Some of the best advice I’ve ever been given in relation to corporate writing was to tell a story. Stories pique interest and engender an emotional response in the reader that can have a lasting effect. Stories get people talking about your brand or organisation and build awareness by creating a ‘halo effect’ between the ideas and emotions in the story and your brand.
Inspire your audience
Stories can inspire your audience at a deeper level. Depending on your business objectives, you could use storytelling to inspire an individual to:
- Make a purchase (e.g. buy a life insurance policy, a new car, or a new ‘i’ gadget to wear on your wrist)
- Change a behaviour (e.g. give up smoking, drive slower, or get a heart check)
- Apply for a job at your organisation (e.g. recruiting new grads or attract experienced staff)
- Recommend your product
- Signup as a member (e.g. member-based organisations)
At a personal level, storytelling can also work for your professional success. Consider the following times when creating a strong story and audience connection would work:
- Job applications
- Award nominations
- Presentations
Storytelling tips
- Storytelling must be authentic to have value
- Include personalities that your audience ‘gets’
- Use human content, a personal perspective and a strong emotional component
- Combine words with images, sound and video through digital storytelling
- Honestly address issues
Research shows that authenticity will drive cut through and customer engagement, but what can we tell stories about?
Story ideas
- Loyal customers
- Interesting staff
- Inspiring members of the community
- Key influencers
Some great examples of storytelling to get you inspired
- The Show by Round Two – Round Two is a hugely successful startup vintage clothing store. ‘The Show’ is their YouTube reality series that shows employees and members of the vintage-loving community on their latest quest to find a must-have vintage item. As Round Two promote themselves, all participants are real people, no actors, or fancy business. You guessed it, this has a significant YouTube following, and strong brand ‘halo effect’ to boot.
- Game Plan A by Adidas – A digital content hub in the business, sport, lifestyle space, based largely on storytelling. Exceptional imagery and emotional content, linking the Adidas brand to powerful, innovative and inspiring stories.
- PwC Australia – The PwC Australia careers page includes blog articles telling the stories of a range of employees, beautifully supported by their Instagram feed of people having a great time working at PwC Australia.
- The Wedding Wire – A site covering all things wedding. The Wedding Wire tells the stories of real life weddings through photos on their ‘inspiration’ page, with a full listing of suppliers of course.
- PlayersVoice – A new online sports publication that tells the human stories behind sports stars, in long form and video. Through connecting with fans on a deeper level they have increased the ‘dwell’ time on a story to more than 5 minutes, compared to the average of less than 1 minute. In their own words, they are “a platform where everyone can feel an emotional and/or intellectual connection to ‘The Human Behind The Headline’.”
Tell your story today! If you need some help, let us know. We are experts at creating narrative that connects.