This is part two of the two part blog post “Attention is the New Currency.” In the last post we explored how it is necessary to think differently to gain the attention of your audience. As promised, in this section I will be discussing the necessity of storytelling in advertising.
According to Adweek, nine out of 10 people who can press the skip ad button on an advertisement do. Part of this is due to a lack of storytelling. It is important to remember that consumers don’t want to be read facts and have the benefits of this and that listed to them, at least not when they initially hear about a product or service. What consumers want and what grabs their attention is a story. An excellent example of an advertisement that uses storytelling is this Audi R8 ad:
This ad clearly has something to say and it’s much more dynamic than your typical advertisement. While watching this ad I found myself wanting to know more about this old man’s story and I felt happiness at the end. When an ad makes you actually feel something you are much more likely to remember it. The sign of a good video advertisement is one that sucks you in and makes you forget there’s a skip button.
This same concept can be applied to social media posts. If your company’s social media tells a story about your brand and your company, chances are that your audience will be a lot more likely to remember your posts. And don’t think that your posts will have to be long, drawn out stories. Storytelling on social media can be done in one quick and simple post, or it can revolve around a whole campaign. Even simple posts about your office’s day to day functions can be turned into stories. Look at this example from Apolis, a clothing company in Los Angeles:
This company took their weekly leadership team meeting, something that happens in most offices across the country, and turned it into an opportunity to showcase their team and their dedication to their mission. Now imagine this photo with a more typical caption like, “weekly team meeting with the execs.” See the difference just a few more lines and a little more thought about the story the picture is telling can make? The next time you post a photo on your company’s social media account think of ways you can tell your story, and you’ll be sure to draw in more attention.
