Storytelling in simple words:
Storytelling in simple words is ‘ the art of human expression which makes you think in pictures and form a sympathetic connection in your brain, it can be through music, pictures, words, and actions.’
“Every person whom you have never met only read and heard about is nothing but a story in your head.”
Why storytelling is timeless?
Storytelling has been around for many years going back to the time of cavemen when they used to leave pictorial representations on the walls of their cave. Coming little ahead to kings who decided to decorate the ceiling of their castles with tigers, roses, and beautiful things they have encountered even the holy texts are telling you a story Bhagwat Gita, The Holy Bible, Quran and all such books that are around for thousands of years and now coming to our time where storytelling is still one of the things that are not out of trend.
Practical proof of storytelling in marketing
In 2009, a British journalist named Rob Walker decided to experiment, he went on e-bay and bought 200 random objects for approx. 1$ each. Now, with a single goal in mind, Rob decided to hire 200 different writers and gave each of them one object and asked them to write a story about it. What was just a random object bought for 1$ on e-bay now had become a random object but with a story written about it.
Rob went on e-bay again this time with the same 200 objects but with stories attached to them. One of those objects was this horse’s head which he bought for 0.99$ and sold for 62.95$. That’s an increase of 6395%. Not only that he bought 200 objects for 129$ and sold them for 8000$, just by adding a story to each.
That is the power of storytelling.
Why do people buy expensive objects and pay way more than they really should?
Think about how famous personalities which might not be even real can sell you expensive things,
In the James Bond movie, the actor wears an expensive watch let’s say Rolex has signed a deal with the production house and paid them some amount in return asking them to make their lead actor who is playing Bond wear their shiny watch. Now, everyone who is impressed by James Bond or idolizes him will want that watch not because they want that watch but because they want to feel like a bond, and buying an expensive watch which he wore in the movie is one way to do it. What was just an expensive watch that people won’t need has now become their need to feel special ….like Bond. A kid wanting nothing but MRF bat which was used by Sachin Tendulkar is one such example it makes him feel part of Sachin’s story
How do companies use storytelling?
All the big companies which are selling a 10$ t-shirt for 100$ or 100$ phone for 600$ are all laying it’s the foundation of marketing on storytelling. Let’s take some examples.
Nike: Look at ads by Nike and take a look at their brand ambassadors. Nike has the image of paying homage to the underdogs of sports who came from nothing, the rags to riches mentality.
They have signed Cristiano Ronaldo who came from a poor background and became the best player in the world, where once he had no money for shoes has now a yacht and a status of best in business. So, people get inspiration from the player and that’s when they buy expensive football boots and t-shirts so expensive to feel like Ronaldo.
Apple: 1984 Superbowl commercial which showed the story of rebel marketed as someone who breaks the dilemma, then its 90s commercial with the campaign ‘Think different’ which is not even grammatically correct featured many great artists and personalities like Gandhi, Teresa, John Lennon, and Bob Dylan. Apple’s sales got increased after that now Apple has made an image of a company which not just sells products but sells products to the artist, and people get a nice hook on that as anyone who wants to feel like an artist will go and buy an Apple product. They did the same thing with the I-pod when in the early 2000s where pirated CDs were more than the population of the USA, they brought I-pod and marketed as something specially made for music lovers.
Can I improve storytelling?
The answer is yes, you can. Doesn’t matter how magical storytelling sounds but at the end of the day it’s a skill to express and there is no one better in the entire animal kingdom than humans to express themselves because we have given the gift of logic and imagination. All it takes is practice, knowledge and mental clarity. The best way to enhance storytelling is through writing… start with a journal. To increase knowledge listen to songs that are storytelling, read storybooks. Bring your inner kid out imagine things, write poetry about dinosaurs, direct a short movie with you as a hero soldier rescuing everyone in the army faceoff name it ‘assignment help‘ doesn’t matter how common that sounds be limitless.
Storytelling is one of the most crucial skills you will ever master because human life is itself a story.