What is Storytelling? Why is Storytelling Important?

Imagine a world where Santa Claus doesn’t wear red and white every Christmas. Did you know this signature look is popularized because of the Coca-Cola storytelling? The Coca-Cola Christmas ads are everywhere and create the image of the perfect holiday with the dear ones. This is the true power of good business storytelling.

What if we told you that storytelling can be your best friend in marketing strategies? Stick with us to find out how business storytelling can take your brand to the next level and how you can become the best story teller there is!

Once upon a time, there was a beginning… So, let’s start from there!

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What is storytelling?

Storytelling is an important tool used in marketing and advertising that helps the brand connect with the customers on an emotional level, and build a relationship that leads to loyalty and trust and ultimately to sales. Almost every brand can sell, but storytelling can bring value to your business and differentiate you from the competitors. 

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Why is storytelling important? 

In marketing,  storytelling goes a long way in establishing how others view and interpret a company. Through storytelling in business, you can communicate the values of your company. These principles help the consumer relate to your brand. If your target audience believes in the same values as you then you’ve got a new client. The stories a brand tells through its communication can make it more humane in the eyes of consumers, and help break that stiff wall between the company and the potential customers. Storytelling marketing creates relationships and relationships build loyalty. 

It is easier to make a consumer listen to your story than to your business sales strategy. The information can be communicated discreetly and using the subconscious thus making the consumer part of the journey. 

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The benefits of storytelling

Storytelling marketing is one of the most important tactics used because of its incredible benefits. Storytelling can improve customer relationships making the audience relate to your company, and increase engagement because your target will care about you and will feel like they talk with a familiar presence. 

Another benefit of storytelling is that it showcases your brand’s personality. Just like humans, each brand is different.  Business storytelling shows that and helps you stand out from the crowd.

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Types of storytelling

There can be multiple ways to communicate your business storytelling, but the most used are:

• Oral storytelling is the primal form of storytelling because is the most similar to the stories we are used to as a child when our parents read us at night time. If you as a story teller choose to use this type of storytelling then you work with the power of the spoken word and narrative. You can play with the tones of the voice, gestures, and presence to express emotions easily. One of the most used techniques for this type of storytelling is voice-over in videos.
• Written storytelling is similar to the previous one because it also uses the power of words, but this time is the written word. This allows the consumer to make a part of the story through imagination and can be run at their own pace.
• Visual storytelling is all about using images, icons, drawings to communicate the story. A story teller can use the most common canvases like a billboard, an image on social media, or a mural to create the story of the brand.
• Digital storytelling can be very immersive and dynamic. Technology can help the story teller keep the consumer hooked through animations, videos, interactive elements and so much more. 

Even tho there are different types of storytelling, you can use them all when needed to provide a complete experience for your target audience, to immerse them into your brand’s universe. Be creative and have fun with them!

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How to tell a story in 5 steps

We’ve talked about the concept of storytelling in business and the different types there are, but the question remains “How to tell a story?”. There are 5 simple steps:

1. First of all, figure out your message. To do this you must identify the values of your brand and the way you want it to be perceived by the target audience.
2. The second step is identifying the target. This helps you know what types of messages are proper for them, the tone of voice of your story, and the dynamic of the relationship you are creating. 
3. Construct your story! That means creating a strategy or the plan of the story. Think about the introduction, which means the way you start building the connection with the consumer, and what communication pillars you will use throughout your story.
4. Now that the strategy is ready, start writing the story! You as a story teller can use the techniques described previously to do that. Have the deliverables, the videos, and the promotional materials ready for the next step.
5. Share your creation with the target audience! Choose the best time to present your story so that it will reach the most of your audience.

Another useful tool for how to tell a story is using the “5 Ws” as guidance. Keep in mind who (is the subject of the story, the brand), what (does the brand do), when (the proper time to tell the story), where (the platforms used) and why (the reason you communicate, the brand values).

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What makes a good story

So what makes a good story? What makes it stand out? Some tricks can make your story different from any other business storytelling. These are ways the storyteller can make the story tailored to the brand.

• Brand stories: Talk about the start of your brand, your motivation, and its history. Every start is different so be honest and experience the beginning of your beautiful story with your audience.
• Customer stories: These are the experiences of real people who interacted with you. Share the memories they made with your brand. Maybe your product helped them have the best vacation of their life, or maybe your product helped them recover from a hard situation. Either way, people have their own stories with your product. Use them to complete your business storytelling.
• Employee stories: Those stories can show that your brand values people and showcase the human part of the brand.
• Testimonials: These are used to build trust and give credibility to your company. 
• Case studies: Those are stories that can help complete your storytelling marketing. They show exactly the experience using your product/service and the problem or desire they solved. 

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What is Scrollytelling?

Scrollytelling is a storytelling technique that creates a more dynamic narrative based on the scroll motion. The most used navigation motion on a website is the scroll motion and that’s why companies use that to their advantage. 

Scrollytelling is a way to discover the story gradually, each scroll telling a new side of the story or new data. This is a dynamic way to break down the narrative and make interactive visuals to illustrate your message. This is a good way to make the consumer focus on each part of the information at a time.

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Create Your Story with Traction Keys

Storytelling in business is a great way to sell more than just a product or a service, is a way to sell an experience.  Storytelling helps create the relationship a brand should have with its consumers showing the personality of the brand, and building trust and credibility. 

So, are you ready to take your business to new heights through ongoing collaboration? Our team of passionate experts focuses on building stories for incredible brands that can move mountains. Whether you’re looking to launch your business or rebrand your existing company, we provide top-class branding solutions that will set you apart from your competition.

Contact us today to get a personalized quote for your business needs, and let’s start building the path to your next level of success together!

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