How storytelling will drive marketing strategies in 2024

11/24/2023

One of the oldest forms of communication – storytelling – will rely on new technology, including artificial intelligence, to drive marketing trends in 2024.

Storytelling has a deep history that dates to the beginning of time when stories were passed down for generations through the spoken word. Today, storytelling – from a business marketing perspective – comes in many forms: print, television, radio and online.

Today’s competitive marketplace means brands must take an active role in telling their stories: why the company was founded, what the business has coming down the pipeline and how its products or services help clients, customers and the community. These stories build deep connections that help businesses grow.

In 2024, expect to see businesses build their marketing strategies around storytelling, especially in these four areas:

Public Relations

Businesses regularly use PR to establish brand credibility and communicate with consumers. News releases, articles and guest commentaries remain part of that strategy, but brands will integrate PR into other elements:

  • Blogs: Online content helps establish expertise while capitalizing on search engine optimization to drive web traffic.
  • Speaking engagements: Micro-communication lets business leaders connect directly with target audiences.
  • Awards: Customers and clients want to work with winners, and awards validate success.
  • Community relations: Establishing relationships with elected, nonprofit and business leaders generates connections with movers and shakers.

Social Media

Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube and X (formerly Twitter) are among the most popular social media platforms. Three areas of focus will be incredibly important in 2024 as brands tell their stories on social:

  • Reels: Short videos will continue dominating feeds as platforms use AI and algorithms to serve reels based on user interest.
  • Humor: Brands can inject personality into social media posts to make themselves more relatable.
  • Messaging tools: Platforms will be rolling out tools that encourage customers and fans to communicate directly with the brands they follow.

Video

From the big screen to the small screen, and now to the even smaller screen, video has been a storytelling mechanism for more than a century. Expect to see these trends grow in 2024:

  • How-to videos: Brands will offer informative videos that prove expertise and cultivate goodwill with audiences, without being overtly persuasive or promotional.
  • High energy: To stand out, creators will produce videos that attract and hold audiences’ attention with quick transitions, creative special effects, custom animations and engaging audio.
  • Animation: AI tools embedded in video production software allow storytellers to do more with less, resulting in a prevalence of polished, cinematic productions for brands big and small.
  • Optimization: Creators will artfully maximize budgets by creating videos that can be used in multiple ways, including both horizontal and mobile-friendly vertical production formats.

Digital Marketing

Most businesses have established an online presence. The most successful brands, however, meet customers where they are – online. Technology will drive those efforts:

  • Artificial intelligence: The knock on AI is that it’s impersonal and not necessarily reflective of a brand. However, refinements to AI have potential to generate high conversion rates in email campaigns and paid advertising.
  • Hyper-personalization: Consumers respond favorably to messaging that targets their shopping and buying preference. Segmented marketing allows brands to drill down data to create one-to-one marketing channels, but privacy regulation could pose some roadblocks.

In its simplest form, marketing is just storytelling. Instead of gathering around the campfire and telling stories, though, businesses have a multitude of avenues to share their stories with the community.

Teri Hansen, APR, is president and chief creative officer at Priority Marketing, Southwest Florida’s largest full-service marketing, advertising, public relations, website development and digital marketing agency. Visit PriorityMarketing.com or call (239) 267-2638.