The Importance of Storytelling in Marketing

Did you know that Google now processes over 40,000 search queries a second—which means over 3.5 billion searches per day worldwide?  Did you know that in 2012, 5.3 trillion impressions for online ads were served to internet browsers? This has just increased in the last 6 years in huge leaps and bounds.

While marketing used to be pretty straightforward when it came to buying ads for TV, newspapers, and magazines to get you and your business in front of the public, the internet changed everything.

The internet has connected billions of people living on the planet in remarkable ways, but it has also added more and more noise to people’s everyday lives. With this information overload, 79% of people scan the web and don’t bother to read all of the info they see. In fact, 3 in 10 ads don’t ever even get seen as people browse.

So if everyone is overloaded with too many ads, searches, and impressions, then what makes your small business—or any company—stand out? Meaningful storytelling. It’s the only way forward in this digital age.

Why Storytelling Matters in Marketing

So why does storytelling matter? Consumers are so bombarded with information that they unintentionally (and sometimes intentionally) ignore marketing messages. But who can ever turn down a good story?

Our society is more story-obsessed than ever before. Think of the endless streaming of Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu on a daily basis. Think of the way people still obsess over their favorite books, shows, and characters. In order to connect with your customers, you need to be able to relate to them in a character-driven, storytelling manner.

What Does Storytelling Mean for Your Company?

One of the first things to think about is: How are you telling your story and your company’s story? Nowadays, people want to know the people behind the company. They want to know why you started a business, what your struggles have been, and how you have triumphed. They could care less about your product or service unless they sense authenticity behind them.

Storytelling means that you utilize your own story, your company’s story, and your customer’s stories. Why do you do what you do? Why are you so passionate about this business? How has your company helped individuals? Why are your customers so excited about your products or services? This results in relationship driven sales and true connections with your customers!

While you can rattle off what you sell again and again and again, this kind of content will become boring to the average customer. They know what you sell. So instead, inform them about why it matters, what you’re doing to improve their lives, and how your services relate to that greater mission.

All of this comes down to storytelling. If you can tell stories and make listeners interested, then your customers that will come back again and again.

Want to know more? Mountain Air Marketing will help you figure out exactly what this might mean for your business! Contact us today.