The Power of Storytelling

Stories hold the power to shape our imagination and transport us to a whole new world with each new sentence. As humans, we are hardwired for a good story. Whether it’s getting lost in a magical fairy tale or reading through a nail-biting true event, getting captivated by a well-written narrative is what humanises us. Effective storytelling holds so much power due to our biological predisposition towards a good story, it has the ability to keep us completely hooked and wanting to find out what happens next.  It is absolutely no surprise then that storytelling is a very powerful and useful tool in the online content marketing world. It can be quite challenging trying to sell a service or product online, that’s where attaching a memorable and authentic story to it can make all the difference. Standing out from the crowd has never been more important with several competitors and companies umbrellaed within the same industry.  Why is Telling a Story So Important? One of the best ways to really stand out from your competitors is by telling your very own unique brand story. This is what prevents you from blending in with other businesses and companies in the same field as you, and it really gives room to establish an emotional connection with your consumers.  Creating an emotional connection isn’t just a nice added benefit to have; it’s vital to your brand. Storytelling, in fact, is so deep-rooted in us as humans that the emotional side of our brain is a lot more mature and advanced than the logical side of our brain (shocking as that may sound). There are actually several studies out there that have proven we make the majority of our decisions (that includes purchasing ones) with the emotional side of our brain, and later justify the decision with the logical side some time after.  You may think it makes complete logical sense for consumers to purchase your product or service, but you may end up with lackluster results by only appealing to that side of a customer’s mind. It is far more effective to wrap a well told story around whatever you are selling and really appeal to the emotional side instead.  Creating that all Important Human Touch  Now you may be sat there thinking this is all wonderful and great to discuss, but practically speaking, how can effective storytelling be implemented? Well, as we have previously mentioned, it is vital to begin by focusing on the human aspect of your business. The most effective way to do this is by concentrating on why your brand exists, before going on to explain how you created this particular product or service, to then go on to reveal what it is that you are selling.  The Golden Circle, a marketing tool coined by digital guru Simon Sinek, is a fantastic way to visualise this in practical terms. As you can see below, the why is at the centre of the circle, as it should be in the centre of your storytelling too. You can learn more about The Golden Circle in Simon’s book ‘Start With Why‘.  What so many companies fail to do these days is focus on their why. They have forgotten to explain why they created their business in the first place, or why they function in the way they do, neglecting the strong connection between brand and consumer. / Simply explaining and focusing on the why of your business gives the opportunity for a more personal narrative that the reader can relate to on a deeper emotional level. It also creates a more natural and inviting path towards pulling the reader into how you will solve their problems, and with what product or service.