Great stories stick around.
We buy into the stories we're in.
Storytelling (the activity of writing, telling, or reading stories) is relevant to everyone: you, your family, friends and colleagues—day and night. There is a story behind everything we see and touch, from the shoes we wear to the toothpaste we use. Once we’re exposed to it, it’s only a matter of time before we decide if we’re for it or against it. They take us elsewhere, help us recall information, and also stir up emotions. The best stories get repeated.
Through repetition, stories develop relationships, trust is earned, and authority is built. Think about your favourite movie … You return to it each time because you are united with the idea (the story). Once you can unite a story with an emotion, it will always hold up over time. But this doesn’t only happen in movies. Remembering a story makes us part of something bigger than who we are, and at the heart of our culture is the belief in status.
Stories = Repetition = Status
We’re told stories to keep us engaged and form connections and reminders.Your favourite brands do this daily. For them, storytelling is business. It helps them:
Builds new customer relationships
Keeps current customers engaged.
The connection they are after begins when you first engage with their content, product, or service. From there, their job is to work hard to stay in your mind. The famous agency owner David Ogilvy explained it well:
“If you want your voice to be heard above this ear-splitting barrage, your voice must be unique.”
So, what does this mean for all of us and our stories? Knowing that you’re likely to be seen by someone new each single time should be all the insight you need to strengthen you brand and story.
Storytelling is marketing. Storytelling is selling.
The people that know you and the people that are yet to know you have one thing in common. They'll one way or another be affected by how you supposedly answer the phone, messages, design your packaging, website and more. It is all a way of keeping your story alive. Building on that connection piece has never been more important. For others to know and feel a positive attraction to your brand, you might need to do things that don’t scale. You can’t measure most of it. You might not even notice it. But it still matters. Because what matters most is staying in the minds of our prospective clients.
“In a crowded marketplace, fitting in is failing. In a busy marketplace, not standing out is the same as being invisible.”
If you want to take away one thing from my blog today, it's this —Tell your story.
Stories are the key to making something stick.