Marketing Is Storytelling

Wondering why your crappy website, ad or Facebook page isn’t working?

The thing is, nobody is interested in you, or what you have to offer. Features? Boring. Discounts? Desperate. Benefits? Meh.

So, what the hell does work?

Stories…

Watch this three-minute video to see a superb example of what I mean. (If you don’t understand Hindi then just hit the Caption button to see what they’re saying in your language)

This story from Google India has struck a chord all around the Web. Watch it. Experience it. And you’ll see why.

I know. It’s Google. No matter. The story carries us away on a wave of emotion. The fact that a technology company with so much baggage can do this shows just how powerful this approach can be.

So, what’s happening here?

I think there are four factors at play: story, emotion, connection & outcome

Story

We’re hard-wired to ‘get’ stories. I started reading stories to my kids when they were 12 months old. They come home from school, they tell stories. You meet-up with friends, you tell stories. We all love stories.

The better the story & the better you tell it, the more we’ll respond to it – and to you.

Emotion

The more emotion you spark with your story the more it will resonate. The more it will be remembered. And, the more it will be shared.

Connection

The better storyteller you are then the more of a bond you make with the recipient. The greater the bond, the more liked and trusted you will become. And of course trust leads to success in business as in life.

Outcome

If you’re selling a commodity and you do it efficiently then all that people care about is price. If so then good luck.

The rest of us need to be using stories to gain attention and build trust. But the trick is to conjure up an outcome that your ideal audience wants and weave that into your stories.

Note: We’re not talking about the outcome you want. Nobody else cares about that. The outcome that matters is the outcome your ideal audience want.

What stories are you telling? How well are you telling them? Who are you telling them to? And, how are they responding?

Worth a try if you’re not getting anywhere by shouting ‘come buy my stuff’ at them. Don’t you think?