Marketers always need to keep up with how marketing has changed, and continues to change. Traditional methods—TV, radio, billboards, direct mail—just don’t engage consumers the way they used to, before everything was immediately accessible in real time.
More than ever, today’s marketers need to be storytellers. It’s our job to let consumers know what our value is. Only the best storytellers can get, and more importantly keep, the attention of multitasking, multi-screening consumers.
Social media and content marketing are the perfect venues for marketers to tell their brand story.
LET YOUR CONTENT BE YOUR GUIDE
It’s important for brands to understand that social media is not the place for them to inundate consumers with the hard sell of products and services. Savvy marketers recognize that social media and content marketing gives them a chance to have a two-way conversation with their audience. For the first time ever, marketers have a direct line to consumers. They can know what their audience needs and wants, and what they’re not interested in.
This is where storytelling comes in. Brand storytellers need to be as adept at writing persuasive promotional copy as they are writing compelling fiction.
Below are some tips to make sure your content tells exactly the story your brand needs to tell.
1. Be Real
Transparency is critical in making a meaningful connection with your audience, and for building trust. Even though you’re telling—and selling—a story, it needs to be an honest representation of your brand. One powerful way to let potential clients know what you can do for them is to let current clients tell your story, through testimonials and social media engagement.
2. Show Your Personality
Avoid the hard sell; relate to your audience. Speak in a clear, conversational, and easy to understand tone that reflects the personality of your brand. Make a personal connection with your audience by providing value to them, whether you educate, entertain, or both. An informal tone invites people into the dialogue and encourages them to engage.
3. Create Characters that Connect
You don’t have to invent a whole host of fictional characters to get your message to your audience in a memorable way. In addition to creating likeable personas that your audience can relate to, don’t forget that you already have the best brand advocates at your disposal: your employees. Use their expertise and enthusiasm for your products and services to put a human face on your brand.
4. Write Compelling Content
Demonstrate not only that you know what your audience’s challenges are, but also that you know exactly how to solve them. Remember the basics of good writing. Keep setting, characters, plot, conflict, and resolution in mind to create stories that are memorable. Your audience may forget what you tried to sell them, but they won’t forget how you made them feel.
5. Make it Look Good
Use relevant and engaging pictures, graphics, and videos in your content. Infographics are a highly effective method to tell a story in a visually appealing way, and your YouTube channel is the perfect place to communicate with a multi-screen audience.
Remember, when we read straight data and research—the cold, hard facts— only the language portion of our brains is activated. Storytelling engages our brains completely, as if we’re actually experiencing what we’re reading or watching. That’s what makes brand storytelling more compelling, and more memorable. Storytelling keeps our busy brains focused.
