No story, no sales. Think it’s an exaggeratedly bold statement? I dare not. In fact, according to Arianna Huffington, “People think in stories, not statistics, and marketers need to be master storytellers”.
Moreso, statistics[1] have it that storytelling can boost conversion rates by 30%. Even 62% of B2B marketers hold storytelling in high regard as an effective content marketing tactic.
Since marketers trust the power of storytelling so much, there must be something to it, right?
This article will be aimed at studying exactly what makes storytelling an insanely effective content marketing tool[2]. In the process, I’ll also share some practical ways content marketers can weave in stories to their content that will drastically improve their conversion rates[3].
Why storytelling?
Storytelling is part of the human framework. The history of storytelling[4] helps us know that telling stories is how we have been passing valuable information for centuries. Our ancestors were smart. They knew that there was something about the power of using stories to pass across information to their audience, and they made the most of it. That is why folklores were very popular in many cultures. And in the Bible, Jesus made most of his illustrations using stories, or what we call parables.
So, what makes storytelling so powerful? Stories make it easier for people to relate to your content. Why? Because a story told well creates a picture in the mind of your target audience and they see things play out in their mind.
For instance, after reading “There was this playful dog wagging its tail in excitement” you won’t be able to stop yourself from creating the picture of the dog in your mind. There is nothing hypnotic about that, it is just how our minds work.
So when you’re talking about a