How Storytelling Can Boost Your Digital Marketing Efforts

Digital Marketing is all about connections – Connecting with your audience through relevant content that they will find valuable. 

So why is the best way to connect with someone always through a story?

It’s because stories make things more relatable, more humanized for potential customers,  especially these days when social interactions are so limited due to the challenges the world is facing.

That’s why it is one of the best marketing tactics for connecting with customers right now.

Marketers spend a lot of time thinking about how we can grab somebody’s attention but this is not the way to think about digital marketing, especially now.

Instead, focus on how you can earn your prospect’s trust and build credibility around your brand. 

When customers are thinking about what solutions you have, show them you understand and empathize with their problems. 

The best digital stories that are told today are the ones which include everyone. If you can incorporate your customers, clients, or employees in the tale that is being created, then your response levels will generally be more positive. Storytelling gives you an opportunity to provide evidence of your expertise in a variety of ways.

Show, don’t tell

Telling does not have the same effect as actually showing someone why your brand is valuable.

Visual storytelling is an important method for educating, entertaining, informing, and making your audience want to come back for more. It brings life to your ideas, your brand values and what your products or services stand for. It lets you show, not just tell.

Show customers how you feel about something. Think about how you’re telling the story – the words and the voice you’re using to tell your story. Will your words resonate with that audience? If not, find a content writer who can research your target audience to determine how to best reach them using words, pictures and most importantly, video. 

This means you must spend time and money to develop the relevant text, audio, and video content which will drive your point home for your online and social media audience. You also must continually produce new content to stay relevant in the minds of those who will likely want to see more about your brand before they decide to actually visit your website and do business with you. 

Many content marketers are taking digital storytelling to a new level by turning to YouTube, LinkedIn Live, Facebook Live, and other networks for real-time  discussions. Combining streaming with storytelling can help build your brand and connect on a deeper level with your audience than a static ad or social media post. It is also a proven tool that can support your sales processes and grow your revenue. 

Consider showcasing your customers and the employees who work at your company if at all possible. Testimonial videos are very powerful motivators to get prospects to learn about your business, why you exist and what makes you credible and trustworthy. 

Ditch the sales pitch

Use digital marketing and video to create empathy and a human touch, but make it about them, not you. 

The heavy-handed pitch for your products and services will be readily apparent when storytelling. Few want to hear the story of why your product or service is great – they want to hear how your product or service will solve their problem.

Focus on these three storytelling benefits to boost your digital marketing efforts:

1. Use stories as a way to build trust

Whether you are using digital storytelling skills as a way to build trust with prospects or existing customers, it provides you with an build credibility. Prospects see a good story as a way to connect instead of having your products pushed onto them in a “salesy” manner. Digital storytelling offers a chance to open a conversation with someone where you can communicate concerns, share insights, and eventually, gain their trust.

2. Digital Storytelling to improve your search engine rankings

Google has consistently placed relevant, valuable content ahead of other attributes when deciding which websites should rank the highest for any given search. When you design your content around the principles of digital storytelling, you naturally create the relevant keywords in your text. You’re creating something that your visitors will want to read or watch because it is engaging and interesting. This increased engagement will help you to build higher conversion rates on your site, leading to increased sales.

3. Digital storytelling helps you reach the correct audience

Even people who have an aversion to marketing messages will listen to your story if it holds value for them. Many companies that use digital storytelling find that the quality and quantity of their leads rises when they use a strategy that involves telling a story.

Providing upfront value without the prerequisite of brand loyalty is increasingly the new norm of digital storytelling. While your values and mission are important to the story, you want to build trust and create fans — even if they aren’t purchasing your services or product immediately

In conclusion, digital stories help you build a narrative and a connection that is valuable and meaningful to your audience. 

Use storytelling to show what makes your business, product or service a whole lot more accessible to people.