Unleash the Power of Storytelling: Win Hearts, Change Minds, Get Results

storytelling, Unleash the Power of Storytelling: Win Hearts, Change Minds, Get Results

You must be wondering what is Storytelling? Many people mistaken that storytelling is only for children. Is that true?

The answer is NO.

Storytelling is the process of using fact and narrative to communicate something to your audiences. Some stories are factual, and some are embellished or improvised in order to better explain the core message. With that being said, storytelling is for everyone and every business.

So, what is business storytelling then? How can storytelling help in businesses? Storytelling sounds like content marketing where it reaches audiences and prompting them to do something. Business storytelling is a distinct content discipline that leverages well-crafted narratives in a diverse range of content types, while content marketing is much broader and speaks to the collective efforts that companies use to communicate with their audiences in informative and engaging ways.

Why is storytelling important in business?

Storytelling conveys purpose and businesses with purpose are noticed and win the loyalty of consumers. So, it’s not enough to have a product or service that solves a problem – your company needs to stand out.

Here are some benefits that you will achieve when equipping with business storytelling:

  • Business Development

When you come up with an idea for your business there will be a story behind it – whether it’s to do with developing a new product or growing your business. Tell this story and provide the context so your customers and stakeholders understand why your service or product is worth buying/investing in.

Using storytelling in this way helps the audience to connect with you so they trust you, the human, and therefore they trust the brand.

  • Competitive Advantage

There is so much information that consumers are exposed to so it’s easy for a business to be lost in the noise. A business may be selling something that is better than its competitors, but decision-making is more emotional than logical so telling a story can help distinguish your company from competitors.

  • Marketing and Advertising

Storytelling can form a powerful marketing strategy. People want to connect with brands and businesses and the best adverts being relatable, or evoking emotions. Ensure that you keep this story consistent across all mediums e.g. adverts, social medical, your website, your employees etc. You want your audience to understand your vision and a consistent brand story will do this.

  • Increases employee efficiency and engagement

Employees are the heart of the business; they are the company’s best asset and a business only succeeds when its employees do. You can cultivate the right culture at work by using storytelling. This goes beyond sharing a successful vision, instead share stories about the company’s history, its struggles, its values, aims etc. Share what’s important with your employees and explain what this means for them. This will give them something to believe in and consequently they will believe in the company and their motivation to work will increase.

  • Emotionally connect people and create loyalty

The best stories evoke emotional reactions – people genuinely relate and connect with these stories and they believe in the company and what it stands for. When people listen to a story, they feel what the protagonist of the story is feeling so a good way of using a story to connect with an audience is to tell a story about a mistake you/the company made, a failure or maybe life wasn’t going well for you or the company in the past.

People will relate to this as we have all experienced mistakes and failures. The more the audience relates to you or understands what went into creating the brand, the more likely they will like you and your company.

Sources:

The importance of storytelling in business, with examples

The Ultimate Guide to Storytelling