In the latest of a series of thought leadership pieces from the Chamber's Marketing and Communications Committee, Committee Chair Suzy Goulding, Director of MullenLowe salt Singapore outlines the learnings from Andrew Pickup, Senior Director of Communications at Microsoft Asia in his recent presentation for the Chamber.
We all love a good story. Storytelling is innate in all of us. Whether it's reading to our children at bedtime, sharing a memory with a grandparent or getting lost in a good book, there is nothing better than great yarn. And because our love of stories is universal, it is one of the most effective ways for a company to connect with its audience. The powerful thing about stories is their ability to inspire people to take action. Great corporate storytelling can motivate people to buy your products, use your services or recommend you to their friends.
Corporate storytelling needs to address our tendency to make decisions based on both emotional and rational criteria. The emotional element is what draws us in, creating empathy with the storyteller, while facts provide a common ground for understanding and statistics make a story credible and believable.
Follow our five secrets to telling a great story to help your organisation connect with its audience:
Storytelling is a process
We're all familiar with the Hollywood blockbuster storylines but did you know that the process they follow - the story arc - also applies to corporate stories? Begin by setting the scene, providing the context or background to the story. What could disrupt this setting? In a corporate example, could it be a challenge your consumers are facing? Follow this disruption with the journey - how does your consumer address their challenges using your products or services> At this point, you could share advice, tips or tricks or recommendations. Every story then ends with some form of transformation. In Hollywood, it might be the hero winning the girl or the battle; in the corporate world it could be a customer solving a particular problem through the use of a product or service.
Find your hero
Who might this be in your organisation? Here's a tip - it's not always your CEO. Is it someone within your organisation who can talk passionately about a certain element of the business? Is it a satisfied customer who is happy to be a strong advocate for your products?
Storytelling is in the image business
As attention spans become ever shorter, having great visual content to either illustrate or indeed tell your story is key to grabbing that attention. Video continues to be the most popular way of engaging with people so it's worth investing.
In storytelling, details matter
What makes a story truly compelling? Often, it's not the story per se but moments within the story that particularly resonates with us. It could be an experience or emotion that is very familiar to us. And it is in these moments where a real connection is made between the reader/viewer and storyteller. For corporate stories, perhaps the frustration that a customer is feeling due to a challenge they are facing followed by the relief or happiness they feel when a product/service resolves that challenge is very relatable. It is the shared experience and relevance in our own lives which compels us to then buy that product/service.
For greater impact, make it personal
Corporate companies are a collection of individuals. Your customers are individuals. So, you need to ensure that your story brings out the personal side of your business. This could be the stories of your employees and how their roles enable them to help customers or it could be a customer telling the story of how your product or service has helped them. While factual information like product features and pricing are important, it is the stories behind why and how people use your products and services which is more likely to result in a sale.
The love of a good story and its ability to inspire, excite and motivate people in a constant human truth, regardless of the channel, method or technology we use to tell it. So it makes sense that we should all strive to get better at it and hopefully these tips will be helpful.