Stories are powerful, to tell you the truth! They can influence us in big ways—they have done so in this life of ours for centuries. Understanding the impact of brand storytelling on word-of-mouth marketing is very important.
Stories connect with our instinctual psychology. We understand stories because we inherit a set of instincts that help us recognize and evaluate them.
We feel emotions while listening to stories; sometimes these emotional responses are positive or negative depending on how the story ends.
At the same time, we place importance on stories, whether they’re true or not. After all, we live in an era where fake news is rampant and people seem more inclined to believe what has been written about someone rather than learn about who they are.
That’s why it’s important to be conscious of your storytelling habits. When you think about yourself and your business, you should ask yourself if there are any false starts, if your marketing lacks depth, and if your advertising looks too flashy.
Those things weaken your brand, which may invite skepticism from potential customers. Research shows that when consumers find a product or service worthy, half of them will shop online, and one-third will go elsewhere to get it instead.
That’s a lot of lost sales just by telling a good story. So make sure your story is strong, and strengthen it by giving some more.
The impact of brand storytelling: Tell stories to tell about your brand
Stories are a powerful way to connect with others. They’re also a great tool for marketing because they promote engagement. When people feel connected to you or your product, they’ll more likely believe in your messages and spend time reading about you.
Stories typically begin with an event — something that happened — and then someone’s action or reaction to it. A story is only one sentence long, but its impact can last much longer.
That’s why storytelling is such a rich communication style. It dates back at least as early as ancient Greece when writers would create fictional narratives to describe events and inspire reactions.
In our digital age, word-of-mouth marketing (WOM) has become even more influential than before. According to research conducted by Forrester, 90% of consumers assess information online before making buying decisions. So telling engaging stories about your company and its products can be a potent strategy for promoting sales.
The impact of brand storytelling: Create a brand storyboard
A lot of marketers talk about storytelling as an effective way to market their products or services. But what is storytelling, and how can you use it to your advantage?
Branding expert Robert Lefevre defines marketing storytelling as “the telling of a product or service’s narrative history that creates a desire for the product.”3
Product stories connect customers with your company and its values, while value stories connect employees and the organization’s bigger mission.
This article will discuss some easy ways to tell your business’s story through storytelling. You will also learn some tips and tricks for creating your own business stories in the process.
Disclaimer: This article may contain links to sites where we receive compensation or sponsorships. All opinions are our own and not influenced by advertisers.
What Is Word-Of-Mouth (WOM) Marketing?
Word-of-mouth marketing (WOM), sometimes referred to as consumer engagement, influence, word-of-mouth advertising, or recommendation marketing, is the most powerful form of marketing communication there is!5
It happens when one individual provides information or warnings about a product or service, effectively promoting it for others to see and use.6
Businesses rely heavily on WOM for growth due to its cost efficiency. According to Business Insider, 6% of all sales come from recommendations.
The impact of brand storytelling: Develop your storyboard
Strong brand storytelling is made up of three parts: setting, narrative, and message.
Setting includes telling where and when your product or service exists. For example, if you are selling windows, you would tell people that your window line is sturdy and durable. If you are running a yoga studio, you could talk about how practicing yoga has helped you relax and focus.
The narrative is what happens in your story. In my first article, I discussed why creating an online presence is important for brands to succeed. In this article, we will discuss what kind of stories you should be telling potential customers.
The message is the key part of your brand’s overall marketing strategy. Your messages may be promotional, educational, or motivational. It can be something like “This year” “We need to work on our relationships” or “Why don’t they understand us?”
The difference between a strong brand and a vague one comes down to their messages.
The impact of brand storytelling: Connect with your audience
As mentioned earlier, storytelling is a powerful tool for business professionals. Not only can it help tell your story more effectively, but it can also connect you with other people.
A well-told story will always keep an audience’s attention longer than information alone would. And their comments and reactions are often much richer in content and insight than what you might get from giving a talk or answering questions written by someone else.
Interacting with others online and through social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter allows you to reach beyond your existing base and expose new ones. This is how word-of-mouth marketing works!
By telling interesting stories about who you are and what you offer, you open up opportunities to meet and influence new people. Your potential clients and customers may not necessarily choose to do business with you, but they could spread positive messages about you.
Develop your brand story
A strong brand narrative is one of the most important things you can develop for your business or product. It’s what people will talk about when they discuss you, your products, and/or your services.
It’s also a major factor in how well your marketing strategies are likely to succeed.
That’s because people don’t just talk about brands that have great stories – they assume that those stories motivate the company to create engaging content, and inspire their employees to work harder.
And they’re right!
If a company doesn’t seem like it has its own unique story to tell, then people might think that it doesn’t know why it should be successful, or that there isn’t enough motivation within the organization to make that success happen.
Create a marketing campaign
As mentioned before, storytelling is a powerful tool for business. It can be done through videos or articles, but it all comes down to telling your audience something new that they have not heard before.
Branding is a way to tell people what your company stands for. Your brand is tied to your products and services, so why not use that messaging as part of your marketing strategy?
By clearly understanding who your customers are, how to promote yourself, and what you stand for, you will know what messages to convey to them. When someone hears your message for the first time, it should make sense to them.
Your potential customer should be able to relate to you or at least understand your offering better.
Test your campaign
A strong brand story can win you close to or more business than good marketing strategies. This is because people talk about brands they like, and how well they work.
By telling your own story about a product or service, you create an opportunity to gain exposure and influence for yourself and your company.
Your potential audience may feel connected to you if you’re passionate about what you promote, but are also able to relate to you as someone who lives by similar values and principles.
That connection can strengthen their confidence in the product or service, and help them connect with it more deeply. It could even inspire them to try out the product or give it away as a gift!
Your personal story can be told through social media posts, advertisements, interviews, etc. Since word-of-mouth is one of the most powerful types of marketing, this strategy is worth exploring.
Take advantage of storytelling to improve your marketing skills
In advertising, advertisers tell stories to get people into their product or service. Advertisements use narratives to connect with audiences in a meaningful way.
The same goes for business promotions and brand messaging. A well-told story can emphasize a product’s or service’s benefits while also creating emotional connections.
Brands that tell engaging stories focus on how they help others — something most people are sympathetic towards. This creates hype around their product or service, which is what you want to promote.
Marketers develop narrative advertisements and brands through creative writing. They write short essays or stories about the products or services.
These stories usually highlight the qualities of the product or service. They may describe why the product/service makes people feel better about themselves, or why it is important to believe in it.
Some examples of this include telling someone who is trying to lose weight about an exercise program or informing potential customers about the quality of a car company.