7 Creative Storytelling Strategies for B2C Businesses

Think about the ads you’ve connected most with as a consumer. You might have in mind an endearing Budweiser ad from the Big Game, an inspiring Etsy commercial that made you tear up in just 30 seconds, or a Jeep promotion that motivates you to plan your next adventure. 

So, why did these ads come to mind? What do these ads have in common that made them so memorable? Effective and creative storytelling. 

While there are endless ways to tell stories, knowing which ones will truly resonate with your audience is difficult — but figuring this out is critical. If your customers understand, enjoy, and care about your brand, they’re more likely to engage with you. In fact, if customers love a brand story, 55% are more likely to buy the product in the future, 44% will share the story, and 15% will buy the product immediately. 

In order to get your brand in front of potential customers who want to support it, you need to utilize storytelling strategies that effectively grab their attention and make them want to learn more. Below, we’ll walk you through seven storytelling strategies your brand can use to connect with your audience and drive conversions. 

1. Showcase the Value You Provide

Right now, customers are thoroughly evaluating how they’re spending their money. They’re looking at each of their purchases to see if they can find a more cost-effective solution that provides the same value. If they can, they’re willing to give up their current products and services, even if that means leaving a company they’ve shopped with for years. 

According to a May 2022 report by McKinsey, “With inflation at a record high, more people are looking for value; price is at the top of the list of consumers’ motivations for switching.” While it might seem daunting, this is a great opportunity for your brand to showcase the unique value you provide. This allows you to maintain your existing customer base while simultaneously enticing new customers — a win-win! 

For example, in this Getaroom ad, they directly remind their customers why they use this service. At the end of the advertisement, the voiceover (and accompanying on-screen text) says, “Getaroom doesn’t just save you money…We save you time, stress, and make your travel dreams come true.” By directly stating their value propositions, customers can easily remember why they use this service and how important it is to them. 

2. Discuss Your Brand’s Values (and Show How You Take Action)

Even in 2022’s trying economy, consumers are still conscious about where they spend their money. Most customers — 70% according to Sprout Social — want transparency about where your brand stands on economic, political, and social issues. 

According to McKinsey’s 2022 study, consumers are most interested in knowing your brand’s beliefs around: 

• Brand transparency and authenticity 
• Compassion and care for people in general
• Diversity, equity, and inclusion
• Environmental issues
• Health issues

However, just discussing your values isn’t enough. Customers now want to see how you take action on these values through internal and external initiatives. For example, your brand might want to showcase its plans to reduce its carbon footprint or the ways you support your community. 

In terms of sustainability, the 2022 US Retail Sustainability Perceptions Benchmark found consumers care most about the following actions: 

• Creating products that are free of harmful or synthetic ingredients or materials
• Discounting or donating unused inventory
• Using minimal packaging for shipping 

By authentically showcasing the values that are important to your company and how you take action on those values in your advertisements, you can connect with your customers on the issues they care about most.

For example, in this FreshPet animated video marketing ad, the brand discusses improving the lives of rescue animals. They discuss the issue, its importance, and what they’re doing to help. To wrap up the ad, they give viewers a call to action (CTA) to nominate their favorite rescue organization for a chance to win money, which drives potential customers to their website and engages with relevant organizations across the country. 

3. Center Your Consumers

No matter what format you use, your consumers should be front and center in your advertisement. Think of it this way — your customer is the main character, their pain points are the villain, and your brand is the hero. 

However, in order to effectively center your customers, you need to know them first. That’s why you need to complete in-depth target audience research to know which segment of your audience will relate to a particular brand story. This can guide you through the process of creating multiple buyer personas for each audience segment. 

While this is an effective short-term strategy for reaching your customers, it can also help your business thrive in the long run. Forbes reported customers are likely to spend more with businesses that give them an improved customer experience. They even found, “One in four customers is willing to pay up to 10% more in almost every industry if they know they will receive excellent customer service.” 

Segmenting your audience allows you to use relatable and creative storytelling for each group of customers, which can drive engagement with your business. Once you have those segments in place, you can begin directly targeting those people with ads that are relevant to where they are in the buying process. 

For example, one of your audience segments might be people looking at your product but who haven’t purchased it yet. In this Royal Caribbean ad, the brand targets potential customers who possibly haven’t been on a cruise within a certain amount of time to show them (in a unique and funny way) what their experience might be like. However, the brand isn’t centered — rather, this ad focuses on the activities someone can enjoy while traveling with the company. 

4. Create an Emotional Connection

In order to truly connect with your audience, you need to create an emotional connection that has them thinking about your ad long after it’s over. 

The Emotional Effectiveness of Advertisement, a study published in 2020, found that “…providing an emotional message in publicity increases the audience’s attention to the advertisement, and the product enhances the product’s appeal and generates a higher level of brand recall.” Some examples of effective emotional connection include: 

Nostalgia 

In this Goodlife Clothing ad, they pay homage to a famous Bugle Boy Jeans ad. It positions Goodlife as a brand getting clever with their creative, making this ad a wink and a nod to their audience and to adland’s history.

Energy

Beverage brand Roar creates a compelling sense of positive, uplifting energy in this video advertisement with upbeat music, lively graphics, and dynamic value props. Their ad encourages viewers to grab a refreshing and energizing drink without (verbally) saying a word. 

Confidence

Alarm.com’s video creative doesn’t focus heavily on its product. Instead, it focuses on what you can do with the peace of mind they provide to you. Their adventure-filled ad inspires consumers to go out into the world and enjoy their life, all while reinforcing they don’t need to worry about being away from home, as long as they have Alarm.com.

In our often turbulent world, consumers typically want products that make them feel good. Using exciting, inspiring, and other positive emotions can help your audience connect with your advertisements and associate your brand with the feeling you gave them. 

5. Tell Actual Customer Stories

Popularized by a psychologist in the 1980s, “social proof” is when consumers see or hear about someone enjoying a product or a professional recommending a service, and that testimonial encourages them to want it for themselves.

Social proof is critical to creating consumer trust in your brand. If your potential customers know other people have used and enjoyed your product, they’re more likely to give it a shot, too. Through video advertising, on-website reviews, social posts, and more, potential customers are looking to existing customers to understand your brand, the value you bring to the table, and why they should shop with you. 

When asked about their trust in online reviews, 19% of customers reported they always trust online reviews as much as they trust personal recommendations, while another 19% said yes, but only if the reviews appear to be authentic. In total, 78% of customers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations in at least some situations. And with most customers beginning their shopping journeys online, it’s critical to provide them with this social proof. 

For example, this Hearst Media collab between Neiman Marcus and Bazaar brings social proof to life by looking at their fall fashion must-haves. Hearst Media put its fashion experts front and center in this ad to talk about new trends, how the last years have shaped fashion, and what consumers can expect in the coming year. 

And right now is a great time to take advantage of video social proof through effective advertisements, UGC, and more, since Intelligence Insider found that YouTube is the most trusted social media platform for consumers who are looking for and purchasing products. 

6. Make Your Purpose Clear

Do you want your audience to learn about your brand for the first time? Are you showing them how your product can make a difference in their lives? Are you prompting them to buy a product they’ve been looking at on your website? 

Finding the right purpose for your ad will depend on several factors, including your audience, where they are in the buyer’s journey, and how much exposure they’ve had to your business. 

Calls to action are critical in advertisements (as well as most other forms of marketing) to help the reader understand what action they should take next. However, when you have segmented audiences (like we discussed above), you can provide an even more effective experience. 

In fact, HubSpot found that “personalized CTAs convert 202% better than default versions.” By taking the time to learn more about your audience, you can create an experience that resonates with them and encourages them to covert. 

While you don’t need to state your purpose within your advertisement directly, consumers still need to be able to understand why they saw your ad and what action they should take after. In fact, many video advertisements don’t have a direct CTA. Instead, they show consumers information about the product. 

For example, this Not Your Mother’s ad never directly tells customers why they’re watching the ad. But, through the video, we can tell the brand wants consumers to know what the product is, how to use it, and the benefits it will provide — all in hopes the viewer will pick up their phone or laptop and purchase the product. 

7. Use Unique and Timely Stories

Your brand is unique, which means you can tell stories your competitors can’t. Take advantage of those opportunities, connections, and perspectives in your advertising to create fun, unique content that differentiates your brand. 

Plus, you can use certain seasons, holidays, and events to tell a specific story for your audience. While these will differ from industry to industry, your brand has several opportunities (at minimum!) every year to reach people with these timely messages. 

Father’s Day campaigns, for example, were especially effective for advertisers that aligned well with the reason for the season, proving these ads can play an essential role in contributing to seasonal success. The top verticals for return on ad spend (ROAS) performance included:

• Sports
• Health and fitness
• Home goods
• Apparel
• Travel

With many consumers taking a close look at their ongoing finances and beginning to budget for holiday spending, financial technology businesses have the chance to get in front of many new customers. This Digit ad uses the brand’s position in the financial industry to promote its product, which helps users budget, save, and invest their money. While this product can always relevant, now is an ideal time to promote it to potential new customers. 

But before you start creating, double-check the trends you want to use aren’t outdated or cringey. Old memos, previous strategies, and more can cause you to accidentally create an ad that would have been great last year — but if you share it now, social media will do what it does best and drag your sea shanty ad into an early digital grave. 

Related: Social Media Video Ad Specs & Placements Guide

Explore How QuickFrame Can Help You Reach Your Audience

Since storytelling can boost conversion rates by 30%, it’s critical to use it. But even with storytelling strategies in your pocket, you’re just getting started with your ad creative. 

The video creation process is multifaceted, challenging, and often time-consuming — and creating effective video content is even more difficult. And with content lifespans being shorter than ever before, more video content is needed. 

In order to do this successfully, you need high-flying video makers who will take your storytelling ad script and turn it into a video ad through a faster, more affordable, and insight-driven process — that’s where QuickFrame comes in. 

With QuickFrame, you gain access to a dynamic platform where you can connect with talented video content makers who’re ready to deliver within a short turnaround time. Besides connecting you with the top video makers, QuickFrame helps you generate fast, affordable, and compelling content by optimizing every aspect of video production and creativity.  

Contact us to learn how QuickFrame can help your business create effective video content today!