Contents
Storytelling is getting more and more popular. It is used in speeches and teaching, on TikTok and YouTube, and books are written about it. Trends tell why businesses use stories to promote themselves
About the expert:
Marina Vasilieva, creator of the Textomania online storytelling school and content mentor for top bloggers and experts.
What is storytelling?
The classic definition sounds simple: it is “the art of storytelling.” But how, where and why to tell these stories? Indeed, now Coca-Cola commercials, and several stories recorded by a young tiktoker, and the brand legend that advanced entrepreneurs tell at business presentations are called storytelling.
Storytelling is storytelling skill, which can and should be used systematically and regularly in your communication channels without large production budgets. Thanks to the right story told, the subscriber becomes more loyal to your brand, begins to clearly and distinctly see the value of the product or service and buys it. Storytelling is a tool that can work for you without your participation.
Why is it a key tool and what does it give
Most companies still don’t use storytelling in their business and go down the beaten path that costs them the cost of their marketing departments. What do they do most often when they want to tell the world about the news? Send out a press release, post on social media, or send out a newsletter.
These are the traditional tools they use to get their news across to audiences and the public. But many press releases are not allowed to be published, and the mailing list is perceived as spam. And all because they are written boring and banal. Storytelling, on the other hand, allows you to tell about the news in such a way that the press release will not be thrown out, and readers will perceive the post or newsletter with interest.
Every day, the owners or top managers of the company make dozens of complex decisions aimed at developing the business, improving service, launching new projects and products, and working with feedback from consumers. At the same time, they constantly face difficulties, burning deadlines and other obstacles. With the help of storytelling techniques, this can be turned into a story that the reader will follow.
Where to Use Storytelling: Tips for SMM Managers and Business Owners
Use several channels of communication with the target audience at once to tell a story.
Social network. In them, regularly share stories about creating a product, about launching new projects, about what became the impetus for this, about the difficulties and challenges that you encountered along the way, and about the victories that you eventually came to. This will evoke an emotional response from the audience.
Distribution. In it, you can use stories that did not fit in social networks.
Messengers. Small stories or teasers work great here, which arouse curiosity and make you want to go to the post to read the whole story.
Media. For the media, choose stories with the most striking achievements and cases.
Video format: broadcasts, videos on YouTube. By regularly creating stories for social media and newsletters, you are simultaneously creating a personal card file of your brand stories. Some of them are perfect for video format.
Stories. Thanks to good storytelling in stories, you can use them to increase sales in your business.
Performances. The authentic history of brand creation is well suited for them.
Site. Use storytelling elements on it to grab attention and increase conversions.
Self-presentation and networking. In these cases, you will need a blank based on an authentic story of your brand creation, which you can tell in 30-60 seconds in order to be remembered and stand out from other participants.
Actionable storytelling scheme
Most of the storytelling approaches on the market are difficult to use on a regular basis. They are either designed for an experienced storyteller, or they are only suitable for performances – but not for everyday stories.
In her practice, when working with top bloggers and experts, Marina Vasilyeva, the creator of the Textomania online school for selling storytelling, suggests using model “Text formula”.
It It is not expensive to produce, allows you to create content for your social networks and mailings regularly, does not create the effect of banner blindness in the reader.
The text formula takes into account:
three criteria important for business: speed and ease of production, does not require inspiration and special literary or philological education, increases coverage and involvement and increases sales and profits;
three principles: obligatory call to action, simplicity and conciseness, clear structure.
Storytelling formula:
Attention capture – tie – turning point – denouement – CTA (call to action).
An analytical formula for storytelling
Marina Vasilyeva offers to analyze the storytelling formula using the example of one of her posts on the social network.
Attention capture
“I came to study for 100 thousand rubles a month. Producers of international projects and experts who earn from 1 million rubles per month”.
We show what level of training we are going through, and use it here community, authority and development triggers.
The plot
“We were parsing posts, and I chose a post for parsing that began with the words “Yes, I am a genius.” I didn’t think it was the best move. Because such a claim needs to be justified. Because it can piss someone off: “Who are you? There is a genius here.” Because it can be annoying and envy.⠀
And then Katya, one of the participants, said: “It’s cool that you called a spade a spade, you really are a genius, I took all your courses. But I have a question: what can I do with you now? Katya’s words were picked up by other participants.
Telling the backstory, we use provocation trigger. “Many of us suffer from impostor syndrome, and I come in from the other side and declare:“ Yes, I’m a genius. It grabs attention. But I’m right there work out objections and voice the internal dialogue: “Yes, this can be annoying and envy.” But then I use trigger of contrast and surprise and I say that such a provocative statement unexpectedly aroused the support of the community, ”says Vasilyeva.
breaking point
“I was in a hurry. I really do not have products for those who have already studied with me, who make the infobiz market, who are constantly growing and learning for ₽100 thousand per month. I left the mastermind with the firm intention of launching mentoring this month.”
“Here I am voicing a typical pain many business representatives: perhaps I am not developing my product line and losing profit? Vasilyeva explains.
Decoupling
“And I did it. Less than two weeks elapsed between decision and implementation. It was during this period that I launched a new product. And closed all the places on the first stream. I didn’t even have time to make a landing. It was ready only after I received 78 applications for 11 places.”⠀
Here we use speed trigger The solution was implemented within two weeks. And the authority trigger is 78 applications for 11 places.
STA
“How? I do warm-ups through the content according to my own method, which I teach in my personal work. And market leaders, top managers, bloggers with millions of launches come to me to increase their sales using content funnels. But if you’re not ready to go into my personal work just yet, start with my three-week sales content course, The Formula for Sales Texts for Social Media and Newsletters. 3 weeks in which you or your copywriter will learn how to work with selling content. You can embed selling storytelling into your blog to make it work for sales.”
“I use not just classic CTA (call to target action) – an invitation to enroll in the course. I turn into microhistory selling sense, which enhances CTA and works in three directions at once: for trust, for credibility and for sale. Only selling storytelling allows you to do this,” insists Marina Vasilyeva.