The digital world is filled with different channels sales professionals can capitalize on, and one of these is storyselling.
To reach audiences, increase brand loyalty, and boost sales, brands can use:
While each channel has its own best practices, there’s one thing every sales professional should remember: a great sales strategy starts with a great story. As such, marketing and sales professionals should add storyselling to their existing strategies to enhance their brand’s position—and increase sales.
What is storyselling?
Storyselling is when you combine storytelling with sales to sell your target audience a story and, ultimately, your product. That story draws your audience to your product or service and creates an emotional connection to it.
That connection is key. According to Psychology Today, advertising research shows that a customer’s emotional response to an advertisement has a greater influence on their intent to buy than the content of the ad. When you storysell, you evoke emotion from your audience and connect with them on a more personal level. That connection, as a result, can influence them to buy from you.
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What are the key elements of storyselling?
Storyselling has numerous elements that overlap with good storytelling. Those elements include:
- Showing authenticity
- Being engaging
- Showing value
- Evoking emotion
- Having a great ending
Now, let’s go over what exactly each element means for storytelling.
1. Showing authenticity
Showing authenticity means you’re being transparent with your audience. Authenticity is important in storyselling because it helps you build trust with your audience. Statistics show that, in one behavior study of 2,000 consumers, 94% of respondents said they were likely to be loyal to a brand that’s completely transparent. The more your target audience feels they can trust your product or service, the more likely they are to buy.
2. Being engaging
Storyselling is subtle for your product or service, so a key element to capitalize on is being engaging from beginning to end. An engaging story has:
- A hero
- A conflict that hero overcomes
- A satisfying conclusion for the hero
Paint the hero as someone the target audience relates to. When it comes to the conflict, think of a problem your target audience faces—and how your product or service solves it. In the conclusion, think of how your product or service helps resolve the conflict.
3. Showing value
One of the biggest elements of storyselling is showing value to your audience. The story draws them in, but the value you show is what makes an impression. Show your audience what you do to make their lives easier or more elevated.
The biggest way to show value is to paint your product or service as the thing that helps the hero get a satisfying ending. That way, the audience, who will identify with the hero, will see how your product or service will ultimately help them.
4. Evoking emotion
Evoking emotion is a key element of storyselling because it’s what makes your audience connect with your product or service on a deeper level. So, why is that so important?
We live in a world where consumers are bombarded with advertisements. Statistics show that most Americans are exposed to around 4,000 to 10,000 ads daily. How do you make your brand stand out from the rest? You appeal to your audience’s emotions and let them know you not only understand them, but also share their values.
How can you evoke emotion while storyselling in marketing? Think of:
- The images you use—Are you trying to evoke feelings of nostalgia, or elevation? Use images that help convey those feelings.
- The music you select—The right sounds can evoke strong emotions. Use audio to your advantage and select music that makes people feel something.
- The words you use—The right words will strike the right chords with the right people. Focus on the words you use while storyselling and really consider if the message you’re crafting is packing an emotional punch.
5. Having a great ending
When storyselling, it’s important to have an ending that’s inspiring—and shows the benefits of using your product or service. Think about the ending you want your target audience to have when interacting with your brand; do they feel elevated, relieved, inspired, or all of the above? Once you narrow down that feeling, craft an ending to your story that makes your target audience feel it.
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Why is storyselling important in sales?
Storyselling is important in sales because, when done right, it influences your target audience to buy your product or service. Research shows that emotion tends to drive sales, and storyselling is all about connecting with your audience on an emotional level.
It’s also important because storyselling builds trust with your audience. Storyselling is your chance to show your product or service’s value. The better you prove its value, the more likely your audience is to trust you. Statistics show that only 3 percent of buyers trust reps—so they need to trust your product or service instead.
How do you sell a story in marketing?
When it comes to selling a story in marketing, these strategies are key for success:
- Get the audience’s attention
- Create an experience for the audience
- Include a strong call-to-action
- Promote across your channels
Let’s discuss each strategy and why it’s important for selling a story in marketing.
1. Get the audience’s attention
A key strategy to keep in mind when selling a story in marketing is to get the audience’s attention from the very beginning. Start with a powerful opening image, message, or sound to hook them from the start. Make sure it’s relevant to the story you’re telling, though, so it’s not misleading for the audience.
2. Create an experience for the audience
Once you get the audience’s attention, take them through an experience. This is your chance to show them how your product or service makes them feel, or what they will experience themselves when using it. Take them on a journey that delights, entertains, piques their curiosity, and makes them come back for more.
3. Include a strong call-to-action
Once you create an experience for your audience, end it with a strong call-to-action. This call-to-action should be direct and help provide a satisfying conclusion for your audience. Having a strong call-to-action at the end serves both you and the audience; you get to ask them to act when they’ve established a connection with your brand, and they get to access more of your product or service.
4. Promote across your channels
Once you have your core storyselling strategy, use your channels to promote it. These channels include:
- Content Marketing (web content such as blog posts, articles, etc.)
- Social media
There’s a lot of potential on social media, in particular, for storyselling. A great visual social media platform to take advantage of for storyselling is Instagram. The latest data shows that 31 percent of Instagram’s global audiences are between 25 and 34 years old, and two-thirds of Instagram audiences are 34 years old and younger. If your target audience falls into this age range, there’s plenty of opportunities to reach them on Instagram.
Some key storyselling rules to remember for Instagram are:
- Have engaging visuals—Instagram is a visual platform, and there’s a lot of competition. Create stunning, on-brand visuals that draw the audience to your brand story.
- Utilize the right hashtags for your posts—Using the right hashtags will help get your content seen by the right people at the right time.
- Use Instagram stories to your advantage—Instagram stories are great opportunities to capitalize on storyselling. Create captivating stories that take the Instagram audience on a journey that leaves them wanting more.
Key storyselling takeaways: tips to keep in mind
Remember, storyselling is about combining storytelling and sales to create an emotional connection with your audience. While you’re executing your storyselling strategy, keep the following in mind:
1. Focus on the audience’s pain points
Don’t make storyselling brand-centered. Instead, focus on the audience’s pain points and how your product or services solves it, or how it provides value to their lives. What are you bringing to the table that they’re currently missing?
2. Make your message matter
Your audience’s attention is valuable, so when you get it, it’s important to get right to the point. Don’t beat around the bush or fill your story with fluff; keep it engaging and give it a good pace.
3. Look at the data
Track how your storyselling efforts are performing by looking at engagement data (social media likes, landing page conversions, etc.) If it’s not meeting your marketing and sales goals, look at your process and see where you can make adjustments.
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Need help with storyselling?
When done right, storyselling can boost brand loyalty, increase your sales, and benefit your bottom line. If you aren’t sure where to begin, don’t worry—we’re here for you. Contact Mediaboom today to discuss how we can help take your storyselling strategy to the next level.
