Product Storytelling: What Is It All About According to Storifyme

Creating any story is no easy task, but it's a necessity in today's competitive marketing landscape. That holds especially true for the story of your product.

Why? Because what you offer - everything from your services to merchandise, and your whole inventory - is a vital part of your brand and by extent, a significant part of your company as well.

The things and experiences you make available online are the main reason why your company exists. Correct us if we’re wrong, but you're putting all this effort and energy into market research and narrative build up to have them purchased, right? Right.

And while you may be under the impression that listing out the main features of the products will do the trick, we're here to tell you that it isn't that simple, unfortunately. Highlighting prices and promoting special offers will certainly get some members of your audience to click on the storified landing page. That being said, if you want to see some real advancements in your conversions and ROI, give product storytelling a chance.

Including enthralling tales into the core of your company, products and everything in between is one of the simplest hacks that can improve your overall performance. People love stories and remember them well. That’s why the StorifyMe team is all about gripping narratives incorporated into all walks of our marketing strategies, and we recommend the same to you.

What Is Product Storytelling Exactly?

A product story should be a beguiling summary of all benefits that come with the purchase and usage of the item or service in question. When done right, this kind of narrative educates, entertains, and captivates the target audiences without being obnoxious.

Once your storified microstore has an inventory boasting various items with rich “biographies”, your success will be limited by your creativity alone. Not to mention that product description which covers everything from the initial idea all the way to glowing testimonies of various content customers, will set you apart from other vendors, too!

Here's a storified guide on general principles of successful product storytelling that will help you find answers to all the questions -

Does Your Merchandise Have a Purpose?

Well, of course, it does - in some way or another, you just have to be able to articulate it well. You should think in terms of answering all the WHYs that may pop up when somebody tries to start your product:

-Why does the item/service even exist?
-Why did you invent/produce/package it in the way you did?
-Why did you add all the features available?
-Why should they buy it?

And so on. When you collect the answers to similar questions, the real fun beings. Turn your product’s tale into a mantra that will echo the same core meaning. Make a point out of sprinkling your product’s intent and your brand’s mission throughout your content and social media.

Does Your Product Web Story Have a Conflict and Solution?

A story without conflict is just a series of statements that can be informative but most likely not that fun to follow. Every great tale relies on conflict to bring the narrative to life. That's why we love all our favorite shows and movies - for convincing plots, dramas, and satisfying resolutions. Channel that energy into this, too!

When it comes to product storytelling, your conflict is your client’s problem. Consequently, the villain is anybody or anything that’s stopping them from achieving their goals. Research the given issue thoroughly, inspect it from every angle, with a “no-detail-is-too-small” attitude. Make sure you understand the issue properly before you offer your solution. Only then dive into writing any storified article about all possible fixes that your company can provide.

And when it comes to satisfying resolutions, don’t be shy about the positive effects your item or service delivers. Show how everything works, demonstrate its benefits with visual storytelling whenever you get a chance. Boast the success stories you've compiled along the way. Show the journey from problem to solution, in all its glory.

Don’t get lost in all the fables though. No matter how tempted you are to embellish reality, try to stay away from dishonesty and falsehoods. Unrealistic fabrications can ruin the best of stories in a blink of an eye.

Does Your Product Story Have the Necessary Context?

While you’re probing everything inside out - don’t forget about the people you’re doing all that work for. They are the reason why your product/service is still standing, after all. You’re here to solve their problems and give them what they want.

To explain the benefits of what you're offering in the best way possible you must have the proper context to do so. Presentation is everything. You must know what the core of their problem or need is, but suitably demonstrating their happy ending is the goal. With that in mind, create character personas and define what motivates them to discover all the necessary contexts of your product's usage. Make sure to never stop asking questions and listening to the answers of your users, if you want your message to stick.

Is the Emotional Connection to Your Stuff Strong Enough?

Understanding and sympathizing with your audience from begging through the middle until the end of their buyer’s journey will elevate your storytelling capabilities. Whether you’re creating a storified ad or crafting a year-long marketing strategy: you want people to inspire people to act in some way, right?

That’s why you should be aware of buyers' behaviors and their emotions every step of the way. The emotional connection between your product and the customer is crucial for your brand, profits, and your business in general. To establish that connection and to win them over, you have to know how items in question make them feel and act.

To Whom Does the Spotlight Belong?

Through all of this, you should remember something veteran marketing storytellers will reiterate time after time: a good product story always starts and ends with your customer in mind. Even though we’re calling it "product storytelling", your customer is the main character of that narrative. Not you, your brand, or even your product. Your audience is the hero of any web story you broadcast, and the focus point of any successful marketing strategy. The StorifyMe team will always happily remind you that the customer's happy ending is your happy ending as well.