Storytelling is not a new concept for marketers, but it is fast becoming one of the most compelling ways to reach consumers.
- Making up 65% of all public conversations, storytelling is inherent to humans and according to Forbes, messages that are delivered in story-form are up to 22 times more memorable than facts alone.
- Due to this, an increasing amount of brands are turning to consumer insights in order to bring shape and value to their stories in the hope that this will resonate more with their consumers.
- In a nutshell, data storytelling is there to make connections between brand and audience, with data as the guiding source.
Using data to tell a story:
Data storytelling can give brands a new lease of life when creating an impressive marketing campaign or original brand experience. With the new addition of consumer data, brands have the ability to hook their target audiences in a more focused way.
Brands are no longer looking to simply target their audience simply based on occupation, gender, or age, they have begun to quantify their attitudes, interests, and motivations. If brands continue to shape their storytelling in this manner, their brand experience will relate more directly to their audience.
Consumers have higher expectations for the content they consume, with 27% of users stating that they want their favourite brands to improve their knowledge or skills, they are now responding more to personalised content which gives brands more room to capitalise on.
Brands are no longer just supplying a product or service, they form a more integral part of consumers’ lives.
How to create a brand story:
A powerful and raw story should lead a brand’s message, but to take it to the next level, brands should ground this with insightful consumer data. This will mean brands can craft their message directly to an audience and their market.
Below are the 5 key elements to consider when constructing a meaningful brand story.
1. Understand the target audience
When a company is first established, there is already a sense of how they want the brand image to be perceived by an audience. Usually, even for well-established brands, this is based on a ‘hunch’, lacking hard evidence, and is quite a risk. But now with modern marketing, brands have access to a vast amount of consumer data that will accurately inform their decision before shaping their brand image.
2. Create a strong personality
It is very simple, if a brand is personable, then it becomes more relatable to consumers. Humans enjoy and base their lives around interactions, and building relationships with other humans, so if a brand can nurture this and create a definitive personality, they will be able to build stronger connections with their audience.
Gathering data that goes deeper than age or occupation means a brand can inform the creative elements of the brand personality, like the tone of voice. This is why it is crucial to gather insight on consumers’ interests and motivations because the brand can then reach them on their level.
3. Keep things simple
While a brand message should connect on a personal level with consumers, it should also be accessible and easy to explain otherwise, this connection that was built can be easily lost. Now that consumers are increasing their expectations for content, brands have a smaller window in which they can captivate and engage, so a brand message must remain concise and impactful.
Consumer data will help in this situation, as a brand can deduce what content their consumers expect to see on certain channels, and so brands can begin to align with this.
4. Tell a story that provokes discussion
On average, 25-34 year-olds spend 2 hours 37 minutes per day on social media. These users will be sharing and viewing brand stories millions of times each day, the equivalent and just as effective, word-of-mouth marketing tool.
Collecting data on the stories an audience is sharing and discussing can help inform a brand’s message so that their target audience will also want to engage.
5. Keep the message consistent
If a consumer feels as though they are buying into a brand story when purchasing a product or service, they will also feel more encouraged to form loyalties to the business. This will lead to repeat sales, positive word-of-mouth marketing, and long-term affinity.
Cohesion between all parts of the brand is essential so that a single and clear brand message can be taken away from the business.
Many brands are beginning to use data storytelling within their marketing campaigns so that they can create captivating and unique stories for their audience on a more personal level which will deepen connections and reinforce the brand’s overall story and key message.
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