A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, there was an agency. Not just any agency, this agency was a Giant in its field. It was so Giant it could see further, reach further, and stride faster than any other. The prophecy stated that this agency would bring balance to their clients digital marketing. Here is a how this agency tries to excite, engage and delight its customers through storytelling in SEO content.
Right, enough of that as I can’t keep that up for a whole article! In honour of National Storytelling Week, I wanted to write a piece on how content marketing is like storytelling. So here goes…
“Products are people, brands are friends.”
I love this quote. It is a quote our Chairman of SGM Tim Arnold uses frequently and is one of the best I have heard around branding and marketing. Let’s explore the quote in a bit more detail:
Each of us has friends (hopefully!), and they are friends with you not just because they are great at a particular task, but because we have shared experiences with them. Good experiences, bad experiences, scary experiences, and all of them authentic. Each experience gives us shared stories, ones that we can look back on and reminisce or laugh at together.
People on the other hand are just people. The word itself almost feels one step removed and less personal when you say it. Do you want customers to view you as a friend or “people”? I know how I would like our customers or potential customer to view us as friends.
When it comes to marketing, we have to build these shared stories and experiences with our customers. The best way to do this is through storytelling. Some examples of how this takes shape in the digital world are:
- Video Content
This allows you to talk to people directly and show personality of your business, service or product offering.
- Blogs
These too are great… (I hope you like this one…) Hopefully this article carries a bit of personality with it, maybe you and I could be mates one day?
- Social Media
This has really been the catalyst for this allowing businesses and brands to talk directly and listen to customers. You can have a two-way conversation with your customers. Each interaction should add to the story you are creating with them.
What I love about how branding has changed with digital is that: it isn’t just a one-way conversation. Customers are part of the conversation, and the real skill these days it to create a framework for your brand and let your customers fill that framework with their own stories.
That’s it from me, I hope that was of use and I conveyed the importance of storytelling to build brands. Hopefully you and your customers will live happily ever after…