Every business aims to create a meaningful connection with the customer and build stronger relationships that drive better business results. In the retail sector, this is done through stories such as “my wife showed me,” “I made up my mind based on,” and “the husband took me to buy it.”
These are all anecdotes used to capture emotional responses out of customers and help them make better decisions. This is precisely how brand storytelling can be used to build stronger relationships with customers.
While telling stories, a common thread is found – the listener becomes immersed in the story, a sense of trust and belief develops between the listener and teller. This results in increased business success.
The brand stories are not just a gimmick – they work because they connect the customer’s emotions with his/her business habits. In some cases, a simple story can build a powerful communication platform for business success.
To get the maximum impact, you need to ensure that the story connects emotionally with your audience. That’s why in this article, we will show you how to create compelling stories that resonate with your target audience.
What is a Storytelling Framework?
A storytelling framework is a navigational framework that helps you tell stories, connect emotionally with your audience, develop trust and ultimately achieve business success.
The framework is built to make it easier for the teller to use stories and build strong bonds of trust with his/her audience.
The value of these frameworks is determined by human nature, the rules of storytelling, and which audience you wish your story to be told to.
A story framework that resonates with your target audience will lead them to expect interesting stories, become curious about what stories you will tell next, and learn more about the storyteller.
Fundamentally, storytelling is all about getting the audience to identify with your brand and understand it better; and this happens by forming an emotional connection with your listener. If the framework you use does not resonate with your target audience, it will not connect with them in a meaningful way.
Since the framework is filled with principles that you can use in your stories to increase emotional connection, it is easier to use. However, it is important that the framework you choose fits your brand and causes resonance in your target audience as these principles are universal and widely accepted by people of all backgrounds.
Why is it Important to Inspire Your Audience With Stories?
Stories are an effective way of engaging, entertaining and educating your target audience. For example, the story of how you became a successful business owner can inspire your target audience that they too can be leaders in their own industries.
Further, stories have a way of connecting with both the young and old, while they also provide an opportunity to share experience, knowledge, and life lessons as well as a way to teach.
So whether you are looking to engage your target audience in social media, online marketing, email marketing and viral campaigns, or for other purposes that require stories, you need a framework that helps you create compelling stories and connect with them emotionally.
What Are The Benefits of Storytelling in Your Business?
Following are some of the storytelling tips in your business that you should know:
Storytelling creates a bond with your audience.
The best way to build a bond with your audience is through storytelling. It is the best way to give them a reason to know and trust you; this will ultimately make them more likely to buy from you and make a purchase of your product or service.
Just like there is a need for information, we need to make people feel something. If you want them to buy your product or service, you have to give them the emotional drive they need to make a purchase. It will create an emotional connection between the brand and your target audience.
Storytelling helps to create trust.
Many businesses have seen their brand image on social media platforms such as LinkedIn and Instagram grow tremendously because of the good publicity they can get from brand ambassadors like celebrities and creative advertising individuals.
Using the power of stories, these businesses can naturally replicate these influential personalities that create great content for them.
Do you want to build a compelling storytelling framework that resonates with your target audience?
Storytelling helps to create brand awareness.
Similar to the point above, businesses can create exposure and increase the amount of traffic they get on their pages through the power of storytelling. By using videos or images that contain memorable and can be used on many different platforms, businesses can spread their business across different online channels like Facebook, Google, YouTube, etc.
Storytelling helps to create high conversion rates.
Many businesses have experienced significant spikes in the number of conversions they have experienced because they are using storytelling in their marketing campaigns. By creating an emotional connection with your audience, you will achieve more conversions than you would without storytelling.
Helps to create a memorable experience for your target audience.
Storytelling is the best way to create a memorable experience for your audience. Many businesses have used storytelling in their marketing campaigns, and even if they have not, they have seen success through content that is created.
It is important to make your customers feel like they are part of the story you are trying to tell; this will help your customers remember you and the brand for a long time.
Makes it easier to take action.
When people visit a business’ website, they want to know what the business has to offer quickly. It is easier to make a purchase decision if the website is clear and narrative-driven.
In other words, it makes it easy for the person browsing your product or service to know what they want and make it an easy decision to buy.
How to Create a Compelling Storytelling Framework That resonates With Your Target Audience?
Now that the concept of storytelling has been released, you can now go ahead and create a story that can capture your audience’s attention in one way or another. But before that, make sure the basic elements of a story and basic questions that come with it are answered. This will help you create a story that your target audience can easily engage with.
Find storytelling inspiration.
The first step in creating a compelling storytelling framework will be to go out and look for inspiration in the form of the stories that people around you have told.
One of the examples that you can use is your favourite piece of advertising that you have seen on TV. If you can take a look at the marketing idea that was provided and how it was executed, it will help you tremendously in writing a story that can be equally as good.
Use a framework for content ideation.
When you have the story idea you have created, it is time to start combining it with a framework. To find the framework that will help you develop the story you need, go search for it on the Internet.
One of the places to find this type of information is on YouTube. All people interested in marketing tend to love YouTube, where they get exposed to the most creative advertising ideas used by different brands all over the world.
Now is the time to create a compelling storytelling framework that resonates with your target audience.
Understand your target audience.
Once you have identified the framework you will use, it is time to start identifying who your target audience is. To do this, you should first describe the majority of the characteristics of your target audience.
For instance, if you are a business looking to influence multi-millionaires with a high level of education and intelligence, you will need to narrow down on what they look like.
In other words, if they are individuals who have an average income but are more interested in cars than fashion, then their descriptions will be different from those individuals who prefer travelling over fashion but earn an average income.
Develop the story.
After you have identified your target audience, it is now time to come up with the best stories that will appeal to them.
Here are some examples of stories that you can use to evoke an emotional response in your target market:
- Bring yourself into the story: If you are a business that has been around for many years and has been known for high-quality products, then use this type of concept.
You can bring yourself into the story by describing how the products were made and supported people through the years.
- Share a personal experience: If your business is an online company, it may be appropriate for a customer service representative to personalize their message by sharing something personal about themselves to remind customers why they need their product or why they should buy from them again in the future.
- Explain what makes your company different: Many companies out there have the same products or services as you, but only a few companies can make their customers understand why they have chosen to use your company rather than another one.
- Show the small details: To create an emotional bond with your target market, you might want to show them how their lives will change after they buy your product or service.
For example, you can show them how quickly the product will save them money and how fast it will be delivered and help them realize how much of a difference it will make in your customer’s life.
- Use an analogy: Consider using an analogy that has been used before by other people who were able to influence buying decisions for similar products or services because this type of concept will create a strong sense of familiarity and trust between you and your potential customers.
After following the above steps, you should write a great story that will influence your customers to choose your company again in the future and eventually skyrocket your sales & growth.
The story cycle system assists in this process by teaching you how to frame a story and tell it so that the customer feels aligned with what the story is about.
Promote the story.
After you have written your story, it is now time to get your target market to see it instead of a blank screen. This can be done by using some techniques such as:
Use video & social media posts to promote the story: After you have written your story, you should consider posting it on social media websites so that your potential customers can see it and become familiar with it. You should also consider sharing short videos or animated graphics to promote your story because most people are more likely to watch a video than read a paragraph of text.
Send users coupons, bonuses, or discounts: Suppose you are part of an online business that helps people save money or earn money for themselves. In that case, sending coupons or bonus codes for promotional purposes will be a great way to get people interested in the story that you wrote.
Give something for free: This is like a promotional offer that gives your customers something for free, and it will allow them to learn more about what your company has to offer so they can decide whether or not they want to buy from you again in the future.
Create an affiliate program: This is like creating an affiliate program for your company that allows people to sign up for it and then earn commission by referring their friends, family or co-workers who are interested in buying from you again in the future.
Final Words on Creating a Compelling Storytelling Framework
The most important part of a compelling story is how it informs and persuades your customers or potential customers. If you have followed the above steps carefully, you should write a great story that will persuade people to choose your company again in the future. This means that you will increase your company’s clientele and, consequently, increase its revenue and profit.
Finally, remember that everyone has a unique way of focusing on their story. Therefore, you need to find out what works so that your customers or potential customers can focus on the story, not you.
So, get started on your story and let the writing process be an enjoyable and rewarding experience for you and your customers or potential customers.
Growth Hackers is an award-winning digital marketing and growth hacking agency helping businesses from all over the world grow. There is no fluff with Growth Hackers. We help entrepreneurs and business owners create compelling storytelling framework for their business, generating qualified leads, optimizing their conversion rate gathering and analyzing data analytics, acquiring and retaining users and increasing sales. We go further than brand awareness and exposure. We make sure that the strategies we implement move the needle so your business grow, strive and succeed. If you too want your business to reach new heights, contact Growth Hackers today so we can discuss about your brand and create a custom growth plan for you. You’re just one click away to skyrocket your business.
