Social media have created new framework conditions for the brand communication of companies. The majority of users have a shorter attention span, and mobile content is becoming increasingly important. In order to generate lasting attention, companies therefore use digital storytelling.
But what should a successful story look like? What special features do platforms like Facebook or Instagram bring with them? Michael Kling explains how storytelling works in social media and what companies should bear in mind.
Visual content is particularly important in design. Kling shows when videos and images are meaningful and how they can be supplemented with text overlays. His book offers support for content marketing in social media. In this way, companies achieve better perception and dissemination of their message than with conventional advertising messages.
From the content:
- neuromarketing;
- Online marketing;
- brand communication;
- visual storytelling;
- Digital storytelling
Table of contents
Abstract
List of abbreviations
1 Introduction
1.1 Starting situation
1.2 Objective of the work and research question
1.3 Methodology and approach
1.4 Justification of the platform selection
2 Classification and meaning of central terms
2.1 Definition of enterprise
2.2 Definition of Content Marketing
2.3 Storytelling
2.4 Social Media
3 Why storytelling is important in content marketing
3.1 Necessity of content marketing and differentiation from classic marketing
3.2 The effect of storytelling in the brain
3.3 Content marketing needs good stories
4 Core elements for a successful story
4.1 Understanding the structure of a story
4.2 The Hero
4.3 The conflict
4.4 Emotionality
4.5 Appeal to all the senses
5 Visual storytelling as the supreme discipline in the digital age of storytelling
5.1 Definition Visual Storytelling
5.2 Images as a guarantee of success in digital storytelling
5.3 The effect of images in visual storytelling
6 Use of social media for corporate storytelling
6.1 Relevance of communication in social media
6.2 Relevance of storytelling in social media
6.3 Special features for storytelling in social media
6.4 Facebook as a storytelling platform
6.5 Instagram as a storytelling platform
6.6 Narrative structure and design of social videos in the newsfeed
7 Best practice analysis: the Hornbach hammer
7.1 Procedure
7.2 Action
7.3 Justification of the selection
7.4 Analysis of the narrative structure
7.5 Use of platform-specific features in Facebook
7.6 Conflict and Hero
7.7 Emotionality
7.8 Appeal to all the senses
7.9 Call-to-action
7.10 Final assessment
8 Conclusion
Bibliography
List of abbreviations
TV television
B2C Business-to-Consumer
Z. B. For example
T period
A Base
or. respectively
PUBLIC RELATIONS public relations
UGC User-generated content
BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke
TK Techniker Krankenkasse
PC personal computer
Ad Advertisement
IT information technology
IG Story Instagram Story
Ltd Limited Liability Company
GIF Graphics Interchange Format
IG-Live Instagram Live
IGTV Instagram TV
app Application
TC Timecode
URL Uniform Resource Locator
www. World Wide Web
LTD. public limited company
DIY do it yourself
email Electronic Mail
Abstract
On social media platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram, businesses can only succeed in digital storytelling, if they take the basic criteria for a successful story into account. In addition, features that are created by storytelling on social media need to have a connection to the story told. However, not every of these features has to be necessarily used in a story. In fact, it is far more important to make a reasonable choice in accordance with the constructed story. However, when it comes to designing the story, certain framework conditions have to be taken into consideration that are determined by social media. These include a strong shortening of attention span as well as the prioritisation of mobile content. Moreover, by selecting the storytelling tools available on each platform, it is recommended to make a well thought out choice in accordance with the constructed story. Stories can only be told by either using one tool of that particular platform or by combining several tools sensibly. Furthermore, concerning the design on social media, it is vital to make visual content. Hence, the focus needs to be put on videos and meaningful pictures that shall include displayed texts.
If all these steps are being considered, and also by using storytelling methods for content marketing on social media, firms will be able to create a better perception, a lasting memory and spread their message much more effectively than by using traditional advertising messages. Eventually, this sort of use has a neurological effect on the human being, which at the same time gives companies the opportunity to influence the consumers' voting behaviour.
1 Introduction
1.1 Starting situation
The typical facts and "buy me" messages, whether offline or online, have an effect on consumers1 for a long time no longer the desired effect that leads to the purchase of the products.2 Consumers today experience products as objectively interchangeable and quality is taken for granted. As a result, consumers are showing less and less interest in products that are advertised to them by conventional messages from companies.3 Classic marketing is therefore becoming increasingly ineffective.4 The amount of content that the user is confronted with on a daily basis also deters him.5 On average, a consumer is confronted with advertising messages a frightening 13,000 times a day.6 These reach him in a variety of ways: for example, through TV, radio, internet, posters or displays. As a consequence, the user tries to isolate himself from advertising.7 Especially online, the possibilities of filtering and blocking are used to reduce the number of advertising messages.8 The abundance of brands, messages and products is already so numerous today that companies have to try to go other ways to attract the attention of potential customers.
As a result, more and more companies are relying on content marketing as a useful medium instead of classic advertising. Companies have realized that consumers need useful information and entertainment instead of being confronted with bold purchase requests.9 Because nowadays people no longer consume only to survive, but above all to make their everyday lives easier.10 But even within the form of content marketing, companies have to solve the question of why the consumer should perceive the message of their own company and not that of the competition. Brands must therefore master the challenge of stand out in the flood of advertising messages and information among critical target groups and the competition.11 This is where storytelling comes in. Because a well-thought-out, convincing and touching story appeals best to people.12 Today, stories are not only told by older people when they look back on their lives. Today, more than ever, brands need to tell stories in order to retain and continue to fascinate customers.13 The integration of storytelling into content marketing ensures that consumers can once again be convinced by the messages of the companies and can remember them even better.14
So it is the story told that will determine the attention of customers in the future. This thus becomes a distinguishing feature to the competition and an attractant for the target group. Storytelling thus has the potential to become an important and decisive tool in content marketing.
We are in the age of the digital transformation of storytelling.15 It is therefore becoming increasingly important to be able to tell a story digitally. Responsible for this is the change in communication behavior. Because this is subject to constant change. Therefore, the places where stories are preferably told often change. The narration and forwarding of experiences, feelings and knowledge is now shifting more and more to the social web.16 This is where companies need to learn to tell stories.
The importance of the social web can be seen in the number of users of Instagram and Facebook alone. In Germany, 15 million people are active in Instagram every month. Every day, 250 million people worldwide use Instagram Stories and it was only on June 20, 2018 that Instagram had cracked the magic mark of one billion active users worldwide.17 On Facebook, there are even 32 million active users in Germany. Over 23 million of them are active every day.18 On these platforms, therefore, the potential clientele that a company wants to address cavorts. Therefore, communication must also take place where the target group is. Because the user has become self-determined and can no longer be seduced as easily as before.19 Companies must therefore offer attractive content that inspires so much that you want to share it as a user in the social networks. Storytelling as a method in content marketing is exactly suitable for this.20
The sensory overload caused by classic purchase messages has led to the development of content marketing. The fight for the attention of the recipients is greater than ever before and their attention span is as small as never before. Thus, the form in which content is presented is becoming increasingly important. In content marketing and thus in the social media platforms as a distribution channel, the content of the companies must be able to differ from that of the masses. Storytelling can solve exactly this problem through the form of the story. Social media, storytelling and content marketing are often used as buzzwords to describe the future of marketing. They are intended to be the new guarantor of progress in the communication model of companies.21 Therefore, these must no longer be thought of separately from each other. Content marketing, social media and storytelling must be reconciled.
1.2 Objective of the work and research question
The aim of this work is to show how social media storytelling works for companies and what advantages this enables for their content marketing.
The research question of this work is therefore:
"How does successful corporate storytelling work in the social media platforms Facebook and Instagram and what significance does this play for content marketing?"
This work discusses why storytelling is important for companies and why this method should be integrated into marketing. It also explains how companies can tell stories on the Facebook and Instagram platforms. To this end, this work is intended to show which special features social networks offer for storytelling, which factors are relevant for the success of a story and how the design of storytelling in the platforms Facebook and Instagram can be carried out, showing the available elements.
1.3 Methodology and approach
Based on the literature, this work explains the success factors for a story, the need for storytelling in content marketing as well as the peculiarities, design and functioning of storytelling in social media.
In order to illustrate the relevance of the special features, criteria and elements of the design identified in the literature, a best practice example will then be examined for these components. This example will be used to show how the factors mentioned in the work can be applied in a practical case.
Through this approach, the functionality of social media storytelling for companies is worked out, classified for content marketing and shown in a practical example. Thus, this work contributes to closing a research gap in the literature. Because the interface between storytelling, social media and content marketing has not yet been dealt with in detail in the literature in the overall view. In conclusion, the findings of this work are summarized and an outlook is given.
1.4 Justification of the platform selection
This section will briefly explain why the present work focuses on the two platforms Facebook and Instagram. The selection of platforms is mainly based on the criterion of the importance of the two social networks among marketers. This is the only way that the findings of this work can also be applied in the marketing departments of companies. The relevance of the platforms can be derived above all from the "2018 Social Media Marketing Industry Report - How Marketers Are Using Social Media to Grow Their Businesses". In this report, more than 5,700 leading marketers provide insights into how social media is currently used in the company and what future plans exist for the use of social networks. This Industry Report is thus one of the most wide-reaching studies within the social media business.22
According to the Industry Report, Facebook and Instagram are the platforms most used by marketers in 2018. In the ranking, the dominance of Facebook is particularly impressive. A full 94% of the marketers surveyed in the study use Facebook in the company. Followed by Instagram, with a share of 66%. While Instagram jumped from fourth to second place in this statistic within a year, YouTube still only ranks fifth.23
If you look at the current Snapchat activities of companies for comparison, you will see that this network is hardly relevant. Up to 82% of the companies surveyed have not shown any activity in this network within the past 12 months.24
When looking at which platforms marketers want to master better in the future, 79% of B2C marketers said they wanted to learn more about Instagram. Again, with Facebook, only one platform is more relevant than Instagram. The interest of marketers in learning more about Facebook can be estimated at 82%, according to the report.25
The evaluations carried out in the report therefore leave no doubt that Facebook and Instagram are among the most important social media platforms of the marketing departments of companies. It is therefore only logical to attach particular importance to these two platforms in this work.
2 Classification and meaning of central terms
In order to contribute to a better understanding of this work in the following, it is necessary to define some basic terms that will experience a recurring role in this work and to classify their meaning.
2.1 Definition of enterprise
According to Wöhe, a company is "a systematically organized economic unit in which factors of production [must] be combined [sensibly] in order to produce and trade goods and services."26. In the literature, one speaks of three characteristics that are relevant for a company: the principle of private property, the pursuit of profit-making and the self-determination of the economic plan.27
In principle, companies can be roughly separated into non-cash service companies and service companies. The non-cash benefit enterprises include e.g. industrial and commercial enterprises. The latter, the service companies, do not provide physical goods, but focus on intangible services.28
2.2 Definition of Content Marketing
Content marketing can be defined as a strategic marketing approach that serves to create and distribute useful but also entertaining content.29 Without being perceived as disturbing, this content is intended to retain customers or win new ones. The quintessence of the content is always to deliver added value to the customers.30
Content marketing is ostensibly never advertising.31 Because this marketing approach does not focus on the company and its products, but on useful information.32 The aim is to trigger actions in the customer in the long term that mean profit.33
2.3 Storytelling
2.3.1 Definition and classification in the context of brand communication
The technical term storytelling can be defined differently narrowly depending on the context. In addition, there is the problem that the term is often used colloquially and inconsistently, especially in the context of marketing and corporate communication.34 Therefore, it is necessary at this point to devote more detail to the meaning of this term.
If one examines the term on the basis of its word origin, storytelling is defined both by the content of a story (story) and by the way stories are told (telling).35
In the entrepreneurial context, storytelling generally means telling facts in the form of stories to the reference groups of the company in a targeted, long-term and systematically planned manner.36 Storytelling is therefore the conscious and strategic use of stories in organizational communication.37 Through the use of this methodology, the conveyed content should remain in positive memory with the recipients in the long term.38
In the context of brand communication, the technical term storytelling is currently being completely re-established: namely as a technique for creating content that is attractive and promising in the communication model of the 21st century.39 Storytelling is usually understood as corporate storytelling.40 This is about the uniform communicative presentation of a company or a brand to the public and thus in essence to the customers. By means of stories, it is possible to describe the uniqueness of the company, e.g. his visions, goals or brands, to make it tangible for the consumer. The recipient can immerse themselves in the brands through the stories, recognize themselves and ultimately identify with them.41
While storytelling basically follows the form of a story, the content in content marketing can also take on many other forms that do not correspond to a narrative design. As a result, the technique of storytelling in the context of content marketing can be understood as a method of preparing content in the form of a story.42 Why the methodology of storytelling is expedient for content marketing is explained in chapter three.
2.3.2 Digital Storytelling – Definition and Demarcation
Digital storytelling is the telling of stories with digital technologies using their peculiarities.43 When brand stories are told, this is also referred to as digital brand storytelling.44 As with conventional storytelling, the brand is also staged in the digital world in a targeted long-term and systematic way according to the technique of storytelling.45
As already mentioned in this work, in the field of marketing and corporate communication, there is the problem that the term storytelling is used inconsistently and colloquially. This problem is becoming increasingly acute in the digital sector. This work follows the opinion of digital marketing expert Carsten Rossi. He writes that it is too short-sighted that the use of images, videos or hashtags alone creates a digital story. Rossi goes on to explain that in practice it is too often forgotten that there is more to one story: structure.46 If a company deals with digital storytelling, it must be aware that many things in online marketing are prematurely referred to as a story.47 It is not only the technology used that creates digital storytelling. The focus is on the architecture of history and its structure. Rather, the digital must be seen as a new living space for stories, in which narration takes on a new structure and a new life of its own. If the special features of the digital are not used, a story with digital elements may emerge, but no functional digital storytelling.48 The special features of digital storytelling in the social media environment are explained in Chapter 6.3.
2.3.3 Minimum conditions for a story
In order to delineate in the following when a communication is a story, this chapter section deals with the necessary minimum conditions for a story. This makes it possible to put a stop to the problem of the inconsistent and colloquial use of the storytelling term described in the last section. In addition, the minimum conditions serve as a basis for analyzing the best practice example listed in chapter seven for its narrative structure.
"A semiotic communication, whether it's a text, a movie, a comic, a Youtube video, or a promotional clip, can be called narrative if it has at least a minimal narrative structure."49
A minimal narrative structure is therefore required so that a story can also be described as such in the understanding of narration research. In addition to YouTube video and advertising clip, this also applies to communications that are exchanged within the social media platforms Facebook and Instagram.
According to the authors Michael Müller and Petra Grimm, a minimal narrative structure can be described in simplified terms as a triadic structure:
"Initial situation (AS) => transformation (T) => final situation (ES). That is, a situation X changes into a situation Y in such a way that both can be distinguished by at least one characteristic feature."50
The necessary conditions for a minimal narrative structure are explained by the authors Müller and Grimm on the basis of this triadic structure. The two authors refer to the narratological approach of Michael Titzmann. According to this, six conditions must be met for a minimal story.51
1. Different times / spaces have to be told. Thus, in a story, the initial situation can represent the period t1, the transformation the period t2 and the final situation the period t3. A story must therefore not contain only one period of time.52
2. The reference value (A) of the transformation must be identical. For this condition to be met, in a story the protagonist must be identical in the initial and final situation.53
3. A change in the situation of the reference value (Ax => Ay) must be told. The reference value (A) must experience a change in its situation. This means that the characteristics and characteristics that characterize the reference value in the initial situation must change until the final situation.54 The beginning and end of a story must therefore be clearly different from each other.55 The fact that this change is important for the main character of a story is also taken up in chapter section 4.2. This section deals with the hero of a story.
4. There must be an alternative option. This criterion states that the event could always have had a different outcome. This is the principle of the alternative. This means that within the depicted world, with its logic and order, the events could have happened differently.56
5. The events must deviate from regularity or normality. For Titzmann, the criterion of deviation from regularity or norm caused by the transformation is another condition for a minimal history. Whether a change in situation is considered a deviation depends on the rules or standards applicable in the situation. If the events within this depicted world can be classified as normal, they do not represent an event. An event can thus only become a story if it cannot be regarded as regular in the world depicted.57 Because a narrative must be about events, otherwise it cannot be a narrative.58
6. The eventfulness depends on the perspective of the actor. An event can be understood as an event from the point of view of a figure A, but not from the point of view of figure B. This means that the eventfulness of a process does not have to be perceived consistently with different perspectives. For the eventfulness, it is therefore decisive which perspective dominates within a narrative.59
If all six conditions are met, then the present communication contains a minimal narrative structure and can thus be understood as a story.
2.4 Social Media
2.4.1 Definition
The term social media describes digital media and technologies in which people can exchange, network and create or share content. The multitude of platforms and tools within social media thus all serve the communication, interaction and exchange of users.60
Also common is the term social network. This is understood to mean a collaborative network on the Internet, in which people can communicate in an online community through a loose connection.61
In addition, social media is also characterized by the fact that networking must not only take place within the platform, but can also be networked with other platforms and offers.62
2.4.2 Social media as a distribution channel
For most companies, social networks such as Facebook and Instagram are the number one distribution channel.63 Because companies are looking for proximity to their customers. Interaction takes place on these channels in particular. It is liked, commented on and shared. The reason for this is that Facebook and Co. are a natural environment on the web for many people. This means that social networks are fixed points of attraction through which content is consumed and exchanged. This is most clearly expressed by the fact that the social networks usually act as entry pages for the user as soon as he picks up the smartphone.64
All social media channels have in common as a distribution channel that it usually does not pay off if the brand of a company is put too much in the foreground. It is much more important to rely on advice, entertainment and information through content during distribution. Because content that the user classifies as relevant generates attention and interest.65 A compatibility of content marketing, storytelling and social media is already emerging here.
Facebook is suitable as an all-rounder in distribution. Because there is hardly a type of content that cannot be shared via this network. Another advantage of content distribution is that Facebook has a function to schedule contributions in advance for the desired publication. Instagram, on the other hand, is a strongly visual network. Above all, the topicality and quality of the content stands out here. This makes the network very attractive for companies that have high-quality image material.66
Social media thus help companies to distribute their created content. In the context of content marketing, it is therefore important to use these different channels as optimally as possible. For this to be possible, however, these channels must already perform, for example, already have a certain number of followers. Producing this basic performance is in turn the task of social media marketing.67 In addition, it is important to prepare the content channel-specifically. For targeted distribution, the design of the content must be adapted to the special features of the platforms.68 This also applies to storytelling. How this must be adapted to the special features of social media platforms is explained in Chapter 6.3.
3 Why storytelling is important in content marketing
Already the description of the initial situation in the introduction of this work has provided information about why a change in the advertising world is necessary. This chapter takes up these descriptions and shows why stories should take a relevant place in the content marketing of companies.
Once differentiated from classic marketing, the following sections explain the advantages of using storytelling in content marketing.
3.1 Necessity of content marketing and differentiation from classic marketing
In classic or traditional marketing, the focus is on the user via various channels, e.g. print, TV, radio or out of home, through one-to-many communication.69 This means that the company (broadcaster), for example, chooses the medium of TV and sends its message to a large number of consumers (recipients).70 However, this classic marketing is increasingly perceived as disturbing because the message interrupts the user at the reception of other content. Therefore, this form of marketing is now also referred to as interruption marketing: Advertisements in magazines inhibit the flow of reading and TV or radio advertising interrupts the current program.71 Simply pushing advertising into the market, i.e. classic push marketing, no longer seems up-to-date these days. Because of the socialization of the media and the progressive digitization, the group of users in particular sets the tone in marketing today. These act according to the pull principle. This means that they largely obtain relevant information themselves.72
Modern forms of marketing, including content marketing, therefore rely on building a relationship between provider and consumer.73 In content marketing, this works by making valuable content available free of charge. The user should communicate voluntarily and gladly with the corresponding providers. Only later should the user's willingness to make contact be converted into profit.74
The transported content between classic and modern marketing differs significantly. In classic marketing, the focus is on presenting the company or the products positively in order to encourage the purchase of the products. Conveying and satisfying concrete information needs is usually neglected in classic advertising.75 This is exactly what content marketing focuses on. Useful content offers users added value and thus stimulates them to interact.76 Advertising marketing communication with the purchase button at the center, as it is used in classic marketing, is considered unsuitable for content marketing.77
In short, the difference between classic marketing and modern content marketing is between "buy this product!" and "voluntarily look at this valuable content!".78 Content marketing lets the customer decide for himself what interests him. This makes marketing about relevant content the only way for the customer to filter out what is helpful for him from the flood of information. Through this approach, content marketing will change traditional marketing. Instead of the previous classic advertising messages, valuable content that is relevant to the target group will increasingly appear.79
However, if classic advertising messages are increasingly switched to content marketing content, a new distinguishing feature is needed so that the message of a company receives the attention of users and anchors itself in their consciousness. Content marketing has the advantage of being able to take different forms. Here, the method of storytelling is increasingly being discovered. Why this method is promising for content marketing will be revealed in the next sections.
3.2 The effect of storytelling in the brain
Storytelling can be described as brain-friendly communication.80 Stories have the power to have a strong effect because they make use of the basic principles of the brain. They are linked to its information acquisition, processing, storage and retrieval.81
The relevance of stories for the brain is expressed above all by the fact that with episodic memory we have our own neural networks that are responsible for managing stories.82 Something seen or experienced only finds access to our pictorial memory, also called autobiographically, when it has touched our inner self. In our episodic memory, therefore, only the events that we associate with emotions are imprinted.83 Serving exactly this emotionality is one of the core aspects of storytelling. Therefore, the criterion of emotionality is also one of the success factors for effective storytelling and is discussed in more detail in Chapter 4.4. Responsible for emotionality is the limbic system, as an emotional part of our brain. This is where behavior, trust or loyalty are controlled. According to neuromarketing, this part of the brain is also primarily responsible for our purchasing decisions.84 It is precisely this brain region, in which attention is formed and emotions are linked to memories, that is addressed in storytelling.85
Storytelling therefore has the power to influence human behavior through stories. With this method, marketing is given the opportunity to deposit certain stories, which are linked to corresponding memories, in the minds of the recipients. This makes storytelling one of the most effective tools in marketing. Storytelling thus fulfills exactly the goal that marketing and communication have always pursued: to be able to consciously influence human voting behavior.86
This neurological effect alone is a powerful argument for using storytelling as a method in modern marketing. The next section explains the other benefits that storytelling can bring to content marketing.
3.3 Content marketing needs good stories
According to Robert McKee, who is considered an expert in storytelling87, marketing and corporate communications can carry out their persuasive work in two ways. There is a choice between a rational and informative implementation, or an emotional one in the form of stories.88 According to McKee, rational means convincing with data and facts. The second, the emotional approach, on the other hand, relied on feeling, enthusiasm and stimulation in the form of a story.89 McKee is clearly in favour of the latter approach, calling it the more powerful way to convince people.90 This view is followed by the present work.
Companies often lack the necessary distance to their content. As a result, they overload their messages. This means that they integrate too much facts and information into their content. This makes the reception of these messages unnecessarily difficult. Storytelling, on the other hand, enables sustainable communication via the emotional approach.91 This view is also shared by the author Robert Pratten. This is most clearly expressed by his well-known quote "Don't Make an Advert: Your Goal is to Entertain, not to Inform"92 from. This means that the content must be transformed into an entertaining packaging. Because an audience is not entertained by an overload of information, but by a good story.93 Storytelling therefore brings with it some advantages that are also crucial for content marketing. The storytelling impresses with three main effects: the attention, immersion and memory effect.94
3.3.1 More attention - the attention effect
Marketing has always been aimed at attracting people's attention. So far, the company has been most successful when attention has been gained through the form of a story.95 This finding is also shared by persuasion research.96 By means of storytelling, the attention of the viewers can be aroused and maintained much better than by the pure communication of information, such as e.g. B. Facts and Figures.97 This is because normal product explanations are increasingly becoming an information ballast for the customer and are therefore becoming increasingly redundant.98 A story, on the other hand, helps to break through this ballast. Because stories offer attractive content and enable a viral effect. Narrative messages are gladly taken up and disseminated by the recipients.99 This is partly due to the vivid images created by exciting stories. These catch the eye of the beholder, thus remain well remembered and are therefore passed on. Storytelling thus contributes to being perceived as a company and staying in the conversation. So exactly the goal that content marketing wants to achieve is fulfilled.100 A good argument to transform a pure information transfer into a story.
3.3.2 Immerse yourself in the story – the immersion effect
Storytelling enables recipients to follow a message much longer and more concentrated than would be the case, for example, with factual treatises. A story captivates the audience and lets them immerse the viewer in their narrative world.101 Storytelling thus has the power to make facts come alive.102 That's why it's important that pure marketers also become writers. Because creative sales arguments alone are no longer enough today. The decisive feature in the future will be to be able to create immersive stories that captivate people.103 Here, too, storytelling unfolds a psychological effect. Since man has known the classic narrative structure of stories since childhood, it is much easier for him cognitively to follow a story and thus to live through it himself. This is therefore in contrast to how the consumer feels when confronted with pure product descriptions or enumerations. Here, the recipient does not feel any emotional or immersive connection.104 Nowadays, rational arguments no longer bring about the desired success in marketing. It lacks the emotional and inner experience of the benefits. This is exactly what storytelling triggers. The inner experience, in turn, triggers the willingness to buy. This makes storytelling a successful method to stimulate subjective experiences, store them in memory and thus make them usable for marketing.105
3.3.3 Better memory - the memory effect
Storytelling causes the recipient a much better memory of the information woven into the stories. Responsible for this is their narrative structure. This allows the viewer to deepen what he has learned much more than could ever be the case with enumerations, statistics or rankings.106 Brain research also confirms this finding. This proved that humans can store stories better in episodic memory than facts.107 Stories reach our brain much better.108 To be precise, the memory of stories is even 22 times higher than if information is conveyed through purely facts. The application of storytelling thus has a significant influence on the brand memory of the recipients.109 This fact alone should integrate storytelling into content marketing. Because once the purchase of a product is linked to a story, the buyer will not be able to forget it so quickly.110
In conclusion, it can be said that the pure collection and unstructured publication of content in content marketing is not expedient. The right form must also be chosen in order to be able to present the content to the audience in a promising way. A mere listing of facts has an emotional value that tends towards zero. However, if the significant content is packaged in a story, these formerly cold-looking facts create an emotional and narrative arc of suspense. This appeals to the viewers and sensitizes them to the transported content.111
A good example of this is American Express' storytelling campaign. Instead of prianing customers all the useful benefits of their credit card on a fact-based note, the company told stories. These were in their campaign under the motto "The Journey never Stops". Based on selected protagonists, the stories had the content that a success story does not always have to be straightforward. Because obstacles, uncertainty or even the interim failure are therefore also part of it. American Express promised to accompany this development as a loyal financial service provider, no matter what the journey looks like. Thus, the advantages of American Express, such as loyalty and loyalty, good service or ease of use, were not presented by enumeration of facts or statistics, but sustainably in the form of emotional stories.112
Storytelling should therefore be an essential part of content marketing. Because the use of this method in the content concept makes it possible to tell stories about the company and the products. This approach is also reflected in the behavior of customers. Because consumers are increasingly demanding stories. They want to understand the company's values, mission and visions. Storytelling enables marketers to lead their customers through stories.113
4 Core elements for a successful story
Whether it's storytelling or digital storytelling, there are certain elements that every good story should have. Likewise, there are also some criteria that should be included in the design of the storytelling of companies, regardless of whether an analog or digital story is planned.
This chapter therefore provides information on which core elements are necessary for a successful story according to the literature and how companies can shape them.
4.1 Understanding the structure of a story
Companies need an understanding of the structure of a story. Because successful stories usually run according to a similar basic scheme. This makes it possible to ensure an easy introduction even in complex topics.114 A common literary formula for a good story was coined by the author Jonathan Gottschall. He summarized a story as follows: "Story = main character + dilemma + liberation attempt"115. Every good story is about a hero who wants to achieve a goal, a conflict that the hero has to solve and emotions that are triggered by dilemma and liberation attempt.116 These components of a narrative structure allow our brain to connect more quickly to the content of a story. After all, this narrative principle was already learned and stored in childhood through fairy tales and Co. So all you have to do is retrieve it.117 Success in storytelling thus depends on the plot. But this also includes its own style and a dramatic structure.118
The author Sandro Abbate summarizes a typical plot as follows:
"Your hero is faced with a problem, goes in search of a solution, is confronted with further difficulties that make his company seem almost hopeless and unexpectedly finds a way to a happy ending."119
In the opinion of this work, it is no coincidence that Abbate finally mentions the happy ending. Because stories with a positive outcome are preferred by people.120 Without a happy ending, the story does not have a motivating and stimulating effect on the viewer.121 The reason for this also lies in the processing of a story in our brain. If the end is positive, the entire event will be remembered well. However, if the end is negative, we automatically save a negative experience. No matter how positive the story was up to that moment.122 This can be a danger for companies. After all, their goal is to anchor positive brand experiences in the minds of consumers. Basically, a story can also tolerate a certain openness, as long as it still inspires reflection.123 In the context of companies, however, it is usually always advisable to focus on a positive experience in connection with the brand.124
From the description of a typical plot by the author Abbate, it can also be deduced that a story needs a dramaturgy with ups and downs. Because a story is always about an action and its change.125 The audience is particularly impressed by those messages that are characterized by a red thread. If the narrative structure is structured logically and coherently, it will be more easily received by the audience.126 When designing a story, it therefore helps to mentally imagine the content in the form of individual scenes.127 The storytelling of companies should therefore rely on simply structured narratives. This is especially important for stories that are told on social networks.
4.2 The Hero
The hero is the main character and thus forms the core of the story told.128 He is characterized by the fact that he has an inner desire. For example, an unfulfilled wish or the search for the solution to a problem.129 As already described in the last chapter section, the hero is confronted with obstacles in solving his problem.130 He tries to overcome these and solve other emerging problems.131 It is important that the hero undergoes a change. It undergoes a transformation due to the various events.132 This can be expressed by a change in behavior, a change in his personality or by attaining a new status.133 A company must also take on this topic when designing its story. Because even the hero of a corporate story has to change. He has to gain new experiences in the course of history and thus break out of his original state.134
The goal is not to create the most perfect main character possible. A hero can have weaknesses and flaws. Because this makes it possible for the recipient to recognize himself in the hero in the form of his own concerns and worries. This contributes to the identification with the story and makes the hero more human.135 But what a hero needs is a clear attitude and attitude.136 Because the viewer must be able to empathize with the desire of the hero.137 Building a relationship between viewer and hero makes the viewer less questioning the main character's behavior. The hero rises to become the role model of the audience. As a result, the viewer tends to adopt the actions and attitude of the hero. For companies, this is an important finding. Because if the viewer does not accuse the hero of any manipulative or persuasive intent, the company's messages can work much better.138
Companies usually find it rather difficult to concentrate on a single main character. Normally, marketing is always aimed at groups. The focus on a single hero as an identification figure in a story thus represents one of the significant differences to the usual marketing. Companies need to understand that working with anonymous mass communication will not lead to success in storytelling. Only by focusing on a hero can you win the favor of the viewers in stories.139
The hero does not always have to be a human being. Because the characters in narratives can also appear as animals, object or companies.140 This can be particularly suitable for corporate storytelling. In this way, the products or the company itself can also become the protagonist.141
4.3 The conflict
After the last section dealt with the hero of a story, the following will be dealt with the engine of each story: the conflict.142 Because just as important as the main character is the presence of a conflict.143 Conflicts are therefore engines, since only through them an action is triggered. Without action, there would be no acting persons. Without people, no history.144 Conflicts are thus the triggers for every story. They contribute to changes that attract the interest of the audience. Privately, conflicts are avoided. But in stories, they are loved by the viewer. Because only by dealing with conflicts does a deeper insight arise, which the viewer longs for. The special thing about conflicts is that they trigger an inner participation in the audience.145 The viewer is eager to see how the hero deals with difficulties and problems. Good conflicts have the power to captivate the viewer. For the viewer, conflicts and dealing with them are more important than ultimately resolving them. Therefore, in a good story, the resolution of a conflict is presented only briefly at the end.146
A conflict can be an inner contradiction of values, motives or desires. A confrontation between people and norms also provides the basis for a conflict.147 Basically, most of the potential for conflict always lies when a story strives to reach a certain state.148 Therefore, it makes sense to write about one of the following four basic needs: the pursuit of love and community, stability and security, independence and freedom, and self-realization and development.149 These four basic needs are shared by all people. This makes them an excellent storytelling foundation. Brands can take advantage of this. You should position yourself clearly and always be focused on only one motif in terms of content.150 For example, a hero can be created who strives for freedom, but has to make sacrifices to achieve it. Through the sacrifices to be made, the hero gains new insights and thus experiences a change.151
Dealing with conflicts, as well as the already explained centralization to a hero, represents one of the significant differences to conventional marketing. Because PR and marketing usually try to avoid it, Focus on conflicts of communication. This way of thinking is usually based on the fear that your own company could be associated with negative topics. It is also feared that focusing on one's own conflicts will create a negative impression on consumers.152 In the opinion of this work, however, the constructive handling of conflicts offers companies a great opportunity. Because those who address their own problems instead of hiding them will certainly gain in reputation among their audience. This creates authenticity and trust. If companies want to engage in storytelling, they must therefore learn how to deal openly with conflicts. Because these are placed at the center of storytelling. For a company, the advantage of dealing with a conflict is that: that in the course of history it is shown how the problem was overcome. This ultimately enables a positive perception of the company among the target group.
[...]
1 In the masculine use for the designation of persons, the feminine form is also meant in this work on linguistic equality.
2 cf. Gondorf, 2015.
3 Vgl. Herbst & Musiolik, 2016a, S. 16; cf. Ansari & Müller, 2017, p. 26.
4 cf. Heinrich, 2018, p. 13.
5 cf. Eick, 2014, p. 23.
6 cf. Baum, 2017, p. 25.
7 cf. Heinrich, 2018, p. 9.
8 cf. Sammer, 2017a, p. 11.
9 cf. Knöß, 2014, p. 83.
10 cf. Fordon, 2018, p. 4.
11 cf. Heinrich, 2018, p. 15.
12 cf. Fordon, 2018, p. 43f.
13 cf. Gondorf, 2018.
14 cf. Eschbacher, 2017, p. 161.
15 cf. Heinrichs, 2016, p. 201.
16 cf. Kleine Wieskamp, 2016, p. 219.
17 cf. Roth, P., 2018b.
18 cf. Roth, P., 2018a.
19 cf. Vaynerchuk, 2017, p. 14f.
20 cf. Hilker, 2016, p. 162.
21 cf. Giesinger, 2014, p. 40.
22 cf. Stelzner, 2018, p. 2.
23 (Cf., ibid., p.77)
24 (Cf., ibid., p.77)
25 (Cf., ibid., p.77)
26 Wöhe et al., 2016, p. 27.
27 cf. Schauer, 2019, p. 6.
28 cf. Gabriel & Röhrs, 2017, p. 54.
29 cf. Pulizzi, 2014, p. 5.
30 cf. Lammenett, 2018, p. 77.
31 Cf. ibid.
32 cf. Knöß, 2014, p. 83.
33 cf. Ansari & Müller, 2017, p. 20.
34 cf. Sammer, 2017a, p. 38.
35 cf. Rupp, 2016, p. 10.
36 cf. Frenzel et al., 2006, p. 3.
37 cf. Ettl-Huber, 2014, p. 18.
38 cf. Hillmann, 2011, p. 63f.
39 cf. Sammer, 2017a, p. 43.
40 cf. Sammer, 2017b, p. 20.
41 cf. Sammer, 2017a, p. 40.
42 cf. Ettl-Huber, 2017, p. 94ff.
43 cf. Autumn, 2014, p. 223.
44 cf. Autumn & Musiolik, 2015, Chap. 4.1., para. 1.
45 Cf. ibid., chap. II. 4.1., para. 3.
46 cf. Rossi, 2016, p. 36.
47 cf. Sammer, 2017a, p. 234.
48 cf. Fordon, 2018, p. 102f.
49 Müller, M. & Grimm, 2016, p. 58.
50 Ibid.
51 cf. Titzmann, 2013, p. 120ff. Titzmann refers to Gerald Prince's "A Grammer of Stories" from 1974.
52 cf. Müller, M. & Grimm, 2016, p. 59.
53 Cf. ibid.
54 Cf. ibid.
55 cf. Sammer, 2017b, p. 26.
56 cf. Müller, M. & Grimm, 2016, p. 60.
57 cf. Müller, M. & Grimm, 2016, p. 61.
58 cf. Flath, 2012, p. 16.
59 cf. Müller, M. & Grimm, 2016, p. 62.
60 cf. Grabs et al., 2018, p. 34.
61 cf. Gabriel & Röhrs, 2017, p. 12.
62 cf. Hoffmeister, 2011, p. 3.
63 cf. Eschbacher, 2017, p. 241.
64 (Cf., ibid., p.77)
65 cf. Ansari & Müller, 2017, p. 161.
66 cf. Eschbacher, 2017, p. 242ff.
67 cf. Eschbacher, 2017, p. 224f.
68 cf. Kleine Wieskamp, 2016, p. 238.
69 cf. Ansari & Müller, 2017, p. 23.
70 cf. Runte, 2000, p. 6.
71 cf. Heinrich, 2018, p. 10.
72 cf. Ansari & Müller, 2017, p. 18.
73 cf. Heinrich, 2018, p. 17.
74 cf. Heinrich, 2018, p. 91.
75 cf. Ansari & Müller, 2017, p. 25.
76 cf. Gründerszene, o. J..
77 cf. Wirtschaftslexikon Gabler, 2018.
78 cf. Eick, 2014, p. 60.
79 cf. Heinrich, 2018, p. 15ff.
80 cf. Herbst & Musiolik, 2016b, p. 178.
81 cf. Herbst & Musiolik, 2016a, p. 21.
82 cf. Autumn & Musiolik, 2015, Chap. 2.5.2, paragraph 3.
83 cf. Kleine Wieskamp, 2016, p. 29f.
84 cf. Kobilke, 2017, p. 64.
85 cf. Kleine Wieskamp, 2016, p. 2.
86 (Cf., ibid., p.77)
87 cf. Sammer & Heppel, 2015, p. 89.
88 cf. McKee, 2018, p. 96f.
89 cf. Sammer, 2017b, p. 14.
90 cf. McKee, 2018, p. 97.
91 cf. Hilker, 2012, p. 137.
92 Pratten, 2015, p. 77.
93 cf. Eick, 2014, p. 62.
94 cf. Sammer & Heppel, 2015, p. 90f.
95 cf. Fordon, 2018, p. 43.
96 cf. Sammer, 2017a, p. 6.
97 cf. Sammer & Heppel, 2015, p. 90.
98 cf. Grabs et al., 2018, p. 77.
99 cf. Sammer, 2017a, p. 16.
100 cf. Hilker, 2012, p. 138.
101 cf. Sammer & Heppel, 2015, p. 90.
102 cf. Herbst & Musiolik, 2016a, p. 20.
103 cf. Fordon, 2018, p. 127.
104 cf. Grabs et al., 2018, p. 77.
105 cf. Hilker, 2016, p. 163.
106 cf. Sammer & Heppel, 2015, p. 91.
107 cf. Hilker, 2012, p. 138.
108 cf. Eschbacher, 2017, p. 161.
109 cf. Grabs et al., 2018, p. 77.
110 (Cf., ibid., p.77)
111 cf. Ansari & Müller, 2017, p. 70f.
112 cf. Sammer & Heppel, 2015, p. 91ff.
113 cf. Hilker, 2016, p. 162f.
114 cf. Grabs et al., 2018, p. 123.
115 Gottschall, 2012, p. 52.
116 cf. Eick, 2014, p. 23.
117 cf. Grabs et al., 2018, p. 123.
118 cf. Hilker, 2016, p. 163.
119 Abbate, 2017, p. 13.
120 cf. Hilker, 2016, p. 167.
121 cf. Denning, 2011, p. 15ff.
122 cf. Kahneman, 2012, p. 505ff.
123 cf. Pyczak, 2017, p. 91f.
124 cf. Herbst & Musiolik, 2016a, p. 22.
125 cf. Hilker, 2016, p. 167.
126 cf. Gottschall, 2012, p. 217.
127 cf. Kleine Wieskamp, 2016, p. 78f.
128 cf. Herbst & Musiolik, 2016a, p. 30; See ibid., p. 78.
129 cf. Field, 2005, p. 63.
130 cf. Abbate, 2017, p. 13.
131 cf. Kleine Wieskamp, 2016, p. 78f.
132 cf. Field, 2005, p. 63.
133 cf. Kleine Wieskamp, 2016, p. 78f.
134 cf. Sammer, 2017a, p. 102.
135 cf. Sammer & Heppel, 2015, p. 94.
136 cf. Field, 2005, p. 63.
137 cf. Sammer, 2017b, p. 26.
138 cf. Sammer, 2017a, p. 103ff.
139 cf. Sammer, 2017a, p. 104f.
140 cf. Müller, M. & Grimm, 2016, p. 86.
141 cf. Fordon, 2018, p. 135.
142 cf. Adamczyk, 2015, p. 81; cf. Eick, 2014, p. 22.
143 cf. Grabs et al., 2018, p. 236.
144 cf. Field, 2005, p. 25.
145 cf. Grabs et al., 2018, p. 236ff.
146 cf. Sammer & Heppel, 2015, p. 94.
147 cf. Autumn & Musiolik, 2015, Chap. 4.5, paragraph 6.
148 cf. Grabs et al., 2018, p. 239.
149 cf. Sammer, 2017b, p. 24.
150 cf. Sammer, 2017a, p. 69.
151 cf. Grabs et al., 2018, p. 239.
152 cf. Sammer, 2017a, p. 129ff.
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