Every culture has stories – stories engage us, help up relate, empathize, and often make us feel part of them. Stories are everywhere.
They’re a key part of what helps us to identify with each other and make sense of the world around us. Emotionally they grab us, they make us want to be part of something. As children, stories form a key part of how we learn to understand the people and the world around us, and also work out which communities that we want to engage with.
It’s no different as we grow older. Storytelling is as the heart of any good communication strategy and is a key part of how we learn to both connect with the people around us, and also to escape into someone else’s story when we want to relax or be inspired. The film industry is worth billions, and it’s all based on good stories. So too is marketing.
Brands have used stories in their marketing to not only encourage people to buy from them, but to be supporters of their brand – a loyal customer who will return again, because they have identified with the underlying brand story. In-turn, they also know that their customer’s stories can be a powerful tool in their marketing kit to shout their brand and products from their own platforms and social groups.
Apple is the underdog story of our generation, who fought against all odds to become the worlds most valued company. Or John Lee Cronin, a young man with Down Syndrome, who is breaking the stereotype mold by selling millions of dollars of custom socks out of his house that competes with the likes of Amazon (https://johnscrazysocks.com). These stories are out there and they inspire us, and our brand loyalty.
It’s the power of stories that can change someone from a passive by-stander to a participant and there are many reasons why stories are seen as a powerful tool by many for: marketing, campaigning, engaging and growing awareness and audience.
“Tell someone how and they’ll learn. Tell someone the truth and they’ll believe. But tell someone a story and it will live in their heart forever” – Ancient proverb
We’re all storytellers, whether we realize it or not. So if your brand has a story – tell it – because embracing your brands story can seriously grow your audience.
