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How to Delight Your Audience with Brand Storytelling

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crystal clear contentStories sell. Stories excite our imagination and increase our passion.

Above all a good story can make our audience relate to our brand by touching their hearts. And there’s no more powerful way to make a connection with your customer.

Stories connect us to our listeners. When we share our own real-life stories or the stories of others our audiences feel that they know us and that builds trust.

There are many different stories you can tell to help a prospect find that connection with your brand. You can use stories to inspire, teach, caution people or use everyday events to relate to your audience.

So without further ado, lets look at an example of brilliant storytelling.

This is the Google “Reunion” story – I always feel a bit tearful watching it. It’s from Google Search. They came out with it a few months ago and it went viral with over 11 million views. And once you experience it, you’ll see why. Here it is:

Google’s Reunion story that went viral with over 11 million views

The backdrop is the partition of India. In this story, a woman in India reunites her grandfather with his childhood friend (who is now in Pakistan) following six decades of separation with a little help from Google.

This story is sure to resonate with you even if you haven’t experienced all the subtle nuances that are part and parcel of this tale (borders, separation, political tensions between the two countries).

Lessons we can learn for when we prepare our own stories

Always speak about the benefits, not features

The story is an example of how Google Search can help us find what we need. It speaks to the benefit of using Google but in a way that touches our heart. Research shows that most of our buying decisions are made to fulfill an emotional need.

Make your customer the hero of the piece

The heroes who brought the separated friends together were users of Google Search. It’s all about your customer.

Don’t be intrusive and push your brand as the best

It’s obvious that this video is promoting Google. But the use of Google as a brand is woven into the storytelling in a way that feels natural.
Even though we saw the use of Google on laptop and mobile devices, nowhere was anyone pushing us to use Google. It’s perfect for these days where marketing needs to be subtle and you cannot push your brand on your customers anymore.

The story has a clear beginning, middle and end

Every story needs to have all three to work well.

The story has a clear message

The message of the video is clear: We’re Google, and the work we do is making the world a better place.

The story speaks to and touches our hearts

I know that I’ve mentioned this point an umpteen number of times in this post, but the essence of a good story lies in its ability to capture your heart.

Storytelling may seem like an old-fashioned tool, today — and it is. That’s exactly what makes it so powerful. Life happens in the stories we relate to another. A story can go where data is denied admission: our hearts. Data can persuade people, but it doesn’t inspire them to act; to do that, you need to wrap your vision in a story that fires the imagination and stirs the soul.

Your Turn

What are your thoughts on using storytelling as a creative tool? I’d love to hear from you. Please share your thoughts in the comments below. Thanks.

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Comments

  1. I think the elements you mention are the core for any creative storytelling. And in order to have even more impact, I’d say there one more component required: emotions. Good storytelling has a beginning, a middle and end, make the customer the hero and are too pushy. But great stories are the ones that speak to human emotions, just like your video from Google captured this well,
    Cheers,
    Frederic
    Frederic Gonzalo recently posted..Social Media Best Practices in Travel: PinterestMy Profile

    • I agree and you’ve neatly summarized the point I’ve tried to make throughout. Capturing emotions is key in good marketing. And stories are one of the most powerful ways to do this.

  2. Hi Gazalla,

    Big fan of benefits over features. Power message here! People dream in terms of stories. Deliver dreams via stories you tell. My blog and brand is one big story, selling the internet lifestyle, and I can’t complain so far 😉 Books, movies, DVDs, series, all are stories, and quite popular too. Thanks for sharing!
    Ryan Biddulph recently posted..1 Secret Way to Pay it Forward and Make Money OnlineMy Profile

  3. Stories have been a fundamental part of humanity since our very earliest days. That they’ve endured that long as a mechanism for communication should be all we need to know about their power. They’re incredibly effective means of getting a message across.

    • Thanks, Adi. It’s so much better to give an example of how your brand is working or making the world better with a story. Most powerful, inspiring way to get your message across.

  4. Hey Gazalla,

    Oh, I remember seeing that video and it touched me too. I love the way they presented that and boy what a great example of how we should tell stories to get our brands out in front of people.

    You’re right though, Google wasn’t pushing us to do anything but just sharing how their service can help others which of course is what they’re all about.

    Just a great example here and thanks for sharing this. A beginning, middle and end all while tugging at our heart strings. That’s a winning piece.

    ~Adrienne
    Adrienne recently posted..How To Easily Remove Broken Comment LinksMy Profile

  6. Hi Gazalla,

    Wonderful post, indeed!

    What you have explained about stories is so true. What I’ve learnt over the years is that if I want to create rapid trust with an audience, then telling them a genuine story about me is a great way to go.

    Thank you.
    Hiten Vyas recently posted..5 Story Writing TipsMy Profile

    • Thanks for your feedback, Hiten. I agree – storytelling is a great trust-building tool. Thanks for sharing your experience with us. Glad you enjoyed the post.