Before, we head into today’s post, here’s a quick exercise for you. We request you to read the following two examples and let our Digital Marketing Company know which one you prefer.
Example 1:
- John Montagu was an aristocrat, a British politician, and the 4th Earl of Sandwich.
- He invented the popular snack, sandwich in 1748.
- Even today, it still reigns as one of the most popular types of foods in the western world.
Example 2:
John Montagu, a British aristocrat loved playing cards. This 4th Earl of Sandwich ran into a unique problem. He loved munching while indulging in his favorite pastime – playing cards. But, the cuisine in 17th century England didn’t suit well for this task. He was left with greasy hands.
He had to choose between his two favorite passions – snacking or playing cards? He couldn’t do both at the same time.
Guess, what he did? He came up with an ingenious solution. He ordered his butler to place the meat between two pieces of bread and bring it to him. Now, he could play cards and snack without getting his hands dirty.
Lo and behold – the Sandwich was born!
Which of these two examples are you likely to remember and repeat? Which made an impact on you?
The second one, of course!
That’s because humans have always been fascinated by stories. Right from the early man who drew cave paintings to today, everyone loves a good story.
Storytelling and the Human Connection
There is plenty of evidence to support the fact that humans make decisions based on their emotions and not on hard cold facts. Yep, it’s true. Here’s what Psychology Today has to say about how emotions play a big part in customer behavior:
- MRI scans reveal that customers mainly use their feelings (including experiences and personal opinions) while evaluating brands, rather than other features, facts, and other brand attributes.
- Research suggests that emotional response plays a vital role in deciding whether a user will buy a product or not.
- Likeability plays a crucial factor in measuring the success of a brand.
- Brands that trigger positive emotions see better customer loyalty.
Storytelling and its Role in Digital Marketing Campaigns
To create a successful digital media campaign, digital marketers have to wear many hats. One is that of the data analyst, the other is that of the storyteller.
But, will all brands trying to juice the storytelling component, how do you ensure that your product stands out?
Storytelling is more of a Science than an Art
Shocking, is it? Well, no!
Though stories are creative, it doesn’t mean that they aren’t scientific. In fact, the best storytellers have been scientists at heart. They were able to analyze various variables and find out, what works and what doesn’t.
You cannot just put up cute stories and expect them to be a success. Any story that you tell must have a strong connection to your brand ethos and reflect the personality of your brand.
Remember this mantra,
“If it ain’t fitting, it surely isn’t selling.”
Luckily for you, we’ve got some easy but effective hacks on how to integrate storytelling into your digital marketing campaigns. Here are five secrets of storytelling that will help you create compelling, relevant, and compelling stories that will make your marketing campaigns a phenomenal success.
Best Strategies to Include Storytelling in your Digital Marketing Campaigns
SELL STORIES ALONG WITH YOUR PRODUCTS
Very often, internet marketing managers spend a lot of time and resources trying to come up with a compelling pitch for their products. Instead, of this, try to craft a relevant story. Most people become wary when you sell them a product or service. They don’t want yet another product. They want something that gives them personal satisfaction.
Let’s assume that you run an online store that sells tea. You may create a marketing campaign that advertises your cool products, your variety of exotic teas from faraway lands. Customers don’t see the point in spending so much on an everyday product.
Instead of this pitch, try speaking about the wonders of your teas. Tell them how they could improve their health significantly by including your organic, hand-picked teas in their diet. You can also tell them about the journey of the tea leaves from faraway tea plantations to their homes.
This helps customers relate more with the product and they can immediately see what they get to gain from buying your product.
Can you see the differences between these two pitches? The first one is all about you and your products, while the second one is about your customers.
Create a story around the customer. Use data monitoring to find out what is likely to get them to engage and use these elements in your digital marketing campaigns.
BUILD A STORY AROUND YOUR DATA
Just placing a few random numbers in front of the customer and expecting it to do the heavy lifting is futile. You need to create a story around the data, so customers can relate to it.
Weave context for your data using storytelling and engaging visuals. Include graphs, charts, infographics wherever possible. A visual representation of data lets your customers retain the information for a longer period.
Recently, Netflix used this technique to promote the show Narcos and make it a huge success. The streaming platform used the hashtag #cokenomics to portray the powerfulness of the Colombian drug cartel.
BE THE UNDERDOG IN YOUR STORY
A study by the Georgetown Institute of Consumer Research states that customers tend to prefer an underdog brand over a successfully established one. Think back, to the epic tale of David and Goliath. What do you think is the reason why generations of people have cheered for David to beat the giant?
The beauty of this technique is that it works for both small and large brands. However, remember that when adopting this method, you have to focus on your highlights and not your problems. You have to tell your audience that your brand would deliver irrespective of the circumstances.
DON’T GET CARRIED AWAY WITH YOUR STORY
While storytelling is an excellent tool to market your products online, it should be used with caution. Don’t get caught up in your story. Any story that you use to depict your products or services, must be backed by facts.
Exaggerating your claims is a big No-No. It could end up backfiring. Very often, most digital marketers fluff up their campaigns. Every element of your story should have a well-defined purpose. If it doesn’t serve any purpose or appears to be irrelevant, remove it from your story.
The mantra to remember here is, “Say more with less.”
Heighten the drama without narrating long boring episodes. You need drama and not melodrama. And, the tone of your content should be right. You don’t want your customers to end up feeling offended or overwhelmed.
SPEAK ABOUT UNEXPECTED TOPICS
A well-crafted brand story gets your customers buying from you again and again. Don’t cage your digital marketing campaigns. Instead, come up with fresh perspectives from time to time. If you want a campaign that’s successful, you need to keep your audience guessing what next will come from your brand.
Don’t fall into a rut, especially with your online marketing campaigns.
For instance, if you’re a niche fashion brand, then obviously a majority of your posts will be about fashion. There’s nothing wrong with this, but it can get boring pretty quickly. Apart from fashion, you can also talk about other related topics like fitness, health, lifestyle, sustainability, and more to keep your users engaged and interested.
Winding Up
Ok, you’ve come up with a great story for your brand. But, it has to be evaluated objectively. If it doesn’t work, then you have to ditch it, replace it, or improvise on it. The idea here is to keep monitoring the reactions of your target audience. See if it works with them. If something doesn’t work, don’t feel bad to throw it out.
Don’t get emotionally attached to a brand story and keep on pushing it, when it doesn’t connect with the audience.
And, if you need expert help building an engaging digital marketing campaign for your audience, then you know where to turn. Yes, reach out to our creative digital marketers and let us create a killer social media campaign just for you. Click here to get started or give our Digital Marketing Company a ring @ +91-124-4382-633.