When was the last time you saw a commercial that hooked you immediately on the product it
was showcasing?
I'll go first! It happened with an Apple commercial for their newest iPad.
I liked it so much the first time around that I even cried.
In this commercial, a family is reminiscing together all the good times with loved ones who are
no longer here by looking at pictures and videos of them on an iPad.
And then, I automatically thought about buying my mother an iPad so she could take pictures
and videos of her daily life. This way, I'd have a lot of vivid memories to hold on to once she's
gone. I even called her after watching the commercial. It made me feel grateful she's still
around, you know.
Did I strike something in you just now? Do you think about your mum? Or maybe a loved one
you've started to miss lately?
If so, you should know I've made you feel this way because I've created a story.
Well, I did cry after watching the commercial, to be honest, and I did call my mum, so it's not
entirely a made-up story. (laughs)
But I have employed a degree of Storytelling here.
This is called Storytelling Marketing, and it's probably one of the most efficient ways to build a
successful marketing strategy. Why do I say this?
That's because Storytelling Marketing aims to build a deep connection with customers. It places
the products and services being marketed in a narrative that is entertaining and valuable to
people. There is a story of a family gathering which is universally relatable and thus fun. Then
the iPad brought forward a beneficial solution: everlasting digital memories of loved ones.
Since relatability is Storytelling's greatest asset, it works on the same principle in B2C and B2B
situations.
We're all people at the end of the line and we function in the same psychological frames. And
Storytelling Marketing uses them to speak to every one of us.
If you want to incorporate Storytelling in your Marketing Strategy, you should know a few
essential things that will significantly ease how you build the stories.
First and foremost, you must get a clear idea of your audience. By this, I mean gathering data
on their personal and professional lives to build up a customer avatar. Think of it as creating a
character backstory. You'll need details on who they are physiologically and psychologically and
how they spend their daily lives. This way, you'll know your audience's needs and desires, and
you can build your story to fit these criteria.
It's the same when you meet someone. The more things you have in common with a person,
the better you will get along with them.
Secondly, you'll need to assign roles, or better said, "cast" specific groups from your audience.
In a B2C context, your storytelling strategy should incorporate the general experiences of a
particular group (e.g., students having exams or parents dealing with an issue specific to
parenting). In a B2B context, you should be aware of the experience of those in power and build
your storytelling strategy to match their personalities.
Once you've settled that, it's time to experiment with your Storytelling Strategy. Take each social
media platform and use them to showcase your Storytelling. Platforms like Facebook,
Instagram, and TikTok have a designated Stories section. Use it. See what works and what
doesn't work. Take the data, analyze it and improve upon it. It takes time, but the best thing is
that it works while you're improving it because…
…and this leads me to my final point…
Storytelling is all about creating a deeper connection. No matter the context, you're dealing with
human beings. With all our differences, we experiment life the same way, and we will respond to
anything similar to our life experience.
Stories bring us closer to each other, and when we have something to share with others, it
makes engagement much more valuable.
Storytelling Marketing is no different.
Behind all the brands or big corporations that seem unreachable, Storytelling Marketing reminds
us that we're all humans, craving connection and understanding while providing us with tools to
do so.