Connecting Emotionally: The Role of Storytelling in Content Marketing

You might be familiar with an amazing book by Donald Miller called “Building a StoryBrand.” In many ways building a business and marketing it involve storytelling. But how do you actually utilize storytelling in your content marketing to get results? At the end of the day, if you simply tell stories, you don’t have a business because well, people don’t pay you for it, right? 

The Power of Storytelling in Content Marketing

Content Marketing vs. Storytelling

See, the goal of content marketing is to build an emotional connection with the audience via content. You know the saying “People won’t remember what you said, they won’t remember what you did, but they will remember how you made them feel?” It’s true! 

Storytelling is a tool you can use to build this emotional connection with your audience. Storytelling helps people feel a certain way. And when they feel something, they remember you.  

And this is the power of storytelling in marketing. In today's fast-paced world, you want people to remember you and your brand. That’s the biggest benefit of storytelling in marketing, in my view. 

How to Use Storytelling in Marketing

The great thing is that you can include storytelling in every piece of content you create. All you need to do is use a simple story arc such as the beginning (setup), the middle (confrontation), and the end (resolution). 

Here are a few use cases on how to incorporate storytelling elements in marketing:

• Landing Page copy: Include your Ideal Customer’s transformation story to showcase the benefits of your product or service.
• About Page copy: Instead of sharing boring stats and dates, share your own story in a way that relates to your Ideal Customer’s story. 
• Blog post: Include a personal story or an anecdote to capture your audience’s attention. 
• Video: Share a personal experience that ties into the subject you’re teaching. You can also create a story of a process (show how you do something in your business), a mini-documentary about you or your business, or even video case studies sharing clips from the interviews with your Ideal Customers. 
• Webinar: Share your own story of hitting rock bottom and turning your life around. You can also share the success stories of your Ideal Customers. 
• Social content: Share personal experiences and how they led you to start your company. Share what shaped you into the person you are today. Share a peculiar story that happened to you last week. Share a story a client of yours told you recently. 

Remember that people buy from people they know, like, and trust, so sharing stories is the best way to connect with your audience and build relationships with them. 

Examples of Storytelling in Marketing

Here are a few storytelling examples in marketing. 

Example #1. Video: Hidden Gems for Learning Content Marketing 

In this video, I shared my story of learning content marketing. It’s 2019, I’m a recent career changer and have no idea what content marketing is. After trying to take many free online courses, I realize that most of them aren’t helpful (the confrontation). I sift through dozens of resources and find those “hidden gems.” Although, this is a helpful piece of content for someone who wants to learn content marketing, at its core – my story of going from knowing 0 to launching my own course. Also, it builds credibility and trust, because my audience realizes that I spent thousands of dollars and years on self-education. 

Storytelling in video marketing also includes visual storytelling elements such as b-roll, graphics, and animation. 

Example #2. Audio: Running the Business Marathon 

In this episode of the “Jonny & Hector Show” podcast, we’ve showcased the story of one of the co-founders of eLearning Partners who was diagnosed with asthma and turned out to be an ultrarunner. The story explores the similarities between running marathons and running a business. Although the topic isn’t about eLearning Partners’ primary offer (course creation), it creates the Halo effect (we believe that people who are good at one thing, are also good at other things). It also helps build the “know, like, and trust” factor. 

Storytelling in podcast marketing also includes audio storytelling elements such as music, sound effects, archival recordings, and so on. 

Example #3. Social Media Post: Escaping Retail

In this LinkedIn post, I’ve shared my story of leaving retail without another job lined up. At the time, I was promoting an ebook on career transition, so my story was deeply connected to my Ideal Customer’s aspiration.

Here you can see an example of tying in the story to a call to action. “After resolving the problem for myself, I decided to help others and created an ebook. If it’s of any interest, here’s how you can get it.”

Storytelling in Email Marketing

Storytelling in your email marketing campaigns is crucial to converting your audience. 

Ray Edwards, in his book “How to Write Copy That Sells” talks about his P.A.S.T.O.R. copywriting framework. P stands for Problem, A for amplifying (showing the consequences of not solving this problem). 

“S” stands for story, solution, and system. That’s when you share the story of how the problem can be solved. You can include your own story or real examples from your clients. 

The framework also includes Transformation and Testimony (T) which is also a story in a way. The best testimonials are the ones that tell you about the struggles of a person before they came across your product or service, and the transformation they experienced as a result of working with you. 

O stands for the offer, and R for response (Call-to-Action). 

As you can see, most of the winning copy is comprised of stories. That’s because emotional storytelling is key to marketing and selling anything. 

In addition to copywriting, you can use storytelling in your email marketing campaigns by structuring your campaign as a story (beginning, middle, and end). Here’s an example. 

Beginning: Send a survey letting your email list know that you’re working on a product solving a specific problem, and ask for suggestions from your audience. 

Middle: Share a series of emails outlining different struggles related to the problem. At the end, announce that you finally figured out the solution to the problem. 

End: Share a few emails with stories on how you’ve discovered a solution. A the end, announce the product launch and a clear call to action for your audience to get the product. 

Using storytelling in email marketing is a fail-proof way to sell to your audience without coming off as “pushy.” If they can relate to the stories – great; if not – try other stories to engage them. 

As you can see, storytelling is an amazing tool to emotionally connect with your audience and build “know, like and trust.”