Kris Clark Marketing Consultancy

Tag: #storytelling

  • Storytelling series: summing it all up

    Storytelling series: summing it all up

    In the world of marketing, competition is fierce, and brands are always looking for new and innovative ways to stand out from the crowd. However, simply promoting products and services is no longer enough to build a strong brand. In order to truly connect with their audience, brands need to tell a story that resonates with their customers on a deeper level.

    Authenticity, narrative, and voice are three crucial elements in creating a compelling story that motivates customers to take action. Authenticity is all about being true to the brand’s values and identity, and it requires transparency and honesty. A brand’s narrative should be consistent across all marketing channels and align with the brand’s goals, while its voice should be distinctive and recognizable.

    By mastering these elements, brands can create a powerful story that not only engages their audience but also inspires them to take action. For example, a brand might use its narrative to tell a story of its journey to success, highlighting challenges overcome and lessons learned along the way. By using authentic language and a distinctive voice, the brand can create an emotional connection with its audience and motivate them to take action, such as making a purchase or sharing the brand’s message with others.

    Another example, for a gallery or artist, might be using the narrative to showcase the work by the journey of the individual artists. Using real stories and a genuine voice, you can build trust with your audience and inspire them to act, such as signing up for a subscription or leaving a positive review.

    With customers increasingly discerning and skeptical, storytelling is a powerful tool for brands to build meaningful connections with their audience. By mastering authenticity, narrative, and voice, brands can create compelling stories that resonate with their customers.

  • Storytelling: Voice

    Storytelling: Voice

    We often hear the term voice when relating to a brand – but what does it mean? And how does that work for small businesses?

    As a small business, especially in the creative arena, you are your brand. However, as I have previously warned, do not mix your private persona with your business on your social media. You can be yourself, be personal, and have your brand voice be you – but always keep in mind your public face.

    On the other hand, telling a story that isn´t authentic in a voice that doesn´t correspond will not encourage people to buy your products. A voice can be compared to a key in music.

    Having a distinct and recognizable voice is critical for any brand that wants to stand out in today’s crowded marketplace. A brand voice is the tone, personality, and language that a business uses to communicate with its audience. It’s how the brand speaks to its customers, and it helps create a sense of consistency and coherence across all marketing channels.

    Key elements are authenticity, a clear narrative, and consistency. In a voice that resonates with your audience. Then you can start telling a story.

  • Storytelling series: narrative

    Storytelling series: narrative

    Another installment in my storytelling series. I wanted to focus, with regard to storytelling in marketing, on the differences and similarities between narrative and storytelling. We often ´forget´ in marketing that we have a narrative.

    Storytelling and narrative are related terms, but they refer to different aspects of storytelling.

    Storytelling refers to the act of telling a story, whether it is orally, through writing, or any other medium. It is a way to convey information or entertainment to an audience through the use of characters, plot, and other elements.

    Narrative, on the other hand, refers to the structure or framework of the story. It includes the way the story is told, the point of view of the narrator, the sequence of events, and the overall message or theme. The narrative can be seen as the underlying framework that gives the story meaning and coherence.

    To put it simply, storytelling is the act of telling a story, while narrative refers to the way the story is structured and presented. Both elements are crucial to effective storytelling, and they work together to create a compelling and engaging story that resonates with the audience.

    We often overlook that we have a narrative in marketing. To talk about the product or service we are selling. That gives us the framework to play with the story on top of it but we should not create flights of fancy.

  • Storytelling: what is authentic?

    Storytelling: what is authentic?

    Welcome to my 2nd article in the series on storytelling. Think of it as chapter two. Another word that gets bantered about a lot is authentic. Brands want to be authentic, we are authentic storytellers etc. But what is authentic?

    As with frequency, this is a term that gets taken out of context or confused with historic.

    So let´s break those 2 words down. Both are adjectives and describe the noun they are reflecting. Authentic means not false or copied, but genuine. Having a verified origin or representing one´s true nature or beliefs.

    Historic means something is well-known or important in history.

    Spot the difference. Something can have an authenticated history as in verified and of historic value. But you do not have an authentic history or historic authenticity.

    For marketing, as much as leaning on the historic when valuable is great, I believe you should lean on nature or beliefs. A young brand can be authentic, a historic brand can be authentic. A young brand does not have a history.

    While there is some overlap, authentic typically implies that something is true to its original form, while historic implies that something is important or significant in the context of history.

    Trickier is that you can model some of your authentic values on other brands/names/things and be honest about that. You cannot however fake either history or authenticity. Start with being truthful.

  • Storytelling in marketing: what is it?

    Welcome to my brand-new series of articles about storytelling in marketing. I wanted to dive deeper into the concepts of and behind storytelling. I will confess there is a personal motive as well. I plan to publish these short articles monthly. So stay tuned!

    Storytelling has become a buzzword. As a follow-up to authentic, you have probably heard the term storytelling thrown around for the past few years. Pop in a few references to Simon Sinek´s Golden Circle and Seth Godin´s Tribes, you’ve got a strategic storyteller on your hands.

    According to the Product Marketing Alliance: Storytelling is a process used by product marketers to communicate a message to their audience via the combination of fact and narrative. While many organizations use stories based on fact, others combine fiction and improvisation to drive home the key components of their brand’s core message.

    In other words, it’s similar to describing your product to those you would like to purchase/use it. But it’s not that simple, as internally, we think everyone understands our company own shorthand. Or even that our target audience has done deep research into the product/service and wants details.

    Stories are a journey. The storyteller’s role is to take the listener on that journey. Not just leading the way by saying ‘follow the yellow brick road’ but narrating the path–walking alongside.

    A library with white walls, rounded shelves nd 2 chairs on the left side. Image by Rafael Cosquiere and courtesy of Pexels.com

    Although we may use fiction, hyperbole, similes, and exaggeration in the story, it must be based on at least one solid fact. However, we must also take the person to the finale —the end of the story. Just driving down the road and back isn´t storytelling.

    Storytelling is more than just making things up.