The art of marketing and storytelling are more closely related than you might think. Time and time again we see brands rise to the top with products that are hard to distinguish from their competitors. If you think there’s an element of luck to it, you may be right. But there’s something else at play, a product story.
Product stories are a powerful tool used by some of the most successful marketers in the world. They separate a good marketing strategy, from a truly great one. Here’s everything you need to know.
What is a Product Story?
A product story effectively illustrates how the product will impact the life of its customers through imaginative words and imagery. Product storytelling dives deeper than just providing a description. It identifies customer pain points, and highlights how the product provides a solution for customers.
As a business owner or marketing professional looking to make your product stand out from the rest, you’re going to want to put an emphasis on your product’s story. Here’s why.
Why it Matters
The power of storytelling can be found across all industries. In fact, some of the most successful brands have separated themselves from the pack in some of the most competitive markets by focusing on their story first.
It’s not just some marketing trick either. There’s actual science behind why storytelling helps when selling a product.
In the early 2000’s, researchers discovered a neurochemical called oxytocin. The chemical oxytocin is responsible for signaling trust and safety. In short, Oxytocin promotes cooperation between people. So, why are we talking about some neurochemical in an article about product stories?
Well, the same lab that discovered oxytocin decided to take things a step further. They set out to promote the natural creation of oxytocin in people, in hopes of increasing cooperative behavior. The study found that character-driven storytelling, primarily through video, achieved their desired results.
What does this mean?
It means that stories were able to increase trust and cooperation. A secret that marketers have used to create emotional connections between customers and their products.
How to Tell Effective Product Stories
If a product’s story is such a powerful tool, why don’t more brands use it to their advantage? The truth is, most marketers and businesses focus on selling their product, not forging emotional connections with their customers.
Creating a product story isn’t always easy either. There’s a lot of thought and research that goes into it. But if you’ve already done your due diligence, and discovered your market fit, then you’re just about halfway there. Here’s how to create effective product stories.
Start with Your Customers
We alluded to this earlier, but it’s something that’s missing from so many marketing strategies. Today, there are too many marketers using the same strategies, focusing on their product rather than what their product does for their customer.
Why should your customer pick your product over the sea of others just like it?
As one of the best selling beers in the US, Corona has long used the story of their product to establish a connection with their customers. With over 7,000 breweries in the US alone, Corona wouldn’t be able to stand out without a compelling story.
Their now infamous commercials, the ones that show Corona drinkers instantly transported to a relaxing beach, helps paint a vivid picture in the minds of their customers. The beer is no longer just a drink, but a means of instant relaxation in an increasingly busy world.
Address Pain Points
Websites and marketplaces are full of product descriptions and details. Sure, it’s important to know the dimensions of the television you’re selling, or the amount of SPF in your sunscreen. But if that’s all you’re relying on to make the sale, how are you speaking to your customers emotionally?
Rather than just show what your product can do, demonstrate how it solves the problem your customers are experiencing.
Staying with our beverage trend, Gatorade has been the most popular sports drink since it first hit the scene. When you watch a commercial for Gatorade, you’ll see some of the biggest athletes on the planet dripping colored sweat. Without saying a word, Gatorade is addressing the fatigue and dehydration issue that occurs when competing at a high level.
The commercials always make sure to end with those same athletes finishing their workout by chugging a bottle of Gatorade. Leaving a lasting image in the minds of their audience that proves if the biggest athletes trust Gatorade to replenish their body, you can trust it to do the same for you.
Paint a Story with
Successful authors are the ones who find a way to captivate their readers for hours on end with words alone. And if you’ve ever tried to capture the attention of your audience through a blog post or copywriting, then you’ll surely appreciate the talent of authors who write entire novels.
Anyone can tell a story, but it takes a master wordsmith to get others to listen.
Trying to tell your product story through words alone is no easy task. You need to put yourself in the shoes of your customer, and help guide their imagination through the pain points they experience, and exactly how your product can make their life easier.
If you’re not a wordsmith, that’s ok. However, the importance of a captivating product story is too powerful to ignore. So, whether you write it yourself or hire a professional storyteller, make sure you feel a genuine connection through the words you read before trusting those same words to your customers.
Better Yet, Show Your Audience
If you have the opportunity to create a product video to accompany your product story, then we highly recommend you do. Video has a way of engaging your audience in a way that even the most compelling copy just can’t seem to match.
Now, that doesn’t mean you should just throw up any video and call it a day. Any video content you create should be made with substance.
Before movies are made, scripts are read, reread, and tweaked countless times. Storyboards are created to meticulously plan out each scene of the movie. The production process can take years to complete all in the hopes that the final product will captivate the audience, engaging them in a story like trance.
While you don’t need to go to the same lengths for your video, you should still make an effort to incorporate your product’s story into the content.
Enhance Your Product Storytelling with Firework
Firework is changing the way your audience engages with your product’s story. By creating a platform that allows you to bring the power of short form video content directly to your website, you can harness the power of storytelling in a way that wasn’t possible before.
To get started, simply go to our sign up page, and start uploading your product story videos today!
