When we think about storytelling, it’s normal for us to immediately think about books and films – because we easily recognise these as stories.

But have you ever considered that the narrative put across by brands and companies in their marketing endeavours are also a form of storytelling? Because they are!

In marketing, the underlying notion of storytelling is the same as when you are writing a book or a film.

You have a main character who wants something, but there’s a problem getting in their way. In order to solve the problem, they turn to a guide or a helper who shows them how to overcome their struggle. If they manage to overcome it, they will get the ‘happy ending’ they’ve been searching for; if not, they will fail.

Well, within copywriting and marketing for your business, the main character is your client or customer, and you play the role of the guide or helper.

You are not the main character; you are simply there to help your client get to where they want to be. To achieve their success and to avoid their failure.

In order to connect with our clients and customers, we need to tell THEIR story. And there’s a scientific reason for why this works so well.

The sensory centres of the human brain respond to stories. So, when you hear a story that resonates with you, your brain reacts as if you are experiencing the story yourself.

This is something called ‘neural coupling’ and basically it means that When the brain sees or hears a story, its neurons fire in the same patterns as the speaker’s brain.“Mirror neurons” create coherence between a speaker’s brain and the brains of his/her audience members.

But here’s the thing: this neural coupling only occurs during successful communication and it is lacking in the absence of communication, such as when listening to an unintelligible foreign language, or when a story isn’t being told in the right way. 

So, what does this mean for you as a business owner wanting to use storytelling in your marketing communications, in your copy and your content?

Well, it means that if you do it right, and you tell a story with your messaging and entire brand identity that resonates with your ideal clients or customers, then you have the potential to create and foster real connections with your clients and customers.

Now, note that I said ‘if you do it right’, because exactly, as the science indicates, if you don’t communicate in an effective way, storytelling or not, the ‘neural coupling’ that you want to occur so that your clients or customers respond to your story will not happen.

So how can you do it right? Well, when you use storytelling in your communications what you want to happen is that you want your clients or customers to see themselves in the story you’re telling.

Remember, you are telling THEIR story, so you want them to respond to it! In order to tell their story, you need to know it first.

For more on this, listen to The Copy Coach Podcast Episode 3.