What is storytelling and how to apply it to sell more?

What is storytelling?

You've probably heard about storytelling here, storytelling there... but do you know exactly what it is? Well, before we get into the subject, let's start by translating and defining it: it is a narrative, a way of communicating by telling stories and connecting emotionally with our customers, thus generating with them the relationship of trust and loyalty that all brands seek.

So far so good, right? Let's know now more keys to know how to do storytelling and sell more, pay attention! 

What do you need to get started in storytelling?

In its original form, storytelling involves creating a story in order to strike an emotional chord in the listener. Think of it as putting together a imaginary movie with one or two main characters, other interesting secondary characters, a central theme that runs through everything, a conflict or problem to solve, an idea that repeats like a refrain and a development that leads from one point to another.

But beware, a story that really works must have these qualities that make it powerful, compelling and engaging:

1. Engage and entertain.
2. Connect with everyone, no matter who they are.
3. Easy to understand.
4. Make you feel something real.
5. Provide credibility at all times.
6. Be organized and make sense.
7. Provide something practical or valuable.
8. Inspire in some way.
9. Include everyone, so that no one is left out.

Steps for storytelling

Have something to tell

Define, specify and establish what you want to tell your audience. Without an idea, there is no story and bye-bye storytelling... c'est fini!

Who are you targeting?

Knowing which target audience and buyer persona we want to reach with our storytelling is essential! We need to know their tastes, interests and concerns, only then we can offer them content that reaches them as we really expect.

Ask yourself… what do you want to achieve? 

Ask yourself... what do you want to achieve?

Every action involves pursuing certain objectives. So, when we start to develop this storytelling strategy, we should mark those we want to achieve. It is clear that selling more will be one of the main objectives, however, we must mark others that will benefit us in the medium-long term such as: impact on our users, capture the attention of potential customers, improve the brand image, among others.

Try to ensure that your objectives always follow the SMART formula: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound.

Select your key messages

Leverage the strengths of your business to create persuasive messages. For example, if your company stands out in the market for being the best value for money, craft a message that highlights precisely this strength and is, at the same time, eye-catching to attract the attention of your customers.

In this sense, the ideal would be to choose three key messages that identify the main strengths of the business and include them in a single sentence. This way, your audience will better associate your brand and may encourage them to choose it.

Choose the channels

Working on how to do storytelling and not defining through which channels we are going to distribute it and make it reach our audience, is like doing nothing, really. So, our efforts should also focus on identifying the most appropriate channels for our story to flow ;)

Storytelling… everywhere!

If you want to add even more value to your brand, why not make it a real storytelling? By this we mean that it would be interesting that the naming, logo, corporate identity, slogan, website... have something to tell. Storytelling should not be something specific that remains in an action, but should be part of a whole and permeate what represents your brand.

Now, taking this to the marketing field, a very interesting question arises and it is worth answering for your business: what are the main benefits?

Benefits of storytelling in marketing

1. Forge strong bonds. Create deeper connections with your customers, establishing bonds that last
2. Humanize your brand. Infuse a human element into your content and your company's image.
3. Build trust. Generate trust more easily, since stories awaken authenticity and empathy.
4. Join fragments of content. Brings together scattered pieces of content into a coherent and engaging narrative.
5. Share values and vision. Convey your company's mission and values in a pleasant and engaging way.
6. Increase persuasive power. A solid narrative makes your company more persuasive and differentiable compared to the competition.
7. Build loyalty. Use stories to cultivate customer loyalty, keeping them engaged and connected.

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Apply storytelling in your company

If you're really interested in learning how to create storytelling that works for your company, the first thing you need to understand is the big difference between traditional storytelling and the marketing storytelling you need to master to boost your sales.

Now, here's the kicker: in the marketing world, it's not just about coming up with a creative story, it's about knowing how to sell that story. Your stories don't just have to entertain, they have to help you sell your products!

The trick is to weave a narrative with two essential ingredients: emotion and practicality. For example, Airbnb has made brand storytelling embrace the message of belonging, equality and acceptance with its "Until We All Belong" video.

In short, if you want to master the art of storytelling in the marketing world, remember to create empathy with consumers to make them feel part of the same vision. The rest is up to your creativity!