? Defining success in content marketing is as important as the content itself.
So, now that you’ve got a place to start go out there, make some stories, and share them!
