At its best, storytelling is a tool, a technique, a strategy, and a core competence for business leaders. Well-crafted stories touch people and inspire them to improve and to act.
Why Use Storytelling?
The current business climate means that new problems arise daily that don’t have pat or standard solutions. Also, communication within corporations has become more complex. Those who have data and knowledge need to find ways to persuade others by packaging this information into palatable forms.
Storytelling helps with both these key areas.
Stories Help Business
When you use stories, you move people from focusing on
the tangible or intangible benefits and features of your products/services to
something that’s more memorable.
Stories with Substance
Many of the “stories” we hear every day on the internet, radio, or television are quick stories without much underlying depth. Memorable stories contain an “a-ha” moment or inspire us to think about something in our own lives in a different way.
What Makes a Story?
There are many different forms of storytelling and the word “story” can be defined in many ways. One definition is: a narrative that tells of a character’s struggles to solve a problem against obstacles to conquer or achieve an important goal.
Brand Films and Series are the best and most efficient way to tell your story to as much people as you wish.
All well-crafted Brand Films of substance have specific qualities.
Sensory Language:
All well-crafted stories provide sensory language that reaches
the audience through stimulating sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch.
Quick Understanding:
The flow of the plot gives the listener a quick understanding
of the battles the character has had to face in reaching the goal. Data and
information is more memorable in the context of a story.
Creates Meaning:
The story provides a memorable key message that has meaning
on a universal level.
Coronavirus is the battle we have to face in 2020
Some of you (and some of us) have already been personally impacted by the virus. I know the stress you are under and I am here to help. With lives at risk, we hope that conditions improve as quickly as possible. In the interim, we should brace ourselves for turbulence and have a prepared mindset for the scenarios that may play out.
With softening sales, you might find that your customer lifetime values have declined, in turn suggesting the need to rein in customer acquisition spending to maintain consistent returns on marketing spending.
With greater economic and fundraising uncertainty, you might even want to consider raising the bar on ROI for marketing spend. And here comes Brand Storytelling in the form of Films and Series.
This might be a time to evaluate critically whether you can do more with less and raise productivity, sales, customer satisfaction and relationship.
The Impact of Stories
Well-crafted stories with deep meaning have the potential to influence people in at least four different ways.
Physical:
When people are truly listening and watching, their behavior changes. They may sit at the edge of their seats, they may lean back, they may look at the film more closely, or they may stop taking notes. They may even get very quiet or shed tears. Dynamic or heart-tugging stories create a physical impact.
Mental:
It’s been shown that when a film has an audience’s attention, the brain
patterns of those in the audience mirror that of the film's characters with the exception of the fact that the audience is awaiting what will happen next.
Emotional:
Most of the decisions we make, 95% or so, are made unconsciously on
auto-pilot. The left sides of our brains are skeptical and want facts, but the right
sides are creative and emotional. Surprisingly, most consumer decisions are not made solely using logic. Most of the every day decisions we make are in response to emotional triggers.
Spiritual:
Stories that trigger an emotional response are important but those that
inspire and highlight the human experience and the triumph of the human spirit are even more memorable.
Results and Conclusion:
By producing Brand Films and Series you can change the physical behavior of an audience and you can get their minds to resonate with the information you are communicating in your story. Storytelling is wired into the human brain. It’s a powerful way for people to form connections with each other.
Persuading people to take action is more emotional and spiritual than logical. Brand Films help take people to these levels and lift data and information into something more personal.
In times of global crisis distinctive feature of enduring companies is the way their leaders react to moments like these. Your employees are all aware of COVID-19 and are wondering how you will react and what it means for them. False optimism can easily lead you astray and prevent you from making contingency plans or taking bold action. Avoid this trap by being clinically realistic and acting decisively as circumstances change. Demonstrate the leadership your team needs during this stressful time.
And the best way to communicate your vision, values, brand strategies and tactics is by Brand Films and Series.
Stay healthy, keep your company healthy, and put a difference in the world.
Best,
Andrey
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