How to use story content for eCommerce marketing

Apart from personal use and standard marketing, story content has found its use in eCommerce. More and more companies recognize how valuable story content can be in engaging the modern audience and providing good conversion rates. But, to use story content for eCommerce marketing you need to be aware of what it entails and how it fits with your brand.

The benefits of storytelling in eCommerce

While there are numerous benefits of using storytelling in eCommerce it is important to mention that getting them is not an easy task. You need to have a good understanding of what storytelling is and how it makes use of modern trends. And you need to have a firm grip on what your brand is about. By knowing this you can integrate the two, which is essential to proper marketing storytelling.

Storytelling in modern content marketing

Storytelling, as a concept, is hardly a novel idea in marketing. For most of marketing history, advertisers have tried to use some sort of story to promote their product and/or service. After all, a well-told story is quite memorable and can make a tremendous impression on a person. And, unlike songs or catchy sentences, it can contain a surprising amount of information. Where storytelling differs in modern marketing is that you cannot simply rely on the written word to tell your story.

Modern story content utilizes images, videos, animations, audio and written content to get the message across. When utilized properly, story content can covey a clear, easy-to-follow message that any member of the audience can understand with ease.

Creating a good story

While there are, technically, limitless ways in which you can create story content, some templates tend to stick out. The safest one is where you have a clear intro, the middle and the outro. You use the intro to catch the viewers attention. The middle to convey your message. And the outro to give a CTA. While this is the most straightforward one, you shouldn't feel compelled to use only it. In essence, any standard story structure can be connected to a template for story content in marketing. So, you can start at the middle, and then work your way through the rest of the story. You can jump from intro to outro if your story is short enough. Whatever story format you see fit, you can apply. But, try to first understand your brand and your customer's expectations before doing so.

Branding

No matter what type of marketing you choose to use, branding will be quite important. When it comes to story content it is paramount that you understand your brand and its overlaying tone.

In order for a story to make an impact, it needs to have a distinct tone. For instance, you can use a professional tone, where you outline the clear-cut benefits of your eCommerce website. Or you can use a more casual tone for addressing your customers in a friendly manner. You can opt for an exciting feel where you use flashy animations and quick traditions. Or you can go for a cosy tone with warm colours and a soft feel. What's important is to connect the tone to your brand and ensure that the two are in sync.

 To learn more about this we suggest that you view the story content of large brands. They usually have a good idea of what their brand is about and how to showcase the idea through story content.

Using story content in your marketing campaign

One of the important points to keep in mind is that while you should use story content in your marketing efforts you cannot solely rely on it. Story content, just like any other type of content, should only be a part of a more robust marketing strategy. How big of a part it can be is up for debate. After all, with some audiences, you can rely more on story content than with others. But, there are still aspects like email marketing, customer engagement and in-depth explanations where story content simply cannot provide a full solution.

Straying away from social media platforms

It is a common misconception that your stories can only be posted on social media platforms. While these are the most usual platforms on which you can post stories, they are by no means the only ones. There are tools like StorifyMe allow you to create stories and place them wherever you see fit. In widget form, you can easily interchange them into your website and ensure that they are there permanently. This is one of the important differences from Instagram stories where they get taken down after 24hours.

If you really want to make the most out of story content, you really want to go beyond social media limitations. With third-party tools, you will have much more freedom to experiment with designs, interactivity and animations. And seeing that these tools are surprisingly user friendly and have a free version, there is little reason not to try them out.

Integrating with other content

In order to use story content for eCommerce marketing, it is important to understand its limits. The two most obvious ones are lack of communication and lack of in-depth content. Namely, in order to succeed in eCommerce, you need to develop a line of communication with your customers. Even a small increase in communication can yield to improved retention rate. Therefore, while it can be arduous, you need to find a way to directly communicate with your customers. Story content can help you to a certain extent, through polls, questionnaires and various interactive elements that you can put into stories. But, you need to add the personal touch, be it through emails or some other form of communication.

Secondly, you need to add in-depth content to your marketing. Things like blogs, guides and overviews are all necessary for successful marketing. Not only do those help with SEO, but they also engage the area of marketing that story content simply cannot reach.