Did the title make you look? Did it make you notice it among the tons of marketing content you’re exposed to?
This is how it works with a good story; when it’s interesting and appealing, it gets the work done.

In recent years, storytelling has become one of the hottest topics in the marketing and content worlds.

Each campaign tells a story: behind every cheese is a family tradition; behind every piece of furniture – nostalgic memories; and behind a mobile phone, longings and tears.

In B2C, storytelling is old news. But when it comes to B2B, it is perceived as less natural and intuitive.
Is it really so?

In B2B, the marketing process for most products and services goes through their specifications, bandwidth,
response time and ROI, and less through the emotions they elicit.

“People will forget what you did, but will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou.

Indeed, an emotional connection to the values of a product or service is much more significant and authentic that can dramatically increase sales while developing customer loyalty over time.

Storytelling is one of the key elements that will give life to your brand, whether it’s a company brand or an employer brand. But to ensure effective storytelling, it has to be authentic, creative, inspiring and motivating.

So how do you create a story?

Stories do not have to be invented. All stories are already in your organization – in the people, in the work you do, in the experiences, in the product or service, in the reasons that led to its development, in the problems it solves, and more.

The main question you have to answer is: What is the value my product brings to the world and how can the world manage without it?

Here are some of the best examples of how it’s done:

Samsung condensed the philosophy behind its brand, which says never give up, overcome obstacles and do the impossible, into a single sentence: “Do what you can’t.”

Around this idea, it created its entire storytelling campaign of videoclips that reflect the company’s holistic view. Through people, it conveys the company’s current and future capabilities. Here’s one of these clips

 A company that focuses on the welfare and well-being of its employees is a company that is a great place to work.

Employer branding is not just a program for attracting new employees but also, and more importantly,
for retaining current talent. Happy employees equal higher profits.

Potential customers will also check reviews of your company, its products, and services, including reviews by its employees, to assess whether it’s a business worth buying from.

WeWork established its empire, raised money from investors and sold workspace through storytelling.
The company was established in 2010, in the middle of the economic crisis, when many people found themselves jobless and many buildings were empty.

WeWork understood that people want more than just a desk. They are looking for a community.
Their vision of “People work to make a life, not just a living” is their story, in a nutshell, describing their solution as a place that creates a community, not only a physical workspace.

With the story of creating a diverse and productive community, WeWork appealed to small-medium companies and startups that required remote locations, and also to freelancers. The rest is history.

And last but not least, the company that took storytelling a step ahead and created an entire platform.
For Microsoft, storytelling is essential and vital in the development of its brand.
The company created a dedicated platform where any employee or any department can upload a personal story.

In doing so, it conveys the message that despite its size, Microsoft’s people are important individuals; at the same time, it tells the story of its products.

Now it’s up to you. Start telling YOUR story.

Make the connection between your product or service and your customers through a story, and make it unforgettable, exciting and interactive.
Most importantly, take advantage of the many tools social media puts at your disposal.

Use images in Instagram with stickers, video clips or posts in Facebook, tweet your story in twitter (you can have several), share photo albums on Facebook (you can invite customers to send you pictures), and more.
What are you waiting for?
Or as we didn’t say: Tell, don’t sell.