Why Creators are Marketing’s Modern-Day Storytellers

CONTENTS

3 reasons why storytelling in marketing is vital
Creators are the secret to amplifying your story
The do’s and don’ts of creator storytelling

‘Marketing is no longer about the stuff you make but about the stories you tell.’
– Seth Godin

Storytelling weaves together the what and the why. It allows brands to connect with customers on a much deeper level because it’s not about showcasing what you do, it’s about why your products exist AND matter.

It’s not a nice-to-have, it’s a need-to-have. Here’s 3 reasons why.

3 reasons why storytelling in marketing is vital

1. CONNECTION DRIVES DESIRE, RECALL & LOYALTY

Stories are 22x more memorable than facts.

A lot of research has gone into the science of why, but let’s talk about this in the context of marketing.

When we hear a fact, we process it. 
When we hear a story, we feel it.

Of course, it’s important to get the facts out there. Otherwise, no one will know what you’re selling.

But, humans don’t connect to facts. We connect to emotion and merely use facts for decisions that are harder to negotiate with - like price, size or availability.  

For an (obvious) example let’s look at McDonald’s. Like their competitors, McDonald’s historically made cinematic, slow-motion ads focusing on the burger’s ingredients, like this ⬇️

Sure, the aim is to whet the viewer’s appetite, but that’s all it does. It doesn’t form an emotional connection, it provides information.

McDonald’s occasionally still produces ads like this, usually with a bit more of a twist, but they’ve evolved into using stories to connect with consumers, like this ⬇️

Here, they’re putting a mirror in front of us and telling a story we can all relate to. We feel included and more connected (with no need for sizzling product close-ups).

We’ll remember how this ad made us feel, not that their burgers have onion on them.

Why is this so important? Because you’re not the only brand selling your product. Which brings us to our second reason.

2. BEING HUMAN INCREASES SALES

Emotion drives buying decisions more than logic. It almost sounds irrational, but it’s because humans never stop feeling, but we do take breaks from actively thinking. In fact, according to a Harvard professor, 95% of our purchase decisions take place subconsciously.

If anything, the more you (and your competitors) feed facts about your brand to your customers the higher the chance you’ll confuse them into a state of decision paralysis and they’ll purchase nothing.

The more you make them feel positive emotions, the more likely they won’t just purchase your product, they’ll do so happily and repeatedly AND recommend others do the same.

3. UNIQUE STORIES > THE SAME STORY

Consumers are spoiled for choice. Just walk down a supermarket aisle and see how many variations of laundry detergents there are.

Functionally, all laundry detergents do the same thing - clean clothes. While your competitors are telling the same old story about what their product does, lean into telling a unique story about why it matters.

Ask yourself:
What are the emotions you want to evoke?
What do you want your customers to remember about you?

Consumers are bombarded with content and advertising, especially on Social Media. To cut through, brands need to talk about their products in a way their competitors don’t, or can’t. 

Creators are the secret to amplifying your story

Brands need to tell their own story, of course. No one knows your ‘why’ like you do, but if you only use your voice, each story will always be from your point of view. You’re telling customers how you hope your products impact their lives and what you want them to mean.

In other words, you’re limited to marketing ‘at’ your customers.

Creators unlock the power of marketing ‘with’ them.

They’re experts at telling stories in ways your brand simply can’t.
Here’s a few reasons why. 

7 REASONS WHY CREATORS ARE EXPERT STORYTELLERS

1. It's what they do
Successful creators build their audiences by sharing their lives and passions through storytelling. Depending on their niche, that can look very different. They might be regular people who hit the streets to connect with people, foodies sharing their family recipes, adventurers, or entertainers making skits about everyday moments.

Everyone can tell a story. Even your own staff.

The Kylie Jenner’s of the world aside, being real is what works on social because it’s a platform built on forming connections. Aligning with creators who’ll share genuine stories about you is what forms connections.

2. Diversity
Marketers know better than anyone that different people have very different reasons for purchasing the same product - making the need for volume and variety of content undeniable.  

Think of creators like they’re characters in your story. By building a diverse creator community you’re unlocking characters to craft unique narratives about their relationship with your brand.

Like any good story, those characters will appeal, or be relatable, to the diversity of your audience and customers. 

3. Creativity
Being creative isn’t easy, especially when tasked with finding unique ways to sell the same product over and over. Creators naturally bring fresh ideas because they create content fuelled by their own experiences, opinions and lives. They’re crafting stories about their view of the world, using their voice - which is impossible for you to imitate.

4. Talent
Thanks to Influencer Marketing’s evolution into Creator Marketing, the talent pool has opened up massively. Modern-day creators bring all the benefits of traditional influencers but have never been more equipped with diverse skills and talents that can rival traditional creatives - but with more authenticity.

5. Authenticity
Influencer Marketing was built on storytelling, authenticity and trust.

2 in 3 consumers trust creators talking about brands vs brand advertising because they’re real people with audiences who follow them for their relatability and likeability, not because they have something to sell.

That same trust has only increased as the industry and the social platforms themselves have transformed. Now, influencers and creators are crafting content that reaches (and resonates with) audiences far beyond their followers.  

6. Their content
Another reason creators are expert storytellers is their content.

Having a sustainable community of creators is the secret to generating the volume of digital content needed for organic and paid activity on social. Even better, creators are especially skilled in the best-performing format - short-form video, at scale.

7. Performance
These reasons combined result in one powerful advantage - creator content performs.

UGC doesn’t belong solely on the feeds of creators because 2 in 3 consumers are more likely to click on ads, emails & websites featuring UGC vs. brand-created images.

No matter your brand or product, or if you’re licensing top-performing organic content for your social ads or boosting Creator Ads, the same authentic content your customers love has proven to increase awareness, consideration, traffic and sales.

Or as we like to say at TRIBE: Creator Marketing unlocks more people creating more content across more platforms to reach the right customers who’ll spend the most dollars.

The do’s and don’ts of creator storytelling

One of the biggest Creator Marketing mistakes we see brands make is trying to control the narrative.

Sure, it’s important to have a creative strategy and a well-crafted brief, but Social Media is unpredictable and creators are the most equipped to understand what works and doesn’t work. Creators are the experts and they know their audience better than you, which is why creators like @elburritomonster far outperformed creators who met Carex’s brief perfectly.

Here’s some top do’s and don’ts to guide you. 

TRIBE offers solutions that elevate storytelling

Powered by tech, and delivered by experts TRIBE crafts solutions for brands to achieve real business outcomes via scalable, creative storytelling.

From discovering your ideal creators from our 100% opt-in community to delivering long-term, high-performance Creator Marketing strategies we have the solutions for you to start telling your story.

Ready to learn more?