Great storytelling in marketing, like all great storytelling, is about show, don’t tell. Instead of a piece of content, whether it’s a video or text, that simply tells the features of your product or service, use a story to show how a customer achieves success with your offer.
When we get absorbed in a story, our neurological and chemical processes increase fivefold. As we imagine sensations and emotions, our motor cortexes as well as our emotional and visual image processing centres get activated. Whereas when we’re processing straight facts, only the language processing and comprehension parts of our brains are activated.
As such, it’s estimated that messages delivered as stories can be up to twenty-two times more memorable than just the facts.
So, how can you leverage great storytelling in marketing?
The Hero’s Journey
In fiction, the “hero’s journey†describes the path a character takes to get from zero to hero. A character may start with nothing but, through a series of trials and adventures, grows to become successful. Joseph Campbell popularized the term in his famous book The Hero With a Thousand Faces.
Many authors and filmmakers have since used the concept, like George Lucas for Star Wars.
A quick summary:
(Spoiler alert from anyone who somehow still hasn’t seen the first Star Wars movie.)
Luke starts as a farm boy on the desert planet. He wants to fight the evil Empire, but he’s far away from the action and has no idea where to start. Then he meets Obi-Wan Kenobi, who teaches him how to be a Jedi and introduces him to a larger universe. Using what he learned from Obi-Wan, Luke defeats the Empire and becomes a hero.
Applying the Hero’s Journey to Storytelling in Marketing
But how is Luke Skywalker relevant to something like B2B SaaS marketing, for example? Well, you’d be surprised.
Like Luke, your customer is frustrated. They have a goal they need to accomplish but don’t know how to get there. That’s where you come in. You are Obi-Wan Kenobi. You will give the customer the tools they need to defeat their Darth Vader. Then they will become a hero.
Using the same story structure, you can tell this story to your customer. Put them in the role of Luke Skywalker. By telling them a story, they will envision themselves along this hero’s journey. As a result, this story will be more memorable than a recitation of facts, and the customer will begin to form an emotional bond with your offering.
Let Us Tell Your Story
If you’re looking for great storytelling in marketing, you’ve come to the right place. Pulsion uses data-driven methods to understand your buyer persona, so we can deliver the right message to the right person. We are the Jedi Masters of content creation.
To learn more about how we can help you, call 1-866-554-1465 or visit our website.