The internet has become a playground for instant gratification and convenience, therefore the feeling of humanity is becoming more scarce — so having a human touch in today’s digital world is a huge premium. The simple fact is, for a business to survive they need to connect with their audience, pull at their heartstrings and engage with them on a deep level. How do we do this? Well, that’s where brand storytelling comes in.
Brand storytelling is the way in which we combine the facts and emotions that your brand invokes. Of course we need to explain the reasons why people should buy our product, but the key ingredient is to share the storybehind your brand, why it exists and why it matters.
Remember when you were a kid, being all excited for a bedtime story every night? It’s human nature that we love stories, therefore it should be a fundamental aspect of your User Experience.
Oxytocin. This is the chemical produced by the brain when we hear a story that resonates with us — boosting our trust, compassion and empathy. It’s a no brainer — create a powerful story and its more likely that people will love your product, become brand advocates and share what you have to say.
Take GrooveHQ. By incorporating a focus on storytelling, they increased the number of people to read their blog posts by a staggering 300%.
- People remember stories. In fact, stories are 22 times more memorable than plain pieces of writing
- Stories encourage bonding with your readers. We are more engaged with emotions, so whether or not you have a B2C or B2B organisation, storytelling is a surefire way to engage people
- Stories are entertaining. Users typically spend 10–20 seconds reading before they leave for good. Create an entertaining story and they will have their eyes glued to the screen and wanting more
But, how can we write a great story around our brand?
Not all of us are natural storytellers, so in order to get your readers to engage you must include elements such as: good and bad characters, extremes, relatable, authentic, anticipation, suspense, moment of clarity.
There are loads more, just think of your favourite book. What is it about that book that keeps you reading on? We can apply these same principles to the story around our brand.
Much like a good book, our brand stories should also be structured. Set the scene at the beginning, delve into the details in the middle (include some twists and turns), then have a big reveal at the end — show them the solution.
Brand storytelling should be the foundation of your marketing strategy. It will maximise your visibility, impact and ultimately, your profit. Brand storytelling will help you to stand out from the millions of content being shared every day, will help you to create a deep emotional connection with your audience and help to create a lasting positive impression of who you are.
At iNQ Digital, we create beautiful digital products that are a joy to use. Learn more about our design process here
Sources:
https://blog.prototypr.io/the-power-of-storytelling-in-ux-6fdc78050e5c
https://www.forbes.com/sites/celinnedacosta/2019/01/31/3-reasons-why-brand-storytelling-is-the-future-of-marketing/#346d5c1c55ff
https://uxplanet.org/how-to-use-storytelling-in-your-design-process-c40617e317c0
https://uxdesign.cc/6-storytelling-principles-to-improve-your-ux-737f0fc34261
The fundamentals of storytelling in UX