Brand storytelling is a phrase on every marketer’s lips right now. In today’s over-saturated marketplace, consumers are constantly absorbing new information from brands throughout the day.
And that’s why brand storytelling is more important than ever. There’s a huge opportunity for brand marketers to share their company’s messaging, products, services, and expertise.
As consumers, we naturally crave emotional connections that trigger a positive response. Event storytelling is the perfect opportunity to create a narrative that will connect with your target audience. Storytelling is often associated with online marketing, but the stories you tell about your brand online are just as important as the ones you tell offline.
Brand storytelling is no longer a nice to have. It’s a requirement for all consumer and B2B brands.
Why?
Because the best marketers know how to tell a brand story across multiple platforms that tap into consumer emotions and moves them from a prospect to a loyal customer. A good story will change the way people think, feel, and respond to your brand.
Why you should be using storytelling to market your events
In addition to the many reasons described above, event storytelling is about creating a memorable experience for the attendee.
Marketing Guru, Seth Godin said it best, “People do not buy goods and services. They buy relations, stories, and magic.” Apply this rule to your event planning process. How can you inspire people to attend and plan a magical experience for them once they arrive?
Let’s take a look at how to apply storytelling techniques to make your brand come life.
How to tell a good story?
Marketers are natural-born storytellers and know how to compose a good story. It’s important to remember that event planners are storytellers. Every part of the strategy and execution phase is a part of creating a unique story.
We’d all agree that storytelling contains all of the following components:
Focus on a Subject that Resonates with Your Audience
Every good story has a unified theme that it wants to get across to the audience. A storyteller’s job is to give each attendee an experience that takes them on an emotional journey.
Select one theme that you want to focus on throughout your event. Do some research and narrow in on theme options that will captivate your attendee list. This phase may entail surveying past participants, doing an online search for industry trends, and looking at what themes competitors have used in the past. Envision what you want your event to look like.
Identify Pain Points
As a storyteller, it’s your job to identify the concerns and desires of your audience to make sure your messaging resonates with them. Pain points are areas of focus that strikes a chord with the audience and taps into an emotional struggle.
It’s important that once you’ve figured out the pain points that are concerning to event attendees that you start analyzing opportunities to problem solve.
Select your Cast
Every good story has characters and each person has a role. In terms of marketing and events, the characters are your event attendees, speakers, suppliers, sales teams, and onsite staff. They all play an essential role in ensuring that your event is a success. The event is about making sure each person attending the event has a memorable experience when interacting with your brand.
Focus on the Details
In event planning, success is in the details. This is the nitty-gritty stuff that many businesses gloss over. But a good marketer knows that the more detailed and personalized the event is branded, the higher the chances are that it resonates with attendees.
The details are the lifeline that brings the event to life. For a truly personalized event experience, incorporate opportunities for attendees to have input on event details. Let attendees have a say in the dining menu and schedule of activities planned throughout the event. This empowers attendees to design their own event experience and get the most out of their attendance.
Add Some Dramatics
If you want your event to stand out, you need to offer an experience that attendees can’t forget. Give your attendees the wow factor as soon as they walk into the door or stop by your booth. In today’s competitive event market, attendees expect companies to design events that engage and excite them.
Determine a Call to Action
All great brand stories inspire the person on the receiving end to respond to a call to action. Now that your brand has shared their story, you need to determine how you want each event attendee to respond. Your call to action is critical because it can decide if attendees make purchases or become loyal fans.
Choose the Desired Ending
When it comes to organizing an event or exhibiting a trade show, your ending is just as important as the beginning stages of planning. The desired results at the end of the event are your guiding light throughout the entire planning process.
Is your goal to land new clients? Capture leads? Strengthen relationships with existing customers? Increase in product sales? Position your brand as an industry thought leader? None of this can happen unless you select a desired outcome for the planning process.
Brand storytelling is a trend that’s here to stay because everyone loves a good story. Remember as event marketers it’s important to deliver an authentic brand story that shifts the focus on your audience.
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