Why do we tell stories? We tell stories to share concepts and ideas. We tell stories to make others laugh and we tell stories to become closer to people.
Storytelling is one of the most natural things in the world. It’s something even the youngest children master before they begin to speak. When it comes to storytelling for businesses, stories can help open up your company. They can help draw people in and win brand loyalty from customers.
We believe that every strong brand has an interesting story behind them. Have a look at our Brand Story Heroes ebook to read some of our favourites. Stories in business do not have to become confined to an account of your company’s history tacked onto the ‘about’ page of your website, they can be incorporated into every aspect of your communications strategy.
So why should 2019 be the year you tell great stories?
Personality
Well, first things first, a good story will help your brand’s personality shine. Often we have this notion of companies as cold and impersonal, faceless entities. But what about the people behind the company, the ethos and values they strive for?
Giving your customers a quick peek behind the facade will promote genuine interest and potential new business. People want to see what your company is really like. Make sure the personality you are putting out there isn’t that of your marketing or social media manager–it has to be that of your brand.
Lengthy material
Something is shifting in the media, this notion of clickbait and fake news is getting to people. Our attention spans may no longer be quite as expansive as they used to be but people are getting sick of empty content and are gradually gravitating back to longer-form material.
This means the time is ripe for you to flesh out your content with some quality storytelling. By writing or producing longer pieces for your website, blog and social media accounts you will encourage your customers to pay attention for longer and see the best bits of your company.
Not just text
In fact it’s easier than ever to begin sharing stories with others, they don’t have to come in the form of lengthy blog posts either. You could use infographics or videos either–two highly engaging forms of visual content that are all over the internet.
Arguably 2019 will be the year of the podcast though. If you think you have enough stories to produce a short weekly podcast why not consider it? You may think your area is too niche or uninteresting for a dedicated podcast, but that’s exactly what people are looking for.
Whether you work in fashion or oil spills, there are almost certainly stories in your field begging to be told. For example, here at All Good Tales we are obsessed with telling stories, our weekly podcast – Media Moments takes intriguing moments from the media over the years and tells the story of what happened and what that moment changed.
So what’s the take away? Today people are getting sick and tired of faceless corporations. We want to do business with companies who we understand, who have a conscience and at a base level who we like. By introducing stories into the everyday running of your business you will get the opportunity to display it’s humanity to the world.