Storytelling vs. Effective Storytelling

Storytelling – what is it?

Let us look at a basic definition to kick off this deep dive on the difference between Storytelling vs. Effective Storytelling.

Storytelling describes the social and cultural activity of sharing stories, sometimes with improvisation, theatrics or embellishment. Every culture has its own stories or narratives, which are shared as a means of entertainment, education, cultural preservation or instilling moral values.
Wikipedia

Storytelling – why should we use it in digital marketing?

“Storytelling is an important tool for gaining perspective about real-world customer experience – not just use cases. When organizations are in tune with customers’ needs, they can meet those needs more effectively”

Source: Sirius Decisions, Inc.

Now we have established what Storytelling is and why we should use it in digital marketing. Let’s go on to look at how we can define how we can make it effective and how.

Effective Storytelling

Effective Storytelling is when we create consistent, authentic and relevant content that interests the target audience.

So let us break this statement down:

Consistent – We become veterans of Storytelling when we can show that we can repeat success over and over. Experiment and discover the key factors for long term success.
Authentic – Try to be trustful and truthful but always relevant.
Activate the target audience – To be effective you have to show value in the results. This means we have to show results when we activate our most important audiences. A scatter gun selection audiences is not good enough.

Storytelling is exciting. It is used in films, books, adverts etc. In digital marketing we are not trying to please everyone. We are deploying campaigns towards carefully selected target audiences. Only then can the storytelling be effective in business terms.

Start with your digital strategy and channel architecture.

Start with your digital strategy and channel architecture

Is the digital strategy current? – Update it if needed. Create a chapter or a sub-document for the social media strategy.
Up to date list of the target audiences? – Align any updates with the related teams like brand, communications, marketing etc.
Confirmed preferred channels? – Some target audiences only exist on particular channels.
Are all our social accounts aligned? – Now we have a clear understanding of what the strategy is and who the target audience is. We can move to the next stage. Look at the existing accounts and channels. Do the accounts you have service the right channels and audiences? If not CLOSE THEM. Concentrate your efforts on accounts that actually have the best results. The results that mean something to your business. I had to arrange a clean up project myself and it is not an easy task but has to be done.

Is it easy to find people to write “effective” stories?

My answer is no it is not. Do not assume that your veteran marketers or even the bright young new starters can write story-lines never mind effective ones.

I have experienced many failed attempts from agencies and internal staff. Here are my top four worst assumptions about what Storytelling is:

Existing campaign = Storyline
Existing campaign + common hashtag = Storyline
New campaign from internal perspective = Storyline from the external perspective
Product features = Storyline from the external perspective

In my experience there is no magic wand to solve this. Some writers get it, many do not. Find one that does. As an alternative find someone who has some of the skills and nurture them.

How can you find insights? Desk research, talking to your target audiences, using engagement tools to get first party data, and social listening is another good option.

When you try Storytelling campaigns with the wrong content creators you will not break the mould of “same old, same old” content. A few likes here and a few clicks there. Break the mould. Aim higher!!

BREAK THE MOULD!!

The Seven Deadly Sins of Storytelling

It is an old article but still my number 1 post on the topic of Storytelling. Therefore I suggest to give it a read. Don’t miss out on the insights it has. The seven deadly sins of Storytelling.

Telling, not showing.
Too much jargon.
Too impersonal – People connect with other people.
Starting from the beginning – Resist the urge to begin at the beginning.
Lack of conflict – Screw-ups also present opportunities to shine
Fabrication – Your story needs to be authentic.
Proprietary – Stories only by communications about the corporate story?

You will find there are many moments when your target audience is perfectly placed for #Storytelling .. Find that moment and use it. Share on X

When NOT to deploy Storytelling?

In a high level crisis. Stop your normal marketing and deploy your crisis protocol.
Do not do Storytelling when dealing with angry customers. Respond quickly and deal with the issue in a calm methodical way.

Featuring Sofia Marakis

You will find there are many moments when your target audience is perfectly placed. They will be ready to engage with your story. Find that moment and use it.

You will find there are many moments when your target audience is perfectly placed and ready to engage with your story. Find that moment and use it - Storytelling vs. Effective Storytelling

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Clive Roach

Social media marketing expert with +15 years’ experience. Creates and deploys strategy, social listening, tactical planning, analytics, campaign calendar management, all while achieving revenue opportunities and cost savings.

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