Storytelling is one of the most effective and engaging ways to convey a marketing message because stories are inherently engrossing: they evoke feelings of empathy and they're memorable, exciting, and impactful.
95% of our decision making happens within our subconscious mind, which means it’s incredibly important to reach your audience on an emotional level. You can use this to your advantage by communicating your mission and values through a story format.
Another benefit of storytelling in marketing is that it provides you with an opportunity to solidify your image by creating cohesive and consistent messages; putting your brand image into words. Authenticity is highly valued by consumers, so before you decide to tell your story, first ask yourself:
Each story you tell is like a sequel with the same characters and the same themes (meaning your mission and values remain consistent), and this means your audience will come to associate your brand with the identity that you create and reinforce through your storytelling.
Beyond the ability to inspire empathy and interest from your audience, stories are also engaging because they can lead to questions and conversations. For example, say you're an outdoors store that sells things like camping gear, sporting equipment, and travel clothes. To tell stories, you wouldn’t just create run-of-the-mill marketing messages that advertise the products you sell, but would rather create a story about an avid traveler your audience can relate to. Create content that conveys journeys of exploration through the world to show people how your products can provide solutions to experiences that travelers like them often face. In turn, this storyline could spark conversations about the different places your customers have been, the joys and thrills they’ve encountered on their journeys, and the challenges they’ve faced.
This type of engagement is especially important because it transforms each contact between your business and a customer from a simple transaction into a meaningful interaction, and this is the type of relationship that modern consumers look for with the brands they support. Furthermore, these conversations also provide your business with an opportunity to show your human side, and this is integral to success in today’s world.
When it comes right down to it, using storytelling as a marketing tool is all about building relationships with your audience and your community, and this gives you an unparalleled opportunity to engage them on a level that your competition won’t be able to match. When you use stories to build these types of relationships, it creates a connection between your audience and your brand, and this strengthens your identity, builds loyalty, and promotes growth. As a marketing agency, it’s important to learn how you can use your storytelling abilities to achieve growth and success for your own business as well as your client’s businesses.
For WSI, our journey began over 20 years ago during the early days of marketing through digital channels. In that time, we’ve seen a lot of growth in the world of digital marketing (as well as ourselves!) and can attribute our success to the creation of strong and long-lasting networks with other industry professionals. We understand the struggles that marketing agencies face with growth, and that’s why we created the Agency Accelerator Program. If you’re interested in learning how to expand your agency’s service offerings and growth capabilities, feel free to click the link below!