People learn things better when you tell them stories. This is a fact that writers have recognized throughout the ages. We’re more inclined to do certain things when we know that other people have also done them with success. And we’re less inclined to do them when we know that other people have failed at them. If you keep this fact in mind, you’re much more likely to create content that will move people.

Your final aim, as a company, is to increase sales. But if you can convince people that your product is going to improve their lives, you’ll be much more likely to achieve your aim. And the way to convince people that this is going to happen is by using storytelling in content creation. This might mean using the story of your company—how it was founded, who came up with the idea behind it etc. Or it might mean using the stories of your customers. When you find a compelling tale, don’t let it get away. Use it to create a piece of content that will make ripples in the internet world.

Classic Tales with Morals

The reason why stories succeed at teaching people to do things is because they all have morals attached to them. The moral might be something simple like, “Use your head as well as your heart,” which is essentially the point of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility—a story of two sisters, one of whom only listens to her heart and another who listens to both, head and heart.

Or it might be, “Don’t hoard your wealth; be generous,” which is the moral of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol—the story of a miser who is reformed by the visitation of three ghosts who enable him to clearly see his past, present and future, the last of which is quite wretched.

Contemporary Stories with Morals

You might think that the idea of having a moral attached to a story is quite outdated, since many contemporary stories don’t appear to have morals attached to them. But even the fantasy novels of Stephenie Meyer (writer of Twilight) and the dystopias of Suzanne Collins (author of The Hunger Games) have morals which aren’t immediately visible.

Twilight is the story of a girl who willingly becomes a vampire and achieves great things. So one could argue that the moral of Twilight is “Embrace your dark side if you want to discover who you are and be truly happy.” The Hunger Games is the story of a girl who takes it upon herself to reform the horrible society she lives in by displaying bravery and courage. So you could argue that the moral of The Hunger Games is “Let’s reform society so that everyone has equal opportunities.”

How Stories Create Engagement

The essence of storytelling is that it has a moral. And this moral pushes a person to do certain things and avoid others. Rather than just telling the person to do these things, storytelling impels them towards it with the use of characters they can relate to and a plot that keeps them interested. Human beings are naturally curious creatures. We like to see what everyone else is doing rather than just being involved in our own lives. Storytelling fulfills this need for connection with the world.

3 Tips to Create a Compelling Story

So how exactly can a company benefit from storytelling, especially when it comes to content creation? After all, you don’t have a moral that you want to spread to your customers. You just want them to recognize the value of your product and buy it. In order to do this, however, you need to tell them why your product is so great. You need to have a message like, “Buy this blender and make your life easy, organized and convenient” or “Come to our dating site and find the person of your dreams.” In each case, you’re selling something that will make your customer’s life much better. If they follow your message, they’re going to end up happier. This is similar to the effect that following a moral will have on their lives.

  • Think About Your Company’s Story. If you want to start using storytelling in content creation, it makes sense to think about the story behind your company, your product and your ideas. How did you get started? What obstacles did you have to overcome? Did you have an epiphany about what product you should be making? Every company’s approach is different and you need to figure out what makes yours unique.
  • Involve People. When you’re thinking about your company’s story, keep in mind that storytelling is essentially about people. Your customers don’t want to hear about your company as though it were an independent entity. They want to hear about it in connection with the people who constitute it. They want to hear about you, your collaborators, your employees and anyone else who might be concerned with your company. It’s so much more interesting to hear about the personal fights between Steve Jobs and Bill Gates than it is to hear about the statistics of their companies. Malcolm Gladwell exploits this idea in his article, “The Tweaker.”
  • Embrace Conflict. Another thing to keep in mind is that there can’t really be a story without a conflict. If Paris hadn’t run away with Helen, there wouldn’t have been any battle at Troy. If your company didn’t have to overcome any obstacles, it probably wouldn’t be as great as it is today. Rather than trying to gloss things over and make your company or product look like it was perfect from the get go, embrace the idea of conflict and tell your potential customers about it. Not only does this lead to the creation of a great story, it also displays your honesty and trustworthiness, characteristics that your customers will recognize and appreciate.

Contact us for more great ways to use storytelling for content creation.