Storytelling is the most powerful way for financial marketing to engage people and occupy a little real estate in their brains. Stories are up to 22 times more memorable than simply presenting facts or figures alone.
If you want to connect with prospects, storytelling is the way to go. Here are 7 reasons why.
1. Stories are more memorable
How many times have you heard a great statistic and then struggled to remember it as you tried to relate it to someone at a later date? Now think of how easy it is to retell a story you heard. Numbers are rational. Stories are emotional. We are emotional beings. So it’s only natural that the stories stick with us.
2. Stories make it all less scary
Let’s face it, financial services subject matter can be intimidating. It can make educated adults feel intellectually inadequate. Stories are accessible. They draw you in and allow you to experience the information in a way that’s relatable.
3. Stories make complicated subject matter easier to understand
Financial marketing is tasked with helping people understand some pretty complicated subject matter. You can simply list the features of your product or service. But good luck getting prospects to stick around to make it through. A better alternative is to explain it with a metaphor or an analogy. This is the stuff that makes for smart storytelling. And helps your prospects quickly understand why they should do business with you.
4. Stories make it seem attainable
Sometimes financial challenges can seem insurmountable. A relevant story can show how someone similar to you met the challenge and found success.
5. Stories humanize it
Financial products and services don’t exactly conjure up warm and fuzzy feelings for folks. But, it’s easy to elicit feelings of empathy when you hear a story of someone who is facing a challenge. It’s possible to keep an audience engaged as you tell the story of how those same financial products or services made a difference in how the person’s story turned out.
6. Stories persuade
Numbers can inform you. But it’s stories that can move you. We all have to deal with the boring stuff in life – read a disclosure or wade through some legalese. You have to force yourself to make time to handle these tasks. But I bet you’d set aside time for a good story.
7. Stories are easier to share
Financial marketing can share numbers, but without context, the numbers often fail to have meaning. So to make it easier to convey, we tell the story that surrounds the numbers.
The bottom line is that we, as humans, like to share stories. Because stories can engage more deeply than just presenting the facts. After all, when was the last time you sat around a campfire and shared a spreadsheet?
Key Takeaways
- Storytelling is the most powerful way for financial marketing to build engagement and create lasting impact
- Stories are up to 22 times more memorable than simply presenting facts or figures alone
- There are 7 reasons that support the need to add more storytelling to your efforts
