How To Engage Your Audience Through Storytelling

People love stories. We've been writing them for about 5,500 years. However, modern humans evolved around 200,000 years ago and started telling stories well before writing existed. Narration is the way our brains work. It's part of what makes us, well, humans.

Storytelling is one of the most effective skills a person or brand can have to inspire others. With shorter attention spans, brands must craft compelling narratives to engage audiences.

With storytelling, you can express how your offerings are used, how and why you came up with them, your mission, and more. Everything you want people to know about your company can be part of the story.

Stories can help build the narrative of your business and services. Video content, specifically, has exploded as a storytelling medium. Platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram enable brands to tell engaging visual stories.

No matter your size, you want to develop a brand story around your company, not just offer well-priced widgets. Brand stories need to connect to a larger purpose and reflect real values to avoid sounding like hollow marketing speak.

If you position your story right, almost any organization can have a brand story to tell. Describe what made you start your company, and demonstrate how customers feel about using your service with examples. Interactive storytelling approaches like augmented reality can help audiences step into your brand narrative.

Show Don't Tell

To attract people to your product or service, you must provide context. If they arrive at your website and don't see high-quality images, attention to design, or a clear call to action, they're unlikely to stay. 

Without anything to keep them engaged, visitors quickly lose interest. Remember, your website is not a research paper.

Take the competitive advantage that your business provides and show it to your customers in a way they can relate to. Remember, storytelling isn't just words on a webpage. It encompasses the whole website experience.

Don't simply sell your product. Sell the idea of what your service means to your customers and how it will improve their lives. Data can be used to quantify your brand story's impact.

Keep It Simple

People respond well to a brief, straightforward message because they can relate to it in their own way. It makes the story their own.

The classic “Just Do It” is often cited as an example. Each person identifies with "it" differently, but it impacts everyone.

Create a simple message that works across multiple social accounts, with specific CTAs (calls to action) and associated hashtags. Build your communication and imagery around the message clearly for people so that they can identify with and share it.

Mean What You Say And Say What You Mean

Whatever tactic you take, remember that your brand story has to be real. Don't just make it up from thin air and expect people to go for it. Your customers, clients, and prospects won't buy it.

Use what's true about your brand and your business. Your brand story has to be honest. You can't simply invent something out of thin air. Those you're trying to sell to, from customers and prospects to investors and clients, will see if it's untrue.

Test and optimize different storytelling approaches to see what works best for your target audience. Be willing to iterate and improve over time as you learn more about what's getting you the results you're after.

People don't buy from just anyone. They buy from places where they feel a connection. Your story should reflect something honest about your brand, which, in turn, should reflect something that's inherently true about your product or service.

Final Thoughts

It's a crowded market, and it's getting even more so. Companies are realizing that they need to improve their digital game to attract more discerning customers.

Great brand storytelling remains true to its core principles. However, new technologies and platforms provide innovative ways to capture customers. Use these storytelling developments to create compelling narratives that achieve business goals.

Brand storytelling is part of that endeavor and critical to your success online.

FAQs

Q: Why is storytelling powerful for brands?

A: Stories resonate with how our brains work. Compelling narratives better engage audiences, especially amid short attention spans.

Q: How can stories help build a brand?

A: They allow brands to express their mission, values, product usage, origin story, and more to shape their narrative.

Q: What platforms work well for visual brand storytelling?

A: Video platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram that allow creative and interactive video content.

Q: How can brands avoid hollow or disingenuous stories?

A: By grounding narratives in real values and purpose rather than platitudes. Authenticity is key.

Q: What are some storytelling approaches for brands?

A: Explaining origins, product usage examples, customer testimonials, and interactive content like AR.

Q: Why connect branding stories to a larger purpose?

A: It helps build an inspirational narrative that resonates, versus just pushing products.

Q: How can almost any company build a brand story?

A: Highlight your founding, customer experiences, and values to shape an engaging narrative around even simple products.