Storytelling plays a role in every type of digital marketing but where lead generation is concerned, it adds even more value. Traditionally, lead nurturing has always been about sales-speak, with landing pages that are designed to get leads into the sales funnel. Although this approach remains important, there are other ways to get leads into the funnel more naturally. Stories offer one such way, creating an emotional connection with potential leads, building trust and even anticipating potential barriers to purchase.
How can storytelling help you take your lead generation campaigns to the next level and why are they so important? Let’s take a look.
Using Storytelling in Your Lead Generation Strategy
Storytelling has a great impact on your results. Here are a few of the biggest benefits of using stories within your lead generation strategy.
Conversational marketing
Conversations take place between brands and people. When you are speaking AT people rather than speaking WITH them, you run the risk of coming across as overly sales-driven. When you start to have conversations, you will have a far better chance of getting to know your audience. Natural wording, stories that have a tune suitable for your audience and anecdotes that open up the chance for further discussion will all help to entice leads organically.
Authentic connection
With conversation comes connection. Your goal with lead nurturing is not to be a nameless, faceless lead machine. Instead, it is to build relationships. Stories help you build real connections by making your brand relatable. Instead of the usual case studies and testimonials, try bringing in real-life examples of how customers have used and benefited from your products or services. Focus on solving problems rather than selling features.
Anticipated purchase barriers
Storytelling can also remove potential purchase barriers. You could research to find the most common barriers that potential leads have within your specific industry. You could use stories to show your cost-effectiveness, the ease of getting started, the direct results on leads’ bottom lines, and any other barriers that leads may be facing. For example, you could share a story about a customer who had wasted a lot of money on products that did not bring real value and show how he could have benefited more from investing in a product that may have initially cost more but ended up offering far more value in the long run.
Increased trust
Everyone likes to feel listened to and understood. Creating an authentic connection and proactively working to relate to the challenges your audience face helps you increase trust. This, in turn, helps you grow your reputation.
Lead Generation and Emotional Connection
While there’s still a place for sales talk, storytelling should also be included within your strategy. Whether you share personal stories of your journey, customer stories or even scenarios based on common challenges, building an emotional connection through storytelling will bring results as you take a human-centred approach to lead generation.
