How to Use Storytelling to Improve Websites
November 1, 2017
Stories are the most effective way to convey a message to your current and prospective customers. The human brain is designed to process information through storytelling. It is programmed to recognize patterns of information and assign meaning to them. Calgary web design companies can effectively use storytelling to improve their client’s websites.
Storytelling is powerful for marketing because of the following;
Emotions
Calgary web design companies should be able to tell a story that envokes powerfgul emotions. A story is more powerful than just reeling out facts and figures. And this is not just psychological speculation, it is backed by neuroscientific facts. When you hear information, only two parts of your brain are activated; the area responsible for language comprehension and the part responsible for language processing. Your brain takes in the information and files them away.
However, when you hear a story, more parts are involved.
- Your visual cortex, responsible for identifying colours and shapes.
- Wernicke’s area, responsible for language comprehension.
- Olfactory Cortex, responsible for scents.
- Auditory Cortex, responsible for sounds.
- Broca’s Area, responsible for language processing.
- Motor cortex, responsible for movement.
- Sensory cortex and cerebellum.
These are the parts of your brain responsible for daily living. Your brain cannot tell the difference between hearing a story and living it. So, when you hear “he had cold hands”, you cerebral areas light up as if you are actually touching cold hands. Because of this personal link, you get emotionally connected.
Action
The emotions produced by the stories don’t only cause an emotional reaction, they cause and influence action. An experiment conducted by Neuroeconomist Paul Zak was able to link storytelling to generosity.
Paul Zak asked two groups of people to donate money. Before he asked, he showed one group a video of a terminally ill boy. Now, note that the video had nothing to do with the boy. He found that the group which had watched the video were 80 percent more disposed to being generous. The people in that group had higher levels of oxytocin (a neurochemical that caused them to be more generous) in their brain.
Paul Zak was able to predict who will be the most generous by measuring the level of their emotional charge.
Value
Stories don’t only elicit emotions or inspire action, they can also change our perceived value of something.
A literary and anthropological experiment called the Significant Object Project wanted to find out if a great story can affect an object’s subjective value.
The team purchased trinkets that had little or no value and put them up for sale. Before doing that, they hired creative writers to invent stories about the trinkets. After putting them on sale on eBay, the trinkets sold for 2,700 percent more than they were bought for.
A great story about your brand drives up your value in the eyes of your potential customers.
Memory
Alex Luria is a neuropsychologist who is known for his work regarding the human’s memory. He conducted an experiment by reciting random words to his test subjects. When asked to recite the words back, they could not. He encouraged them to imagine the words as if they were passing beside them in a street. When they did this, their retention grew.
By turning facts into a story, people tend to retain and remember them.
There are some ways to use stories to help your website and here they are;
Connect with Emotions
Emotions are the heart of storytelling and if you want to use storytelling, you must engage the emotions of your consumers. What do they want to know? What do you want them to feel? How do Calgary web design companies combine these two?
It is not enough to tell your consumers what you do or how you do it, they probably know these. It is also likely that these are the same as your competition. You need to tell them why you do what you do. Telling them why is where the emotional connection lies. It can be the difference between you and your competition.
Tell the consumers stories about your business, explain some of your processes. Let them have the feeling of belonging. Don’t be afraid to get personal.
Design and Visuals
Good storytelling is done by showing not telling. Having good visuals is a no-brainer if you want to connect with your audience. The look and feel of your website is an important part of your storytelling. Here are some things to consider;
- Colours – The colours you choose for your website are very important because they all have a certain emotional association. Choosing the right colour can play a major role in guiding your users to the right resolution.
- Typography – most of your website will probably consist of text so your typography is very important. The font has a way of conveying personality and mood and you should use it effectively.
- Images – it is not enough to use pretty images on your website. Sure, they will get attention but the images you use should tell the story you want to tell. Can you tell a thousand words with one image? Then go for the image.
- Videos – they are very important. Some have even said a video is worth 1.8 million written words. A video is one of the highest forms of storytelling and it combines all other forms. An effective use of it will influence your users greatly.
Calgary Web Design Companies Bring your Story to Life
Because of emotional appeal, many people like the idea of becoming integrated with the story, people rather live the story than just absorb information. User experience is a very vital part of storytelling on the web.
Your website you should be interactive. It is important for the user not to feel like they are being force-fed but they have a level of control. Real-time feedback to actions performed on your website can be subtle but satisfying to the user. You’d be surprised at how gratifying it is for a button to respond by swelling, shrinking or changing colours.
Nobody ever rejected the experience of a good story. Quality Calgary web design companies will pull out all the stops when creating your website, find one that wants to tell your story. If your website or webpage can tell a good story, get it more interactive, it will increase your conversion rates and how many people return to your website.