First Things First: Why Does Storytelling Work?
Facts matter. The trouble is that facts are impersonal—they lack the emotional “hook” that leads to memory formation and retention.
Stories, on the other hand, are emotionally charged. And when people feel emotionally engaged with a story, they remember it. Stories also tap into universal human themes and provide context that people understand and connect with.
Unlike facts, stories offer a narrative structure, giving them context and meaning – things we can hold onto. Additionally, stories have the power to engage multiple senses. And that sensory stimulation creates a bond between the audience and the storyteller.
So how do organizations become better storytellers?
Create Consistency Across Every Channel
Whether an employee interacts with your website, sees your social media posts, or encounters your advertising campaigns, they should experience a consistent brand identity that reinforces who you are and what you stand for.
To achieve more consistency, create brand guidelines—write it all down and share it with everyone in the organization.
This document should outline your brand voice, tone, visual identity, and messaging guidelines. By clearly defining these elements, you provide a framework for all your brand communications, ensuring your narrative remains consistent and aligned with your desired brand image.
Share Customer Experiences
Now that you have your brand identity down, use your customers and employees to give it more emotional depth.
Here’s an idea we borrowed from Sasha Berson, VP of Client Solutions for Comrade Digital Marketing.
Start by creating a repository for customer success stories on a collaborative platform like Google Docs. Then, share this document with your team members and encourage them to contribute their experience and memorable customer interactions.
Next, bring these stories to life—grab your smartphone, throw it on a tripod, flip on your ring light, and record a brief video where your employees recount these experiences.
These storytelling “features” do not need to be scripted or highly produced. Focus on substance and emotion. Next, write down what was said on video. Now you have a video and story you can share on your website or social media channels.
Include Employees in Conversations and Decision-Making Within the Organization
To further integrate your employees into your narrative:
Collect feedback: Actively solicit employee feedback through surveys and feedback forms. Next, analyze that feedback to identify common themes, pain points, and areas for improvement.
Now share this feedback and use it as a basis for discussions and decision-making.
Establish employee advisory boards: Establish advisory boards or panels comprised of a diverse group of employees. Engage these employees in regular discussions and seek their insights on product development, service enhancements, and overall business strategies. Their perspectives can provide valuable guidance and help align internal decisions with customer needs.
Set Aside Time for Self-Reflection
Amidst the hustle and bustle of running a business, it’s crucial to make time for reflection. Set aside moments for introspection both individually and collectively as a team.
Reflect on the experiences, challenges, and successes your business encounters. These reflective sessions provide an opportunity to unearth powerful stories within your organization. By recognizing and sharing these stories, you can weave a rich and authentic narrative around your brand.
Invest in Thought Leadership Content
To amplify your brand’s storytelling capabilities, invest in a content marketing team. Through thought leadership articles, blog posts, videos, and other content formats, you can consistently share valuable insights, expertise, and experiences related to your industry.
Each piece of content becomes an avenue for storytelling, offering glimpses into your brand’s values, knowledge, and impact. By becoming a reliable source of informative and engaging content, you establish your brand as an authority and forge deeper connections with your audience.
Transform Your Team Into Brand Ambassadors
Your team members are not just employees; they can also be powerful ambassadors for your brand. Encourage your team to share their experiences, perspectives, and successes both internally and externally. Their collective voices amplify the impact of your brand storytelling.
By nurturing a culture where team members feel valued and inspired to share their stories, you create a network of brand advocates who can collectively reach a wider audience. Together, their narratives can help elevate your brand’s reach and influence.
Improve Your Internal Messaging
Most people probably don’t associate sending an email with storytelling. But we genuinely believe that if organizations put just a fraction of the effort authors dedicate to their craft into their own emails to employees, they’d see a significant boost in engagement numbers.
Tell stories and use visuals to do it
Incorporate storytelling elements and visuals into your internal communications. Stories help create emotional connections and make information more relatable and memorable. Use real-life examples, success stories, or employee testimonials to illustrate important messages. Visuals such as images, videos, or graphics can add interest and engagement to your communications.
Foster two-way communication
Encourage dialogue and create opportunities for employees to provide feedback, ask questions, and share their thoughts. This can be done through surveys, suggestion boxes, virtual town halls, or dedicated communication channels for employee input.
Personalize communications
Recognize that employees have different preferences and information needs, and tailor communications to specific teams or departments whenever possible. Additionally, use segmentation to deliver targeted messages that are relevant to each group.
Be consistent—maybe even predictable
Maintain a consistent cadence for internal communications to ensure employees receive regular updates. Why? Consistency builds trust and keeps employees informed and engaged with the organization’s goals, initiatives, and progress.
Start using PoliteMail
If you’re looking to send better messages, it’s important to understand how your current messages are performing. Unfortunately, many built-in email analytics tools fail to deliver the comprehensive insights you need.
Want to know who opened your email, read it, clicked through it, and how much time recipients spent engaging with your messaging?
PoliteMail will tell you.
