Expanding your knowledge by attending webinars or watching Ted talks can really inspire you to want to implement new strategies and techniques into your marketing plan. I recently came across an article by Nayomi Chibana on storytelling techniques as had been told by numerous TedTalk presenters over the years.
Nayomi addressed the importance of engaging with your audience, keeping them informed as well as entertaining them throughout your communications. It is important to not only have the goal of getting a message out to your audience, but to connect with them to gain a potential long-term loyal customer. Think about how your product or service can solve a problem and create a story around that – touch on your audiences’ emotive side and trigger a potential memory within them.
The techniques we are about to dive into can be used in any area of your business. From winning over that big client in your presentation pitch, connecting with your audience through a social media post or trying to sell a product or service to them.
1.
Immerse your audience in a story –Use imagery that supplements your story – rather than repeating what has already been said. Images help your audience to identify a clear picture in their minds, connecting to every word that is being said. Identify a problem that your audience may be facing and use this to your advantage to potentially win over new clients – If you offer security solutions, touch on words such as ‘keep your family safe’ with an image of kids playing in the background; this will trigger an emotion in the parents mind that may entice them to purchase your product.
2.
Tell a personal story – Once you have tested and tried organic reach, you may want to expand and help grow your business through boosting your social content or other types of page promotions. This simply means, taking your organic content and allocating a budget towards it (of your choice, but we do advise our clients), to ensure it reaches a broader more selective target audience who are interested in your product or service. If you don’t have a personal story to tell – don’t worry. Research a story that may relevant to your brand and use it to portray a powerful message. Think about Coca–Cola, they sell beverages but their brand messaging speaks to more than just enjoying your favourite drink – Their brand speaks towards a social purpose of happiness and sharing moments. Take a look at how this ad draws on the emotion many sports fans.
3.
Create a suspense –Build your story to keep your audience on the edge of their seats in anticipation for the next piece of information! This can be done when introducing a new product or service offering or creating a climax for the competition you’re about to announce. Instead of just introducing the product, share an interesting fact, statistic or a new feature to leave your audience in anticipation for the next release of information.
4.
Build up to a S.T.A.R moment –
A star moment is ‘Something they’ll always remember’. We understand this kind of element may not always be relevant to your content, but when introducing a new product for example, do it in a way that will keep your audiences remembering your brand for years to come. Be the brand that is brought up in conversation around a braai and create an impact! This can be done through dramatization, shocking statistics or imagery that will make an impact.
It is important to not only create content, but create mindful content – with a purpose. When reading through these techniques, did it sound like your brand? Or do you aspire for your brand to be like this? Create stories for your consumer and don’ t only push your product or service – because when you create stories you gain loyal lifelong customers, and when you sell your product or service you attract a short term, once off buy kind of customer.
Interested in creating valuable content for your brand? We’d love to help.
