3 Reasons You Should Be Telling A Story

If I asked, “What’s your brand,” How would you respond? Perhaps you’d look around your office smiling as you cheerfully talk about the products you sell or services you provide. Either way, neither response truly captures what your brand is. The true answer of “what your brand is” lies in the stories you tell. Storytelling is an art that separates you from all the other companies in the world. In all, it’s what makes your brand unique. Why storytelling is important Recent studies show numerous benefits of telling stories. One in particular illustrated that we use feelings rather than facts when evaluating brands. In turn, these feelings have shown greater influence on consumer loyalty than trust and other brand attributes. Companies like Nike and Apple understand that the quickest way to capture feelings is through storytelling. The stories great brands create help bond the consumer to the brand, and keep customers engaged. With that being said, here’s three reasons why you should be telling a story: A memorable brand With so much noise in the world, storytelling is essential for allowing your business to be remembered. If you want to create a memorable brand, avoid the urge to only discuss facts and figures. Our brains are not able capable of understanding logic or retaining facts for very long. Instead, people are wired to understand and remember stories. In fact, stories are the best tool for both persuasion and action, according to author Charles Larson. Audience Connection Storytelling brings life to your business and brand. Brands like Nike with their “Chase Your Greatness Campaign” bring life to a brand through feelings of inspiration and excitement. Likewise, campaigns like Dove’s and Apple’s keep us engaged and feeling as though they care and understand us. This translates into higher influence and motivation for your consumers, as stories have been shown to be powerful enough to change how you and I behave. In all, effective stories that feed off of emotion allow your consumer to join you in your journey, and create a deeper connection. Uniqueness The best way to separate yourself from your competitors is to focus on what makes your company different. Coca Cola separates themselves from other soda companies by telling stories of happiness. Campaigns such as their “What is Happiness?” campaign allow us to feel a sense of joy when we purchase a Coca Cola product over a different soda. In short, the stories you tell separate you from other brands and allow your consumer to feel an emotion when they buy from you. This connection you create through stories and experiences is what keeps consumers coming back. Sell your story, not your brand Business storytelling is not a supplement to your business; the stories you tell are your business. Storytelling is arguably the future of marketing. In fact, 80% of consumers want you to tell stories. The reason being is that it will be what your employees, clients, and consumers will all remember you and your company by. So next time when someone comes to you and asks, “What’s your brand?” Remember, the answer lies within the stories you tell.