The Skill Every Marketer Needs to Master in 2017: Storytelling

I was on my way to the airport last weekend when something caught my attention. It was an ad for Facebook Live on the side of the bus stop shelter.  Being the social media nerd that I am, I snapped a picture before hopping in my Uber. When I arrived at the airport terminal, there was another gigantic Facebook Live ad. You guys, the ads are everywhere!

Why do you think they are making such advertising push outside of their platform? I have to believe, the only reason is this is the new user behavior they prefer. For a long time, Facebook has been forecasting that video is the way of the future and now they are insisting that we comply.

So what does that mean for marketers? First, we’ve learned that Facebook does tend to reward good {read: preferred} behavior…at least in the beginning. So as a business if you are going live, I can bet you’re going to rank higher, and a larger chunk of your audience will see you.

Second, and far more important, we all need to learn the art of storytelling. Because let’s be honest, it’s not just Facebook that is pushing live video. Instagram is now hosting live video both in short and long form. And the video has always been Snapchat’s preferred MO.

Why Storytelling?

Storytelling Helps You Convey Personality

If you happened to catch what Wendy’s did on Twitter this past week, then you will see how much customers do care about your personality. Also a huge kudos to Wendy’s for allowing their social media team, including Amy Brown {@arb} to actually demonstrate some sass and personality! If you missed it, check out this quick video.

Stories Are the Quickest Way to the Heart

You are going to get far more people on board and buying your service if you can access their emotions. Hearing a story about someone who shares their same struggles and found success is far more compelling than facts and figures.

Storytelling Creates Long-Term Loyalty

As Rachel Gillett wrote in Fast Company, “when we read a story, not only do the language parts of our brains light up, but any other part of the brain that we would use if we were actually experiencing what we’re reading about becomes activated as well.”
Pulling the customer into the experience via a story is how you create a genuine connection between your prospective customers and your brand. Once you have that connection {AKA trust} the client’s loyalty is soon to follow.
So now we know why we should be storytelling. The next question is, how do you become a better storyteller? Good question! We’ll be breaking this down and exploring this over the next couple of weeks.

Know any person or brand who is knocking the storytelling game out of the park? Please shoot me a message and let me know!