Storytelling should be part of your strategy

Storytelling is important for your communication. Storytelling is one of the buzzwords of the time. But aren’t stories primarily something that applies to stories for children?

 

Billede fra Pixabay

No, storytelling is used more and more widespread in corporate communication. It can be in connection with change management, the launch of a new company strategy or e.g. as external advertising campaign. And it is no wonder that companies throw themselves into media storytelling in their communication and brand work. Companies that use storytelling can create competitive advantages in relation to their brand, as storytelling marketing can bring the brand or product ‘top-of-mind’ with the consumer.

The definition of storytelling?

In essence, storytelling is a tool for telling a message or a strategy through a narrative or story. There is no rigid and finished model for storytelling, and therefore it can be done in many ways. It is a tool that companies can actively use in their branding – either of the individual products, but also at company level. By creating a narrative, the viewer gets something concrete to relate to. In this way, the company can stage and brand itself in a certain way.

A classic example of storytelling is ‘Den Gamle Fabrik’, where the story says that they have been making real jam since 1834.

STORYTELLING creates a strong neurological response

Research shows that good stories evoke a strong neurological response in us. When a story e.g. ends happily, the reward and feeling center in our brain (the limbic system) releases dopamine. And it simply makes us feel more hopeful and optimistic. 

You’ve probably walked out of the cinema feeling uplifted after a good movie that ended well. In the same way, the strategic narrative is particularly effective in changing attitudes and behaviour. And companies can benefit from strategic storytelling using, among other things, digital, online or visual storytelling.

You may also like: Storytelling – that makes you remember 

Stories are essential to us

Stories are an essential part of people’s survival strategy. For more than 30,000 years, we humans have told stories (first in the form of drawings and sequential storytelling) and later in words.  Chauvet Cave in France. Try e.g. to go inside and see some pictures from the amazing Chauvet cave in FranceAlthough the drawings on the walls in the cave are more than 30,000 years old, they are fantastically well drawn.

 

Chauvethorses

And stories are such an ingrained part of our reality and world that we often don’t consciously notice when a story is being told. Our brain relaxes and we let our otherwise very active logical defenses fall away.

What is your story?

If you look at e.g. what Psychology Today writes about storytelling and self-narratives, we humans form our identity by integrating our life experiences into an internalized story that we constantly tell both others and ourselves. A kind of life narrative that combines our past, present and future in a coherent narrative. And this narrative is constantly being developed and rewritten.

The brain excludes what doesn’t fit

But our narratives often become limiting for ourselves and our development. And many times companies hit a wall in their communication because they do not understand their employees’ self-narrative. In fact, employees’ own stories can, for example, come to stand in sharp contrast or direct opposition to the new strategy, which is conveyed from top to bottom by management. And then every change management initiative falls to the ground.

This is due to the fact that we constantly and selectively notice or pay attention to the things that matter to us and our self-narrative. We constantly notice things in our environment that are relevant to our own narrative about ourselves. And at the same time, our brain ignores information that doesn’t fit into our narrative.

So, self-narratives play an important role in everyone’s everyday life. And if companies can make their story fit in with the self-narratives that employees, customers or stakeholders share, then corporate communication will be so much easier.

What is storytelling?

Storytelling is narratives or stories. Companies often use storytelling to build a story about the brand or its products. In this way, you can build up different ideas about the company.

What is storytelling branding?

Storytelling branding is a strategic way for companies to tell their story – in such a way that they stay connected with their customers. It’s a really good tool that helps the viewer remember certain things about companies through narratives and stories.

They can deal with the company’s history or specific products. It may also be that the company builds up certain characters that consumers will later associate or connect with the company.

what is the actantial model?

The actantial model is a well-known analysis tool that can be used to analyze stories and narratives. It is used to define certain actions and elements of the narrative using certain criteria.

It is built around: Object and Subject, which leads on to a Giver/Recipient, as well as Helper/Opponent.

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