Storytelling. It has the powerful ability to connect with human emotions, shift perspectives, initiate change, set a mood, and cultivate relationships.  

Most businesses have never considered how storytelling can radically change their relationship to their consumers. Maybe that’s because people often mistakenly think of children’s books or bedtime stories when they hear the word storytelling. Storytelling is much more than that.

Sharing a story is the key to capturing the attention of an audience and inspiring them to respond in ways nothing else can achieve. 

Using video to tell stories gives you the power to communicate your brand, product, and services in a unique and influential way. There are so many reasons why emotional storytelling is the most effective marketing tool you can use, but grasping how to use it for your business is not always easy. 

Let’s look at three ways you can easily shift your thinking about how you’re connecting with your audience.

3 Simple Tips to Tap Into The Power of Storytelling

#1: Capture your audience’s attention by sharing a real-life problem.  

When you show your clients what their life looks like now, with a particular problem they are having, they immediately feel like you know them and understand them. Lead them to how their life could look once the problem has been solved, and you become a trusted resource and they will be more willing to move forward with you.

But how do you know the genuine problem your audience has?

You don’t want to sell puppies to someone who is in need of a car. 

In order to connect, you need to know and understand your audience and be able to empathize with their struggles.  If you assume you understand them without getting to know them, you may not properly grab their attention or be seen as authentic. Your customers want to be known by you. 

Quick tips to connect to real-life problems:

• Know your audience 
• Accurately identify their problems or needs
• Empathize with their struggles
• Show them a better life after your solution

#2: Understand the science behind using emotions for human connection.

Good or bad, emotions create a bond between people.  

Evoking emotions through video has been scientifically proven to induce hormones. 

The feelings you evoke in your story are what lead to your results. 

Emotions like happiness, hope, trust, and belonging rouse endorphins, oxytocin and dopamine. This is powerful, because oxytocin, for example, is a hormone that helps us connect with the human side of people. Stimulating such positive hormones can make your audience feel more relaxed, more trusting, and more generous.  

You can trigger a sense of urgency or intensity by using fear, excitement, adventure, and suspense, which have all been shown to raise cortisol and adrenaline levels. These hormones can make your audience feel a sense of thrill, hastiness, or fervor.  

#3: Realize that vulnerability is attractive.

When you share the empathetic and vulnerable side of your business, people feel a stronger bond and connection with you. Therefore, your brand feels more human.  

Make your emotional storytelling videos more personal. 

Nobody likes to be "sold to." Today's consumers are incredibly savvy, and they can see right through attempts to woo them with insincere flattery and one-time special offers. Genuine connections are the direct result of being genuine. 

Your brand is a persona, so it needs to relate to people on a very human level. When you can be vulnerable with your audience, they will be vulnerable with you. Vulnerability creates a deeper sense of loyalty. Make sure your story is honest about who you are and what you stand for. Having integrity and being transparent are essential to emotional storytelling and will create the best connections with your audience.

Practice the Power

Emotional storytelling takes a bit of practice, but you can unleash its power by starting with these three steps: 

• Discover your audience’s current reality. Take time to listen and ask them relevant questions to find out what they really want or what would make their life better. 
• Decide what emotions you want people to feel when they interact with your brand. Consider the hormones that are released by our emotions. Science tells us that different emotions make people respond in different ways. How do you want your customers to respond to you?
• Believe in making vulnerable, authentic connections. What are some things you could share openly and honestly about your business or product that would make you more relatable and authentic? Turn your brand into a persona and start making genuine human connections. 

Using emotionally engaging video storytelling, you can change the face of your business. We’re always here to help you get started.