Maximize the Story to the Fullest
By Abby Slater | December 17, 2019
In order for storytelling to be most valuable for an organization it must accomplish the third step: to resonate with the audience. What separates a satisfactory usage of storytelling from an exceptional usage of storytelling is the storyteller’s ability to unify their message with the identity of their audience to create a single, relatable story. When a story has the ability to be owned by the members of the audience, it has reached its full potential to not only inspire action, but to inspire dedicated action.
An article by Giedrė Kronberga, outlines “5 ways to make your brand irresistible”. Out of the 5 given, the most important tips to help companies resonate with their audience include:
Make your customers part of your brand story
Create a brand story that builds community
Showcase the human side of your brand
Keynote speaker and executive coach, Anthony McCarley, uses storytelling and now shares his own story to motivate people and organizations across the globe. McCarley’s story unifies a message of overcoming failure to finding success with the identity of his audience. His message enables people to see past what they thought they were capable of and inspire a commitment to achievement.
Catering your message to the audience enhances the chances of building a lasting relationship with consumers. A strong relationship between a company and consumers results in brand loyalty, creates free word-of-mouth marketing, and boosts company reputation.
Storytelling remains one of the most vital skills that every successful leader should pursue, yet very few utilize this tool to the fullest. There are 3 ways in which any organization or individual can benefit from the use of storytelling: to raise awareness, to persuade, and to resonate. Most companies have achieved the first two steps, but often fall short when it comes to the final, and most important step.
Melinda Partin, an expert consultant, and CEO says, “At its very core, marketing is storytelling. The best advertising campaigns take us on an emotional journey–appealing to our wants, needs, and desires–while at the same time telling us about a product or service. A brand’s story comes from the company’s own information, and if successful, it is accepted and integrated into the consumer’s story. You must understand how your brand emotionally resonates with customers and then position your message in the right place to tell the right story at just the right time”.
The first two steps that spur from the use of storytelling is to raise awareness and to persuade. Many organizations have talented marketing teams that create excellent campaigns to draw the audience in and result in the selling of their product, service, or idea. Yet this is just the bare minimum.