Storytelling is kind of a marketing catch-phrase these days, but despite all the hype about branded storytelling, stories really are the best way to communicate. Why? Stories are heart of how we communicate as human beings. Stories are older than language itself. Prehistoric cave paintings are proof to that.
Stories are what moves us, why we cry at movies, why we’re captivated when a group of miners are stuck below the earth or when a small boy supposedly flies off in a hot air balloon. Stories are why a man can go from homeless to one of the world’s most in demand voice talents in a matter of days.
Yet in business we still communicate in corporate jargon, press releases, and data-filled PowerPoints. Now’s the time for brands to tell their own stories and share them online through interactive social networks. More and more eyeballs on the internet. In 2010, online video advertising in the U.S. grew from $1 billion to $1.5 billion. This year we should see online video settle somewhere between $2 billion to $3 billion in the U.S. alone. According to AdAge, branded web series became more than a half-billion dollar business last year. Web storytelling is on the rise. Sure there’s plenty of crap on the web. But by telling a good story, perhaps we can rise above the muck.