Storytelling is one of the oldest tricks in the book for captivating an audience. But why is this tactic so effective?
Perhaps it's because the human brain is wired to remember stories. Over the years, storytelling has been one of the key ways that history has been passed down from generation to generation. You could even argue that storytelling is responsible for building a number of communities throughout history, such as religious groups, non-profit organizations, and political groups.
Perhaps it's because the human brain is wired to remember stories. Over the years, storytelling has been one of the key ways that history has been passed down from generation to generation. You could even argue that storytelling is responsible for building a number of communities throughout history, such as religious groups, non-profit organizations, and political groups.
As you can imagine, storytelling can be just as powerful when incorporated into a company's marketing strategy. Consumers want to get to know the people that stand behind your brand, what they are passionate about, and how they came to be a part of that brand in the first place.
Storytelling gives your brand a chance to be vulnerable with your audience and connect with people on an emotional level. Not only do people tend to remember stories, but they can also often relate to them, helping to deepen that connection between your brand and the consumer.
All too often, businesses struggle with trying to find a balance for how to promote their brands without giving a hard sell. Storytelling is a great solution for this. Instead of making business communication dull and bland with bullet points and sales pitches, you can engage your audience with an entertaining and informative story that's also relevant to your business. A good story will create a memorable experience, and many times you'll find that your audience asks for more.
One of my favorite stories to tell at New York Ave relates to the history of our building. Several years ago when our business was just starting out, our local coffee shop served as our temporary office space. Maybe you can relate to this, too. Anyway, we spent countless hours in this coffee shop between meetings and developing branding strategies, all the while dreaming of how well we could execute our business plan if we had real office space.
Eventually, we did end up landing some pretty great office space of our own over on West Indiana Avenue in DeLand, and there's something really unique about our building that ties into what our business is all about. Our office was actually the set of Disney's creative studio in the movie Walt Before Mickey! If you're not familiar with this movie, it depicts how Walt and his team told big stories with big ideas. Today, our team at New York Ave is using this office space for the very same purpose.
By telling this story, I'm able to provide our audience with a little background of our company's history. And, perhaps sharing some of the hardships we faced when starting a new business--such as having to work out of a coffee shop--can make our brand a little more relatable to our clients.
By sharing the parallels between how our office space was used in the movie Walt Before Mickey and how we use it, we're indirectly telling our audience that we're a creative marketing agency without having to go into a sales pitch about what we do.
Of course, we're not the only business that embraces storytelling. One brand that does this exceptionally well is Nike. Back in 1970, Nike made all of its executives become "Corporate Storytellers" to strengthen their corporate culture. These company leaders told a variety of stories ranging from "the Nike story" to tales of people getting things accomplished. Telling these compelling stories of innovation through the years has helped to connect Nike employees to the company's history and the work that they are performing today.
Nike uses storytelling for its external marketing efforts as well, putting the story of heroism front and center. The vast majority of Nike's advertising tells the tale of a hero that is up against a tremendous challenge. However, after a great struggle and against all odds, the hero emerges triumphant. This story is one that people from all around the globe can relate to and appreciate, therefore, cultivating a loyal fan base. Ending the story with Nike's famous tagline "just do it" ties in the brand perfectly to the story, leaving the audience feeling that Nike will make them invincible.
I don't think we could talk about the power of storytelling without mentioning Steve Jobs. Without a doubt, one of the reasons why Apple has been such a success is due to the way that Jobs inspired his employees with compelling stories. One of the more unique ways that he did this was by using ceremonies to help forward his agenda. For example, he held a mock funeral for Mac OS 9 when he wanted the company to forget about this operating system and move on to Mac OS X. At this mock funeral, he actually gave a eulogy for Mac OS 9, which made it very clear to developers that their time with this operating system was gone.
While you can see how effective storytelling can be, surprisingly, not enough brands are using stories to their advantage. If you can tell a good, authentic story, you'll be able to position selling your products or services as part of a conversation, not a presentation. People want to do business with a company that they can relate to and understand, and storytelling is one of your most powerful resources for showing your brand's values and commitment to excellence.
If you can effectively use storytelling to paint a picture of your brand and nurture relationships with your audience, the sky is the limit with the success that your business can experience.
Storytelling gives your brand a chance to be vulnerable with your audience and connect with people on an emotional level. Not only do people tend to remember stories, but they can also often relate to them, helping to deepen that connection between your brand and the consumer.
All too often, businesses struggle with trying to find a balance for how to promote their brands without giving a hard sell. Storytelling is a great solution for this. Instead of making business communication dull and bland with bullet points and sales pitches, you can engage your audience with an entertaining and informative story that's also relevant to your business. A good story will create a memorable experience, and many times you'll find that your audience asks for more.
One of my favorite stories to tell at New York Ave relates to the history of our building. Several years ago when our business was just starting out, our local coffee shop served as our temporary office space. Maybe you can relate to this, too. Anyway, we spent countless hours in this coffee shop between meetings and developing branding strategies, all the while dreaming of how well we could execute our business plan if we had real office space.
Eventually, we did end up landing some pretty great office space of our own over on West Indiana Avenue in DeLand, and there's something really unique about our building that ties into what our business is all about. Our office was actually the set of Disney's creative studio in the movie Walt Before Mickey! If you're not familiar with this movie, it depicts how Walt and his team told big stories with big ideas. Today, our team at New York Ave is using this office space for the very same purpose.
By telling this story, I'm able to provide our audience with a little background of our company's history. And, perhaps sharing some of the hardships we faced when starting a new business--such as having to work out of a coffee shop--can make our brand a little more relatable to our clients.
By sharing the parallels between how our office space was used in the movie Walt Before Mickey and how we use it, we're indirectly telling our audience that we're a creative marketing agency without having to go into a sales pitch about what we do.
Of course, we're not the only business that embraces storytelling. One brand that does this exceptionally well is Nike. Back in 1970, Nike made all of its executives become "Corporate Storytellers" to strengthen their corporate culture. These company leaders told a variety of stories ranging from "the Nike story" to tales of people getting things accomplished. Telling these compelling stories of innovation through the years has helped to connect Nike employees to the company's history and the work that they are performing today.
Nike uses storytelling for its external marketing efforts as well, putting the story of heroism front and center. The vast majority of Nike's advertising tells the tale of a hero that is up against a tremendous challenge. However, after a great struggle and against all odds, the hero emerges triumphant. This story is one that people from all around the globe can relate to and appreciate, therefore, cultivating a loyal fan base. Ending the story with Nike's famous tagline "just do it" ties in the brand perfectly to the story, leaving the audience feeling that Nike will make them invincible.
I don't think we could talk about the power of storytelling without mentioning Steve Jobs. Without a doubt, one of the reasons why Apple has been such a success is due to the way that Jobs inspired his employees with compelling stories. One of the more unique ways that he did this was by using ceremonies to help forward his agenda. For example, he held a mock funeral for Mac OS 9 when he wanted the company to forget about this operating system and move on to Mac OS X. At this mock funeral, he actually gave a eulogy for Mac OS 9, which made it very clear to developers that their time with this operating system was gone.
While you can see how effective storytelling can be, surprisingly, not enough brands are using stories to their advantage. If you can tell a good, authentic story, you'll be able to position selling your products or services as part of a conversation, not a presentation. People want to do business with a company that they can relate to and understand, and storytelling is one of your most powerful resources for showing your brand's values and commitment to excellence.
If you can effectively use storytelling to paint a picture of your brand and nurture relationships with your audience, the sky is the limit with the success that your business can experience.