Future Marketing: 3 Key Storytelling Trends

We don't really like it when someone tries to sell us something, do we? Hard-selling has fallen out of fashion, and it doesn't deliver results it used to. When we see somebody pushing even the most loved product at all costs: we feel a bit of cringe, tune out, and refuse to participate any further.

People became numb to billboards and printed banners; they put on ad blocks, skip commercials breaks just to avoid having to experience that feeling. Some would go so far as to say that they hate everything connected to advertising and marketing in general.

But there's something we have to keep in mind when we start throwing such burdensome words, and that is: the primary reason of marketing isn't (at least it shouldn't be just about ) selling products.

Nope.

When done right, marketing is a beautiful way to immerse your audience in fantastic product storytelling, and give them a reason and an opportunity to engage.  

The Story Comes First, Always

Remember: the products and sales come in second. Pushing product placement here and there down their throats, without a carefully constructed narrative will only get you a knee-jerk "it's an ad, I don't care, I'll skip it" reaction. Is that what you are after? Of course not.

In a world where people's attention is the most valuable commodity, keeping your customers’ focus on your content is the ultimate goal, right? Well, online presence which is seen as dull, non-engaging, skippable and overtly sale-focused will always keep you at arm's length (or more) away from that ultimate goal.

That's where the storified ad comes in as a perfect solution!

Going into advertising story-first eliminates the option of the audience's disinterest because of one simple reason: humans are hard-wired to focus and stick around until their curiosity is satisfied. The need to know what will happen next and how your story will end will keep them around for much longer than even the best of sales pitches can.

Storytelling in marketing will give them that captivating hood, exciting plot, and a satisfying conclusion - with little demonstrations of the products or services in action along the way without seeming pushy.

The Future of Marketing Is Storified

If storytelling is what draws audiences to brands and companies and helps them remember you, you have to include it in your strategy and plan consciously. There's no way around it. There are a lot of techniques you can utilize to enrich your web stories, and a single blog post is too small to give them all proper justice.

Instead, Storyfyme team will do our best (as per usual) to present and explain X trends that you'll surely see sticking around in 2020 and beyond when it comes to internet marketing in general. If you have any queries regarding the implementation of the things said, don't hesitate to contact us and let us support you on your way to storytelling/marketing glory!

Trend 1: Data For The Win!

Information and intricate (but still informative and necessary) details are the things that breathe in life into your web stories to give them credibility. Data you gathered or info you have laying around could be used in an anecdote, to draw attention to a problem that your product could solve, or it could shed some light on issues that concern the masses. In case you collect information through their business models, as Google or Spotify does, the possibilities are endless.

Spotify uses your streaming habits to determine the most played songs, which they put on a unique playlist at the end of the year, assembled just for you. Google does a similar thing, where they collect global search trends of the last year and put them into a neat, amazing looking video.  

If, by any chance, your company has some interesting data available, there's no reason it should go to waste, especially if by packaging it in a fun and exciting way you can make a unique experience for your audience. You'll maybe even get a storified guide out of it!

Trend 2: Supremacy of User-Driven Content

Now more than ever, people crave authenticity and honesty, and they know that truth lies in reviews and opinions of their peers. They are not going to trust a polished, flawless appearance that brands want to and tend to project into the world. Separate yourself from the forgettable blob of superb corporate propaganda and let actual product users build your product storytelling.

It's more efficient to let people who visited your storified microstore (not those who have created it) do the talking, instead of going on and on about the company's values/goals/accomplishments, or whatever else you find essential. Your story will benefit from a happy customer's POV and a little bit of shared spotlight.

Story-based advertising is at its best when customers believe it and can relate to it, and one of the best ways to get that trust is deep dive into what customer's experience.

Trend 3: Visual Storytelling with Video

Simply put, with videos you can show stuff straightforward and the most alluring way. Other content outputs like interactive prints, social media posts, infographics, or podcasts no matter how colorful and amazing, are not dubbed as the preferred medium of basically everybody. That honor has been bestowed upon the king of all content formats: moving pictures.  

In the age of multitasking and millions of distractions, videos are one of the rare things that have a chance of scoring and keeping the viewer's undivided attention. If what's happening on the screen is engaging enough, the clients simply can't do anything else. They keep their eyes glued to the screen and take in everything the video has to give. That's why your visual storytelling strategy needs to be a priority.

The Future Is Approaching

It's in your interest to welcome it prepared and at the top of your game. Assuming that you want people to actually land on your storified landing pages and consider your brand their top pit, you should think of all the ways you can make your advertising campaign more data-driven, customer-focused, and visually appealing.

Whenever you're stuck and pursuing the debts of interwebs in an attempt to find fresh, new ways to tell your tale, do yourself a favor and contact enthusiastic storytellers at Storifyme, and your days of pondering the best marketing narratives will be over!

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