Public Relations & Social Marketing Insight

In the dark-dark city, on the dark-dark street, in the dark-dark office, there was one dark-dark company, but no one knew about it because the company couldn’t tell people about itself…

Modern information consumers want more than just data. People of this generation are used to getting accessible news, ideas, information, and knowledge; they know the tricks and cannot stand importunate marketing. The more promotional lines they see in a text, the faster they stop reading it. That is why storytelling is a great idea for any marketing campaign.

People love stories. They are thrilled to read about something similar to what they’ve experienced, to delve into one’s dirty laundry, to see love stories, etc. Storytelling can be a very powerful tool for content creators. They can influence people’s emotions and get those precious likes and shares....

Move over, synergy. There’s a new buzzword in town, and it’s got some tales to tell.

Without a doubt, the “storyteller” craze has swept the marketing world in 2014, with everyone from top creative directors to Colin in Accounts selling themselves as a teller of stories. It’s been fascinating to watch here at Contently; we’ve been talking about brands as storytellers for years, and as a result, I’ve found myself acting like a hipster who just found out Vampire Weekend picked up mainstream appeal.

I used that buzzword before it was cool, homie.

You can tell “storyteller” is here to stay as a buzzword. How? The backlash has already begun! And the best of that backlash came recently when FITC, a Canadian events company for the tech and design communities, released this incredible interview with renowned designer Stefan Sagmeister....

...The power of storytelling is something so many businesses fail to realise in marketing their brand and products. When information is communicated in story form, studies show people better relate and remember it. Stories have the ability to spark emotions, whether it’s happiness, empathy, trust or anger. When listening to them not only are the language-processing parts of our brain activated, experiential parts of our brain come alive too. Stories about food activate our sensory cortex, motion stories activate the motor cortex – fundamentally our brains are more engaged when listening to stories.

Brand storytelling isn’t new; companies have used advertising to evoke emotions through storytelling for years. However the landscape has changed, the digital revolution spurred new platforms, channels and devices through which to share and tell stories, opening up greater opportunities, but simultaneously greater challenges. How do you cut through the noise, get your stories heard and resonate with the consumer? Here are my top tips for the art of storytelling in business...

Want to have more customers, opt-ins on your website and clicks on your “Buy Now” button? Do what Hollywood does -- use stories to sell your products and services.

This makes sense: At some point, you've probably gone to a meeting featuring a PowerPoint presentation with charts and graphs . . . and wanted to poke your eyes out with a pencil. The reason: Stories, not data, are what inspire people. Stories, not bullet points, create customer loyalty, build social media platforms and increase sales. Stories create an emotional bond between your business and your customers.

And today's technology helps us tell those stories in the many different ways it's given us to offer our message to millions of potential customers -- instantly.

Yet, many businesses are losing customers because their methods of reaching them are outdated. Want to get people to buy your product? Then get them to listen. Here are three essential stories you need on your website to do just that:...