The human being is made up of stories. Experiences that mark us and influence our way of being. Stories that make other people an essential part of our lives and, therefore, are easier to remember. This is what storyselling clings to, the art of telling stories that sell.
“Studies show that our brain is not designed to understand logic or retain facts for long. It is created to connect, understand and retain stories that embark us on a different journey that results in persuasion and sometimes inaction,” explains Jennifer Aaker, professor of marketing at the Stanford School of Business. Therefore, storytelling has become essential for some brands since it awakens users’ emotions such as empathy, happiness, and grief. And thanks to these emotions, the connection between the sender and receiver of the message becomes closer.
What is Storyselling?
Storyselling is a writing or content creation technique whose main objective is to tell a story to attract the audience and present the advantages of using ‘X products or services in a narrated way. The main aim is to develop a story that the user falls in love with, relates it to your brand, and encourages conversion.
As a video is worth a thousand words, in the Mad Men series, there is a scene in which the protagonist presents a proposal to the Kodak company, and it is clear how he uses storySelling to convince managers.
Advantages of applying Storyselling
The connection between the sender and receiver of the message through storytelling has some advantages for the brands that apply it:
- It encourages the building of a relationship of trust with customers.
- It helps to capture the attention of potential customers more quickly.
- Encourage the consumer to buy, to take action.
- It was creating a context around the data that makes it even more important. And we do not say it, but this Forbes article highlights that a piece of information is 22 times more likely to be remembered if it is presented wrapped in a good story.
Selling out the Storyselling
There are some elements or messages that must appear yes or yes in the storytelling that you devise. Like, for example, identifying a problem that a customer has. Later, around that problem, you have to find a solution, and thanks to the story you tell, the customer must realize that your product or service can solve that problem.
Steps to take to Create a good Story
Good storySelling should tell a story that positively affects the person who listens to it, who will never forget it. In addition, it must include four essential elements, similar to all the stories that are told: Characters, Context, conflict, and solution.
Characters
The consumer or the customer must be the hero or the protagonist of the story we tell. If the client sees that it is part of the plot, they will connect more easily with the story, and it will be easier for them to remember it. But what about the villain or antagonist that appears in all the stories? It is a daily problem that must be solved with the acquisition of ‘x’ products or services.
Context
Here, the importance lies in work carried out to know each client’s specific circumstances. Therefore, it is essential to understand its context to introduce it in our storytelling. If actual examples or data support this story, it will gain potential and help to capture consumer interest better.
The final objective is to find out the emotions that we must awaken in the audience or consumer type so that they end up converting.
Identify a conflict that will need to be resolved
A story is not attractive if there is no conflict or problem to solve. The best storytelling is when the solution to the customer’s problem is provided by the product or service that you want to sell.
Therefore, to create a conflict, it is necessary to do good contextual work with the potential client to know their problems and make a story that solves those problems.
The outcome and final solution
How many stories do you know that don’t have an ending? None, right. Well, the end of this story should revolve around the benefits and solutions offered by the brand’s products and services. In addition, that solution that we have presented at the end of the story should give even more value to the brand, making it clear that the primary person responsible for the customer having solved their problem and being happy is the product that we have promoted in history.
There is more and more competition, and it costs more to capture our potential customers’ attention. That is why storySelling is a fundamental technique to build relationships of trust with the audience and see the benefits of a brand.