3 Tips to Increase Sales Through Smart Storytelling
Facts tell; stories sell.
It is a common adage you can hear about marketing and advertising circles, and it’s true! This is why big brands such as Coca-Cola and Dove Beauty Bar showcases commercials that tell unique stories and diversity in order to connect with the market at a more personal level.
Stories are indeed more interesting, and it can easily keep the attention of your audience up. It is also a more effective way to encourage action or inspire people to talk about the product or a certain topic. A presentation of facts, on the other hand, will only bore your audience – and it is hardly ever inspirational.
However, this does not mean that you should only use one over the other. Stories and facts can be merged together in order to create a more compelling ad or marketing strategy. Numbers can tell a story of their own too, just don’t overdo it!
People, especially skeptics, are more inclined to believe ads that include a statistic. You can be creative with stories, but they aren’t half as believable if there are no facts or statistics to back them up.
For example, as a network marketer, you can always tell your networking journey – how it began, the ups, downs, failures, successes, etc. But if you don’t accompany your story with figures – like your earnings during the 1st month, your current earnings, and even your Social Media statistics (followers, engagements, etc), then your story will not hold water. To illustrate failure, back it up with numbers. To illustrate success, back it up again with numbers!
There are many stories you can tell as an online network marketer. It may include stories from your clients, which is more credible if you can relay their own numbers too. To help you come up with effective stories, below are 3 tips that can enlighten you:
Humanize your product.
Your product might be a great tool to solve certain problems, but merely talking about its efficiency, features, and design is not exactly some sort of storytelling material, isn’t it? So stop stressing about how you can win over your customers through facts and technicalities, present your product via a more intimate and personal level.
Take GoPro for example. Well, it does have great specs for a camera – but so does Canon, Nikon, and Samsung, which obviously came way before it. However, if you look at GoPro’s Instagram and YouTube pages, you will rarely see them talking about the new features and specs of their camera model – they are more about showing off the adventures that can be captured through the GoPro.
So there. GoPro is not just selling a camera, it is selling the travel and outdoor lifestyle! That right there is how you can humanize an otherwise ordinary product.
Always remember that people connect with experiences.
Ever wonder why a lot of people are somehow drawn (or look up to) the likes of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates? It is because of that human experience that many people can relate to them. For starters, both are college dropouts. Then both also founded the two biggest names in the tech industry today – Jobs founded Apple, while Gates founded Microsoft.
Their story fits the classic underdog tale, who rose up at the end of the day to eventually become successful. Many of us might not be as rich as either Jobs or Gates, but like them, we can all relate to failure too. Not just failure per se, but also their struggles and journey that made them what they are today. We’ve all had our fair share of naysayers and setbacks too, right?
So whenever an opportunity comes up, don’t be afraid to talk about your own failures too. Personal stories of setbacks, struggles and difficult journeys towards success will find its way to more listeners (and hearts!). You’ll be surprised at how much feedback you’ll get if you open up about weaknesses and vulnerabilities that are actually experienced by many people.
Learn the “Spielberg” effect.
Ever heard of the Spielberg effect? It is the directing style of Steven Spielberg that is evident in his most popular films such as Jaws, E.T. and Jurassic Park. It makes use of extreme close-up shots of characters to convey an emotional connection with the audiences.
This should be done in your marketing campaign too. Well, many companies do. That’s why models are a thing, right? If you can’t afford a model as of the moment, you can always tap a friend or make yourself the ‘face’ of your own company!
Putting a face on your campaign is one of the easiest ways to put a human element in your brand. It conveys emotion and assures brand transparency or honesty. The face already tells a story even with fewer words on the copy.
Smart storytelling requires creativity, but don’t forget to back that up with facts and real elements! Remember, your story has to connect with the market – and it will be hard to rack up credibility if you employ misleading or half-baked messages.
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