How does digital storytelling help B2B marketers bring content to life in powerful new ways?
With more B2B buying research and ongoing customer engagement than ever taking place online over the past two years, there have never been as many opportunities to benefit from digital storytelling, yet greater competition has made it vital to create content that truly stands out and engages.
Let’s take a look at how well-crafted digital storytelling can propel B2B content to new successes, and how B2B marketers can breathe new life into content in a variety of digital formats.
Empathy Transforms Digital Storytelling
A shift in how many B2B marketers look at the content their teams create is often required to fully embrace and benefit from the power of successful digital storytelling. Empathy plays a role in this shift, and by taking the time to understand audiences, B2B marketers can create more emotionally memorable stories — making customers feel connected on a deeper level that’s more human and less digital.
“Brands want to transact with people who are showing high levels of empathy,” Miri Rodriquez, senior storyteller at Microsoft, has observed — a facet of successful digital storytelling that she expanded on in our article, “Microsoft’s Miri Rodriguez on How B2B Marketers Are Embracing Empathy For Better Customer Storytelling #B2BMX.”
Miri considers storytelling a tactic worthy of being a top goal in 2022.
“Make storytelling excellence one of your top goals in 2022. Wherever you are in the brand storytelling journey, aspire to tangible deliverables in your storytelling strategy as part of your marketing efforts. This includes defining a plan on how you can best design and tell your brand story considering inclusion, market trends, thought leadership and your customers which are all continuously evolving,” Miri noted recently in our look at “How to Elevate Your B2B Marketing Career: Advice from Execs at Top B2B Brands.”
“Make storytelling excellence one of your top goals in 2022. Wherever you are in the brand storytelling journey, aspire to tangible deliverables in your storytelling strategy as part of your marketing efforts.” — Miri Rodriquez @MiriRod Share on XFree The Story: Not Just For B2C Anymore
The move to either all-digital or mostly-digital in B2B over the past several years has allowed brands to experiment with and even embrace aspects of what have traditionally been B2C-only marketing strategies, and these changes are likely to endure even when the world returns to a much more in-person mode of business operation.
While some of these changes adopted from B2C into the B2B world have been minor, the biggest may be the shift to working with the power of the story, even in enterprise organizations.
The the freedom digital storytelling offers, B2B marketers can break down many of the old barriers between brands and buyers, and truly connect in powerful and enduring ways.
Authenticity Humanizes B2B Connections
Digital storytelling also helps B2B marketers humanize content with authenticity.
“What good is your content marketing investment if it’s not believable? If it’s not trusted?” our CEO Lee Odden recently asked in a look at “Three of the Biggest Opportunities to Elevate B2B Marketing in 2022.”
When done well, digital storytelling not only drives trust, but is also a great way to incorporate industry thought leaders, who can augment and bring new life to brand stories. “Content collaborations between industry experts and internal subject matter experts and executives helps to humanize B2B brands by focusing on the real issues customers are dealing with,” Lee noted, highlighting another way that customer empathy drives content — including digital storytelling — to new heights.
“Content collaborations between industry experts and internal subject matter experts and executives helps to humanize B2B brands by focusing on the real issues customers are dealing with.” — Lee Odden @LeeOdden Share on XCustomer Solutions In Formats They Prefer
Storytelling in B2B doesn’t have to exist in only one digital format — indeed in 2022 there are more ways to present and share stories than ever — and one of the prime benefits of stellar digital storytelling is that it can take many forms and still ring true with audiences.
A well-crafted story can be incorporated in B2B efforts that work equally well on many platforms and in multiple media types, including:
- Traditional blog content
- Social platforms
- Woven into video
- Added to audio / podcasting
- Email / newsletter campaigns
- Conference presentations
A powerful story works across the board, and while some stories are certainly better-suited to being shared in specific formats, a truly memorable one will transcend the medium and make that leap to existing not only online, but in the memory of the people your brand wants to connect with. When that transfer takes place, a story can endure, and drive customer relationships that reach newfound levels of connection.
We’ve looked at some of the ways that B2B marketers can create stories that connect on a deeper level, including these five:
- Why There’s a Need for Creative Storytelling in B2B Tech and How Influencer Marketing Can Accelerate Results
- Digital First B2B Marketing is Here to Stay and It’s All About Experiences
- Beyond SEO: B2B Content Optimization for Trust and Customer Experience
- Your Guide to Effective Storytelling in B2B Content Marketing
- 10 Fresh Social Media Marketing Tools To Boost Brand Storytelling
Telling Compelling Digital Tales Create Genuine Audience Connections
When B2B marketers take the time to tell compelling digital stories that create genuine audience connections, include industry subject matter experts, and share their efforts in a variety of digital formats and publishing platforms, the true strength of digital storytelling shines brightly.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this look at just a few of the ways that digital storytelling is helping B2B brands forge greater and more enduring connections, and that you’ll find some of them useful in your own efforts in 2022 and beyond.
Creating award-winning B2B marketing that humanizes with authenticity takes considerable time and effort, which is why more firms are choosing to work with a top digital marketing agency such as TopRank Marketing. Contact us today to learn how we can help, as we’ve done for over 20 years for businesses ranging from LinkedIn, Dell and 3M to Adobe, Oracle, monday.com and others.
