The ‘Once Upon A Time’ Strategy

Why storytelling is so important?

Nowadays, companies use storytelling as a strategy to make customers purchase their products. Leaders and professionals use storytelling to turn dreams into goals and ultimately into results. But how can storytelling be so powerful? The answer to this question is simple. People want to be connected, communicate with one another, and feel that they are part of something . We are all human beings, which fosters that the sense of belonging is in our nature.

The Instagram Example

Instagram is an application that was able to successfully incorporate storytelling in its platform. In August 2016, Instagram introduced the new “insta-stories” feature. Existing users became more engaged than ever before, which led to the number of daily active users to grow exponentially. As we can see from the Graph, the Instagram Stories user count reached 400 Million in June 2018. Why? Because, as we said before, people want to feel connected and share pieces of their daily lives. Instagram uses storytelling as part of its core business now.

Statistics show that in 2020, 500 million users will share insta-stories every day and at least one billion accounts will be used every month.

Impressive, right?

This makes Instagram the second-ranked traditional social network in terms of active users, behind Facebook.

If the trend continues, Instagram will reach 112.5 million U.S. users by the end of 2020.

That is a 5.4% increase over 2019, as estimated by eMarketer, which also predicts the network will reach 117.2 million U.S. users in 2021.

With insta-stories, the social network’s goal is to make unforgettable human connections through users’ emotions.

The social network is not only used to share an everyday content by individuals but by businesses and professionals as well. Instagram has become the most popular platform for advertisers to reach Millennials and GeZ of 52.9 million users!

But why is posting stories such a powerful tool for companies? Stories increase visibility and brand awareness with genuine and realistic content, and it is exactly what the consumer wants: authenticity. According to “HootSuite”,75.3% of US businesses will use Instagram to create and share content in 2020. This means that if your business doesn’t use stories, start doing that because 62% of consumers say they have become more interested in a brand or product after seeing it in stories.

Recently, I had the pleasure to connect with the storyteller Miri Rodriguez, author of ‘Brand Storytelling’ & Head of Global Internship Program at Microsoft. She is a very inspiring leader and she explained to me how “storytelling is about how to make people FEEL.” It is a way to connect with people at a very deep human level. Storytellers have a significant role in the company with the primary mission of empowering individuals and organizations all over the planet. Miri described storytelling as being a pivotal element at Microsoft that drives the culture with a customer-centric approach because

Miri Rodriguez - Microsoft

“it is not about the product, it is always about people to empower”!

In a business context, a story helps your consumer identify what your company is offering. In a global context, a story helps the audience to easily relate to the narrative.

We can identify three elements of storytelling:

1.    Great opening – identification of characters and people involved, diving straight into the story, giving detailed information, and - as Professor Tessa Misiaszek always reminded me – “SHOW, instead of telling!”

2.    Conflict – how the story evolves through challenges. Here is the time to keep the audience engaged, creating curiosity and interest, because “the stronger the conflict is, the more captivating the story becomes!”

3.   Resolution – how the conflicts are solved and the story ends. The conclusion is always a significant part because contains the call to action. The goal is to be remembered and make the audience feel like they must act.

To conclude, we have seen how storytelling is used for different purposes by individuals, businesses, and professionals alike. But there are three crucial elements to be considered when telling a memorable story: EMOTION, AUTHENTICITY, and CALL TO ACTION.

And remember that:

“Storytelling is about standing out, not blending in.”