You've probably heard your fair share of stories in your lifetime. From teachers, from grandparents, from best friends, from colleagues. Think about the stories that you recall most vividly. Not the ones you've read — the ones that were told to you.
You probably remember the flow of the story, from the setup to the action and the conclusion. Perhaps you remember the characters. You might even remember some of the actual lines verbatim.
But there's one thing that you almost certainly recall: who told you the story.
As brands continue to grapple with and adopt this marketing term we call "storytelling," that's one fact that seems to go by the wayside. If we're trying to connect emotionally with customers, employees, or whomever else is our intended audience — and we're trying to go it through stories — the only way to go about that is to have a human being doing the talking (or writing).
Why? Because the best stories convey how the storyteller felt. And an institution (like a brand, a company, etc.) doesn't have feelings.
Too many companies want to take the easy way out and hide behind a nameless, faceless logo, letting the brand tell the story. And then they wonder why their efforts aren't working.
Try letting a real person speak. It could be one of your employees or customers, or part of your vendor network. But don't give us the canard that marketers or PR professionals should remain behind the scenes. Otherwise, you're not conveying emotion; your'e sharing how great you think your products are.
That's not how stories are told.
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