Storytelling is about using stories to connect with your audience and send a message in an engaging way. An organization can take advantage of this phenomena and use storytelling at the benefit of their communication purposes. How to do so? We share with you the main things you should take into account when implementing storytelling.
Have a clear message
The first step is related to the essence of your story: the message. The message stems from what you want to convey and, in the case of corporate storytelling, it can be anything from founder stories, the overcoming of challenges of a specific employee, the origin of a product, a brand transformation — the possibilities are limitless, but need to be clear. This will give purpose and direction to your story.
In December 2021, the home renting company Airbnb launched a video campaign following the story of three unusual-looking guests. Leaving looks aside, they were a family enjoying their morning coffee, playing games and having a movie night, prompting the message of the story: “strangers aren’t that strange”. The narrative of the story hence followed the idea that we are more similar than what we think and that welcoming people to your home is secure.
Find your hook
If a story lacks a source of intrigue the audience will not be drawn to it. Trouble is needed in order to create engagement towards a story, they are the key ingredients to make the audience involved, because it is the overcoming of this trouble that gets the audience hooked up. This also applies to prompting a sudden change or presenting incomplete information, all with the aim to seek attention.
In this case, Visit Dubai does a good job of sparking curiosity with their August 2021 campaign “Dubai: A Romance to Remember”. In a short video featuring Zac Efron and Jessica Alba, the audience is pulled in when both main characters arrive in the Middle Eastern city with accidentally exchanged luggage. This problem will lead them to follow each other’s itinerary and, eventually, fall in love.
Select your preferred medium
Storytelling uses stories that can become alive by way of different mediums. In this sense, there is a world of different mechanisms to use storytelling. Some of these include videos, podcasts, imagery, written words or animations. Choosing one or another will change the way your story is perceived, making this an important decision.
Going the unconventional way, the newspaper The Guardian published in 2014 an online interactive platform to shine light on the problems the Internet was rising, under the name of “The seven digital deadly sins”. The platform combines video and audio stories with written narratives, all in a space that is free for the user to navigate and interact with. For them, the combination of mediums allowed for a better user-experience and freedom to learn from the audience’s preferred issues.
In the right hands, storytelling can make the difference for your organization by connecting with your audience. At Midas we are experts in implementing storytelling that will help your brand succeed. Visit www.midas-pr.com or get in touch with us via email to start standing out.