The value of a good story for your customers: storytelling

do you know Storytelling? Storytelling is not about telling "tales", but about telling stories - as its name suggests. It is the art of telling a story to connect with the emotions of the audience. The customer has to feel identified. The brain always remembers better those contents that touch the emotional fibre.

When you tell a story, you are building a story that has as protagonists not only your figure, but also that of others. We recommend that you leave the traditional to go into the current and be able to generate an emotional bond that connects you with customers and so you can "capture" them. In the marketing strategy that you carry out it is very important that you take into account the Storytelling to be able to sell your product.

A good story incites to action and attracts the attention of your audience

A good story is one that makes you connect emotionally with it, one that touches your heart, your head, your body and even your spirit, that is, one that touches both the rational and the emotional. As the American writer, poet and activist Maya Angelou said: "People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel".

Good stories have a direct effect on consumers' brains. They function as a generator of experiences and emotions, as well as a hormone releaser. A study by the University of California at Berkeley shows that stories that focus on characters, their problems and overcoming them, cause the brain of the listener to secrete "oxytocin", better known as the love hormone. However, good stories not only help the brain to secrete oxytocin, but also trigger the release of "dopamine".

The power of Storytelling: one of the keys to differentiation

how can you capture customers for your business? With nothing less than the power of storytelling. As American storytellers Lucinda Elodin and Dennis Frederick say: "Personal stories celebrate what is unique in each of us and simultaneously build bridges to what is common in all of us".

In the field of Online Marketing, the importance of Storytelling lies in the visual. You have to harness the power of images and video to convey or spread a message. This way you will connect with your future customers, engage them to attract them to your business and sell them your products or services.

Sounds great, doesn't it?

what kind of Storytelling are you going to create?

There are different types of Storytelling. Some examples are:

• Real consumer situations: its purpose is to make you see yourself reflected in situations that the protagonists of the story live while they consume the brand's product. An example? The Hojaldre Casa Tarradellas advertisement where the father meets his daughter's boyfriend. Unfortunately, it is not always possible for stories to reflect absolute reality.
• Fiction: the story we tell is not about real events, but we rely on invented characters or situations, usually only to convey our message. An example is the commercial for the 2018 Christmas Lottery: 22 again.
• Based on brand values: it is key to ensure that the protagonists of the story embody the values of the brand you are promoting. The aim is for your customer to relate it to the personality of the protagonists who appear. An example: the Nike Running ad - Find your greatness.
• Historical: brand that reviews its own history to connect with customers and their feelings. It uses nostalgia, emotion, joy, surprise. An example is Estrella Galicia spot 2015: Familia Gemmati and Familia Rivera.

what can you use Storytelling for in your business?

• To create a brand: making your company a brand requires showing the human value behind it, i.e. your feelings, the dreams you want to fulfil, what motivates you to keep working.
• To sell: you have to use other customers as an example to demonstrate the benefits of being part of your company, as well as the opportunity to talk about the characteristics of the products and services you sell.
• To generate community: you have to achieve both a connection with your customers, so that they have the feeling of being close to you; and a connection between them, so that they build a user group and can help each other by sharing experiences or sharing what they have in common.
• To build a team: no more being on your own, you have to know how to play as a team for the good of the person and the business. With stories you can get your team involved, they can feel motivated to perform their tasks and understand where the business is at and where it wants to go.
• To get to know your customers better: a good way to do this is by engaging with stories - customers are more encouraged to share their experiences with you and you can learn more about them, not just how much they spend or their buying habits.

what do you need to create a Storytelling?

Storytelling is not a monopoly only for large corporations such as Dunkin' Donuts or Disney, but any business can use these communication techniques to sell their products or services. However, you will always do it through a very subtle story. If you finally decide to develop a Storytelling you need to take into account two aspects:

1. Clearly define the values that motivate you to do what you do.
2. Define the purpose you want to achieve with each story you tell.