Once upon a time..

We all know those four words from the fairytales our parents used to tell us before we went to sleep. Fairytales seem simplistic, but the morals of these stories are in fact of great value to the quality of our lives. Also marketers make use of fairytales, but here it is called storytelling. Storytelling is a very powerful technique in marketing. Indeed, is it proven that storytelling doubles the buyer intention!

Now, what does storytelling have to do with social media? Storytelling fits perfectly in your social media strategy. We all practice social media in order to represent ourselves in a certain way. We don’t do this by means of facts, but by telling stories. Stories that express a value, passion or thought are much more likely to be shared on social media than unsalted facts.  But how exactly do we tell an excellent story? Consider the tips below, and become a master storyteller!

1. Feeling over facts 

Facts tell, stories sell. Statistics used to have a lot of impact. They still do, but because of the overload of information we’re facing every day, the consumer is paralyzed when it comes to statistics. The feeling, on the other hand, is getting more and more important. Indeed: branding is based on ‘the feeling.’

Think about your childhood, which stories do you remember best? Do you remember your parents telling you about the fact that Santa gives away over 100 million presents every year? I don’t think so. What you do remember is the tooth fairy visiting you at night , or the many times you discovered the presents lying under the Christmas tree. Maybe statistics aren’t that powerful after all..

With branding, it’s no different. The sentimental value of stories makes them a very powerful tool to use. We still remember a lot of stories our parents used to tell us. Wouldn’t we want our customers to remember our brand as well?

2. Appeal to the emotions of the prospect

In order to create effective storytelling material, you could use visual or auditory elements. Sharing commercials on social media for example are a great way to promote your brand. Take a look at the following examples:

Nissan LEAF

Nissan somehow combines its electric car with melting ice caps and a sad looking polar bear. Some environmentalists hate this commercial, but I sincerely think it’s very clever. Of course, electric cars aren’t ‘the’ answer on the global warming problem. Though, I think the video tries to point out that Nissan’s new car is a step in the right direction. And let’s face it: the story of an adorable polar bear is kind of touching..

Bacardi Mojito

This commercial shows a guy who’s walking through several halls. Every time the young man passes a hall, he goes back in time. The last hall represents the year 1862, the year Mojito’s story started.  This is a very smart way to tell about your brand’s history.

Nespresso

‘What else?’  is a slogan no one will ever forget. Nespresso loves to do commercial story-telling. Basically, each commercial tells the same story, namely the story of George trying to avoid  John Malkowich (who is playing God). Unfortunately for George he never succeeds…

Commercials as showed above are very powerful and absolutely worth the investment. Thanks to social media like Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin, interesting content WILL be shared. The only thing you need to do is publish interesting storytelling content, the rest is just pretty much a coast downhill.

3. Happy endings are important

The Titanic, The Gladiator, Slumdog Millionaire… Legendary movies, but why? We all want to be happy. Since a lot of characters are dying in these movies, why would we be happy after seeing them? The truth is that although the plots are quite touching, all of these stories have a happy ending. So people feel satisfied after all. You’re free to use touching elements in your story (think about the Nissan polar bear), as long as you make use of a happy ending (the polar bear and the man hugging at the end of the commercial). Happy endings make people feel happy. And after all, that’s what we want our brand to accomplish, don’t we?

The highlights of excellent storytelling:

• Facts tell, stories sell
• Appeal to the prospect’s emotions by using visual or auditory elements
• Inspirational stories will be shared: social media are perfect to spread the message
• Use a happy ending

What’s your storytelling secret?