What Is Story Marketing?

Story marketing, or as we like to call it… Story-driven marketing is the practice of building a series of consistent narratives that help position your brand over time.

At Ratcliffe Brothers, we like to split these into 3 different narratives:

- Your Founder Story
- Your Company Story
- Your Service Story

These are the 3 key stories that will build your authority, show your authenticity, but most importantly… get prospects to buy from you.

But don’t worry about these 3 stories just yet, we’ll get into each individually later in the blog.

Why Do Brands Tell Stories?

1. Stories are Easy to Remember

In a world full of information overload, capturing your audience's attention and ensuring they remember your message is crucial. Stories create emotional connections, making your brand more memorable. For example, compare these two statements:a) Our email automation tool generates real-time reports.b) With real-time reports, you can quickly uncover and act on emerging trends.

The second statement (b) is more impactful because it addresses the user directly and promises benefits. Emotionally invested users are more likely to remember and engage with your brand.

2. Stories Simplify Complex Concepts

Sometimes, explaining the benefits of a product or service can be challenging, especially when dealing with complex ideas. Stories have the power to cut through the technical jargon and present information in a way that resonates with the audience. By focusing on how it benefits them, you simplify the message and improve engagement.

3. Stories Unite Your Audience

Regardless of differences in background or demographics, stories have a universal appeal that transcends boundaries. By crafting a compelling narrative, your brand can connect with a diverse audience, creating a shared experience that resonates with everyone.

4. Stories Inspire Action

Your product or service may be revolutionary, but until potential customers see the value for themselves, they may not fully grasp its impact. Storytelling bridges this gap, showing people the future potential and enticing them to take the first step towards your brand. Remember, it's not about your company; it's about what your customer gains by choosing you.

Our 3 Stories

1. Founder Story

Your founder story is the one that will get the most eyes on your business - whilst also building your credibility & authority as a founder.

We live in an age where people don’t want to buy from faceless brands, they want to know who runs things.

Just look at the likes of Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos.

People literally buy from their companies solely because they like them.

2. Company Story

Telling your company story allows you to become the helpful guide that takes your prospects from where they currently are, to where they want to go. All whilst demonstrating what makes your company the one they should trust and believe in.

3. Service Story

Telling your service story allows you to clearly demonstrate the solution to your prospects' problems. Building trust through showing you understand them, all whilst demonstrating your expertise in your industry.

The Science Behind Storytelling

Understanding the science behind storytelling helps validate its effectiveness. Research conducted by Paul J. Zak, Founder, and Chief Immersion Officer at Immersion Neuroscience, reveals that stories motivate voluntary cooperation by sustaining attention and developing tension during the narrative. As a result, attentive viewers/listeners share the emotions of the characters, leading to behavioural changes.

Paul says:

“In subsequent studies, we have been able to deepen our understanding of why stories motivate voluntary cooperation. (This research was given a boost when, with funding from the U.S. Department of Defense, we developed ways to measure oxytocin release noninvasively at up to one thousand times per second.)

“We discovered that, in order to motivate a desire to help others, a story must first sustain attention – a scarce resource in the brain – by developing tension during the narrative.

“If the story is able to create that tension then it is likely that attentive viewers/listeners will come to share the emotions of the characters in it, and after it ends, likely to continue mimicking the feelings and behaviors of those characters. This explains the feeling of dominance you have after James Bond saves the world, and your motivation to work out after watching the Spartans fight in 300.”

This phenomenon is what is often referred to as “neural coupling”, where the brain will hear or see a story, and its neurons will begin to fire the exact same pattern as the speaker or character’s brain.

From this, we can gather that we’re able to change the way a customer behaves depending on how you tell a story, and who is doing the telling. This could ultimately have an impact on their purchasing behaviour, and decision-making process.

Furthering this argument, in a presentation, Paul J. Zak describes the relationship between the release of cortisol (the stress chemical) and oxytocin (the empathy chemical) when a person is watching or listening to a story.

In his experiment, he found that those who released more oxytocin and cortisol were more likely to donate money generously to either a stranger or charity (depending on the variable within the study). He then goes on to explain how they were able to determine with 80% accuracy who would donate their money depending on their physical reaction to any given story.

So, what we can learn from this is that there’s a notable difference in change of behaviour depending on the change in brain chemistry.

From this, it’s solidified that how well you create your product’s story will determine your customer’s reaction and purchasing decision. Therefore, it’s rather important that you consider what reaction you want it to be, and how you’re going to go about gaining that reaction through the story that you decide to tell.

In summary, to quote Paul J. Zak, “When you want to motivate, persuade, or be remembered, start with a story of human struggle and eventual triumph. It will capture people’s hearts – by first attracting their brains.”
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Conclusion:

Mastering the art of story-driven marketing can unlock unparalleled potential for your brand. By understanding your audience, crafting compelling narratives, and utilising product-led storytelling, you can create an emotional connection that drives client acquisition and brand loyalty. Harness the power of storytelling, and watch your brand flourish like never before.

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