How startups can harness the power of storytelling to grow their customer base

We have been telling stories since time began. From primitive cave drawings in the Chavauz regions of France, to the lavish palace reliefs created by the Ancient Assyrian Kings; mankind has long used storytelling as a means to share tales of woe, joy, love and hope.

Civilisations started crafting their greatest tales not long after the development of speech and language. It’s therefore no surprise that storytelling is as deeply rooted in our culture now, as it was 30,000 years ago.

So, why are our brains so conditioned to relate to stories? Pamela Rutledge, Professor of Media Psychology at Fielding Graduate University writes in Psychology Today that storytelling is deeply connected to the human experience. Narrative structure triggers our behavioural responses and helps us to make meaning, understanding our place in the world.  

Stories connect us, engage us through emotion, enable us to chronicle life, collaborate, convey messages and share experiences.

How to master the art of storytelling with creative content and video production

So, how do startups harness the power of storytelling to make an impact on their customer base? How do video production agencies, creative content agencies, and digital content agencies craft memorable opportunities to draw and engage an audience? How can storytelling help startups and scale-ups in driving acquisition, and securing retention?

Despite significant advances in the technological means of creating, serving, accessing and sharing creative and video content, Rutledge states that “the human brain has been on a slower evolutionary trajectory than the technology.” At the core of every digital content snippet or video we absorb through the multiple channels available to us, we seek a dialogue in order for us to understand the experience.

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The success of any creative content lies in its ability to tell a story that resonates, and portrays authenticity and richness.

This is where a skilled video production agency comes in. Creating memorable narratives that draw and engage your target audience is both an art and a science. Conceiving a campaign idea sits at the intersection of data-driven strategy, brand insights, cultural insights, and creative thinking.

Obsessing over the initial data and insight provides a strong framework to both develop and culture an engaging campaign concept that appeals to your audience. As a startup investing in video production services with a limited budget, this is one thing that you can collate with minimal spend.

So, where do we start?

Reviewing any existing performance data, brand objectives, audience insights, or distribution performance is a good place. This provides a strong basis to understand what your audience already connects with.  

Consider what your customer needs – don’t drive your brand. Lead with dialogue, and the brand will follow. Your customer will connect with the creative story.

Harness the emotional. The best storytellers present tales that make us laugh, cry and everything in between.

And lastly, partner with a creative content agency or video production agency that has a strong history of growing start ups and scale ups through affordable creative content. Storytelling is an art form. The best video production agencies will be pros in spinning a compelling story.

If you’d like to hear more about our groundbreaking work for Tide, Penfold and Trussle then drop us a message here.