What is storytelling?
Storytelling in the context of marketing is the art of telling a story about a product, service or brand in such a way as to create a bond between the viewer and the subject of the story. That’s why in the commercials we see on TV or the Internet, we don’t just learn about how medicine X cures the symptoms of a sore throat. Instead, we learn the story of a man who, because of a persistent ailment, was unable to give an important speech. In the course of the commercial, the patient takes the right medicine, so he is able to deal with his problem and everything ends happily.
Such a representation of a product has a specific purpose: to show the problem and present the solution, which is, of course, the advertised product. There are, of course, various approaches to storytelling in advertisements. They can be concrete, but also abstract, humorous and kept in a serious tone. It all depends, as usual, on what is being advertised.
Storytelling is most fully presented in the form of video, but that doesn’t mean that with another medium we can’t tell a story. Both audio ads (used at least in stationary stores, for example, in supermarkets, or on the radio) and written ads can tell diverse stories.
Advantages of digital storytelling
Compared to television, radio press or outdoor ads, storytelling in the online space has several additional advantages.
Multiplicity of channels to reach with advertising
Ecommerce brands can tell the same story in multiple ways, combining blog articles, YouTube videos, short videos on TikTok or Instagram photo galleries.
The story can then be continued – for example, on a dedicated sales landing page or product card. This creates a consistent and credible message that can reach different groups of customers (who use different sources of communication with the brand) in a tailored way.
Feedback
This is one of the most essential elements that differentiate traditional advertising from online advertising. By giving customers a platform to speak about your brand or the products you offer (just a comments section or the ability to leave feedback in an online store) you get to know their thoughts and find out what they pay particular attention to. Careful analysis of what consumers say will allow you to create stories in the future that are even more relevant to your audience’s tastes and relate to their experiences.
What’s more, you can base subsequent storytelling approaches directly on content shared by users of your products or loyal brand customers. This is a great example of using content created by your audience.
Data and analytics
When you advertise online, you can quickly and relatively easily verify whether the story you want to tell in promoting your product or brand is meeting with positive reactions. Thanks to tools such as Google Analytics or Brand24, you can act in an instant if the ads you run do not meet your audience’s expectations.
Advertising on the Internet also allows you to damage control as quickly as possible when something goes very wrong. With traditional media promotion, your hands are firmly tied – it’s not so easy to retract a TV ad or make adjustments to a radio spot.
Storytelling in e-commerce – benefits first, features later
While this principle can be applied to many advertising techniques, in storytelling it is particularly relevant. When you want to tell the story of a new range of products you sell in your online store, it is impossible not to mention the improved elements relative to the previous generation of products (if any). However, this is not the clou of advertising.
What matters most to users is what they will be able to achieve with these products. The important thing is that the e-book reader allows you to take hundreds of extraordinary adventures with you anywhere. Slightly less important is that it weighs 389 grams. A lightweight travel backpack allows you to fulfill your travel dreams and explore beautiful places – the number of pockets and a waterproof cover are also important, but these items will be needed later.
This doesn’t mean, of course, that describing product features should be abandoned altogether – more insightful customers should be given the opportunity to learn about them in detail. Storytelling, however, is largely about evoking specific emotions and consumer interest in the product, rather than presenting detailed tables filled with data.
The purpose of storytelling in sales
The goal seems obvious – to increase revenue. But before this can happen, effective storytelling should capture the customer’s attention. This is especially important in the era of social media and ads that “attack” users at every turn. In a flood of similar content, storytelling becomes an effective way to grab the attention of the viewer. Story quality is a separate issue. A well-written story will not only hold readers or viewers to the end, but will also create a sense that they themselves can become characters in a similar story.
The effects of narrative marketing
What can actually be expected from the implementation of storytelling?
Greater coverage
A well-written story is something people like to share. The number of shares of content on social media is one of the most important indicators of the effectiveness of a given advertisement. Also of great importance is the algorithm, which must first “pitch” the content to the right number of people. Hence the importance of creating storytelling ads in accordance with the standards of a given platform.
Realistic ties with customers
Creating credible and consistent stories as part of brand promotion will make it easier for your customers to establish a simple but positive relationship with your store. Storytelling can be implemented, for example, in email communication with consumers. Instead of a laconic message that a package is on its way, a story about a courier making his way through traffic first thing in the morning in order to get the product into the hands of a happy buyer faster may be better.
Also part of storytelling are the annotations attached to packages, in which the store tells which employee completed and packed the order. This shows a human face and is part of building the image of a company with a family atmosphere and concern for each customer.
A great example of this is InPost, which in its app in a light and familiar tone informs about the next steps that a package goes through on its way to the recipient.
More sales and higher sales value
The greater the reach and more interactions, the – necessarily – more sales. By reaching a sizable audience, you have a better chance of closing more deals, in turn, by taking the time to build a relationship with users, you affect their loyalty, and therefore the value of sales in the long run.
How and where to use storytelling?
Writing a good story to help sell and then telling it skillfully is not easy. Equally important, however, is the circumstances under which you choose to share it. Just as a joke thrown at a funeral is not always a good idea, storytelling will not work everywhere.
What is worth keeping in mind?
The stories you regale your customers with should:
- Be consistent – this way you will gain credibility and develop an unmistakable and recognizable style.
- Interact with emotions – in storytelling, data and parameters are left behind. What matters is to show what positive emotions can be associated with the use of the advertised product.
- Encourage action – at the end of the story – whether it’s a product description, video or billboard – show what can be done to make it a reality. Ensure a compelling CTA. It doesn’t always have to be an “Add to Cart” button. You can also use this way to ask people to leave feedback or share important information.
Start from the home page
Why is this one of the best places for storytelling? Because it’s mainly where people who are already interested in shopping at your store end up, and therefore show at least an initial commitment. After all, in order to get here, they had to search for either the name of your store or a specific product on offer. Remember, however – when trying to outline a story, not to distract customers from shopping.
You can start the story with a slogan that will be displayed at the very top of the site. It can provide a good starting point. Another option is a background video – one that won’t focus on selling, but just on telling a story. Do you run a sports store? You can present a story about pushing boundaries and climbing peaks. Do you sell craft supplies? Show how easy it is to create something beautiful from them. Remember – customers should feel that they can become the heroes of these stories themselves!
A subpage about the company
A place where you can write particularly strongly about your brand’s mission is the “About Us” subpage. Its undoubted advantage is that only those who are sincerely interested in this issue will find it, while the disadvantage is that, as a rule, there is little traffic on this type of subpage.
Product descriptions and product pages
There may be a story associated with each product. Ensure that product descriptions are not taken alive from a random description generator (although you can, of course, help AI when creating them). The key is to have the right idea and tailor the message to your audience.
Here are some examples.
- A bicycle is not just a means of transportation, but an opportunity to take care of your health and fitness, explore new paths or have adventures.
- The electric guitar will allow a young music student to feel like Jimi Hendrix.
- A mechanical keyboard will make working on it more enjoyable, rest your joints, and an evening game with a pack of friends will provide a new experience.
Important!
Remember the problem-product-solution scheme. Presenting a troublesome situation from which you manage to recover by using a particular product is a simple but effective way to demonstrate the advantages of the advertised items.
What story you decide to tell is up to you and your customers’ expectations.
Mailing campaigns
Every email you send to your store’s customers is a unique opportunity to tell a story that will make them come back and shop right with you. A free delivery day? A promotion on one of your product categories? New products on offer? Any of these events can provide a great basis for an engaging, even if short, story.
Summary
We all like stories, but not all the same. When creating stories about your brand and products, you must remember that they should be authentic and believable (sometimes even true stories can be unbelievable). Don’t promise impossible things (sneakers won’t make a customer a world champion in 100m running), but show possibilities.
Also note that customers increasingly value authenticity – if you promote a healthy lifestyle in March and fast food in April, attentive and loyal customers will experience a dissonance that could prove fatal. If you believe in what you’re telling stories about, you won’t have such a problem.
Finally, when creating stories, have in the back of your mind their audience – your customer. The person who will learn about the story and want to participate in it. For this purpose, you will certainly find it useful to have a detailed outlined customer persona, which we already mentioned in the article about Facebook advertising.
