Creative storytelling tips for ethical brands

Truly creative storytelling is key to getting your marketing message across. Why? Because AI-generated content is flooding our social media channels, blogs, and newsletters.

Granted, bots like ChatGPT have come a long way and some of their outputs can look acceptable—at first glance. The downside: you won’t stand out with generic text that’s just like everyone else’s. Plus, plagiarism accusations are likely to become a genuine issue.

So, how can you avoid long-term problems in your content marketing efforts and invest in good (and human) storytelling techniques? I’ll guide you through some creative methods human copywriters and SEO content writers use in their work.

Storytelling basics

Traditional storytelling methods rely on certain factors in a narrative. At its most basic, your content strategy needs to include the“4 Ps” to engage your target audience:

• protagonist(s) (“people),
• a location (“place“),
• a “plot“,
• and an overall “purpose” of your story.

After all, your reader should feel like they’ve gained something after they’ve spent valuable time reading, watching or listening to your story.

There are many storytelling techniques, which build on these basics. For example, authors will entice curiosity with adding some twists and turns to their plots, include conversations to make the story come to life, and add conflict situations to engage their readers. (See the“5 Cs” for a full list.)

Creative storytelling uses a mix of traditional and new techniques to make your core message more enticing and convincing to your intended audience. This list is not exhaustive, but here are some interesting storytelling methods to consider.

Use visual storytelling

As the name suggests, this type of storytelling uses visual elements, such as:

• illustrations (e.g. mind maps, word clouds, cartoons),
• graphs (e.g. timelines, pie charts),
• checklists,
• maps,
• photos,
• videos, or
• GIFs, animations, and memes.

You can see most of these components daily in social media posts, websites, and other online marketing materials. They’re so popular because visual elements help engage your audience. Also, readers are probably more likely to remember visuals than text.

Not the creative type and can’t afford to hire a professional? Don’t worry. Many apps and tools can make your life easier.

Tips:

• Canva is probably the best known software for non-designers.
• Knight Lab has created various tools that help implement visual and audio elements into your content – completely free.
• With an app like Shorthand, you could include personal, behind-the-scenes images and text that appeal to your readers.
• There are many courses you could take to improve your visual storytelling. Why not attend a masterclass or a course in drawing your own, simple cartoons to get some inspiration?

Try interactive storytelling

Here, you allow your audience to take part in your story. You may choose to include a game, quiz, or even a choose-your-own-adventure type story. (Your story doesn’t have to be linear. To add interest, you could use different perspectives or even different time frames.)

Interactive storytelling examples:

Let’s say you’re an ethical brand selling organic, fairly traded bamboo T-shirts through your online store.

• You could show your potential customers exactly where your shirts have been made on an interactive map embedded on your website.
• A short, engaging quiz could explain how much water and toxins your site visitors will save by opting for bamboo rather than normal cotton.
• Consider adding user-generated content (UGC) by happy clients, which you could add to your social media posts, website, or even embed in certain blog posts.

Other types of digital storytelling you can add

A form of visual and interactive storytelling, digital storytelling uses digital technologies such as websites, social media, musical storytelling and videos to get your message across. Here are some common examples you could consider including in your creative content marketing plan.

Caution: don’t use them all at the same time. It’s better to focus on a few elements you enjoy doing consistently. Check your Google Analytics (or Matomo) stats to see what kind of content resonates most with your audience, then focus on that.

1. Audio content (e.g. podcasts)

Podcasts are still one of the most popular types of new media, and a fantastic storytelling tool. A Reuters Institute survey of traditional and digital publishing professionals in 53 countries showed that 72% of them would be focusing on podcasts and other digital audio in 2023, followed by email newsletters (69%) and digital video (67%).

Podcasting allows you to showcase your expertise to a wide audience, often with very little start-up costs. Your voice gives a personal touch, which helps your audience engage with you (ideal if you use your podcast in conjunction with your social media platforms). Use it to tell your brand’s story through interviews, personal stories, advice or interesting facts.

Tips

• Regular and high-quality content is essential, as is good audio quality.
• Interested? Check out these free podcasting platforms to get started.
• You could also use short spoken stories as testimonials on your website.

2. Blogging

According to Startups Magazine, 55% of marketers stated in 2022 “that blogging is one of their most important inbound marketing processes”. As an ethical brand, you should provide the latest news, insights, tips, and opinions related to your products or services tailored to your ideal target audience.

You can also use interviews, behind-the-scenes content, or the story behind your brand to make your content resonate with your readers.

Tips

• Selling isn’t the primary aim of your blog. The secret of good content marketing lies in informing your readers while increasing your online visibility.
• Make your content interesting and relatable.
• Include facts, visual, and interactive elements.
• Quality, up-to-date and SEO-friendly content is essential. (Need help with that?)

3. Case studies/testimonials

Detailed case studies can be a really powerful storytelling tool. Social proof is essential here, so show how your customers’ lives have changed for the better after using your services or products. Include engaging pictures and testimonials, as well as relevant stats to demonstrate how effective your product or service is.

Tips

• Read HubSpot’s great guide on how to write an effective case study.
• You could also use some Canva case study templates to get started.
• Be careful not to greenwash.

4. E-books and impact reports

Written stories still are the most popular, so creating free e-books can be an excellent way of informing your audience and getting new leads. They are also cheap and fairly easy to produce. Without printing costs or shipping fees, your content can be downloaded immediately.

The same goes for your impact reports. These documents don’t have to be dull, as Tony’s Chocolonely’s Annual FAIR report 2021/22 has shown. Visual learners will appreciate colourful graphs and engaging content.

Tips

• Take courses on writing e-books and self-publishing (e.g. see Skillshare or Udemy for low-cost options).
• Use tools that allow you to add interactive content (e.g. videos, maps, charts, links, GIFs) to your e-books/reports.
• Read about how to design a good sustainability impact report.

5. Newsletters/Email Marketing

As with podcasting, many of the above surveyed publishers saw “investing in podcasts and newsletters as the best way to build a deeper connection with audiences and to encourage them to come back more frequently.”

With the recent turmoil on Twitter and constant changes on Instagram, newsletters certainly seem to be more stable, safer options. After all, you control the user data you gather, rather than rely on a potentially volatile social media platform to collect and keep it for you.

Newsletters can be an excellent tool for lead generation, but again, you shouldn’t focus too much on sales here. First and foremost, provide valuable information.

Tips

• Get started with a free email marketing course.
• Read this helpful guide on how to make your subscribers feel good about signing up.
• Keep your digital carbon footprint in mind when designing and planning the frequency of your newsletters.

6. Social media posts (including user-generated content)

As of 2023, more than half of the world’s population (4.9 billion) are social media users. While Facebook is still the biggest platform, you’ll need to be where your target audience is. This could be TikTok, LinkedIn, Twitter, or Instagram, depending on the products and services you offer and the target audience you’re aiming for. 

For ethical brands, there may be issues when choosing the right platform. For example, TikTok and Meta (which owns Facebook and Instagram) have all been in the news regarding ethical controversies. They are not the only ones. However, your brand needs to stay competitive in the online market, so it’s up to you to make the choice that is best for your purposes. Just be sure to market as ethically as possible.

Tips

• To get started with social media marketing, you could take a relevant certification course.
• Familiarise yourself with storytelling formulas that sit right with you and your brand. You don’t want to manipulate your audience. Instead, inform and entertain your readers. This can lead to excellent user-generated content, which you may be able to repurpose.
• Canva is great for free and paid social media templates.
• Metricool is an affordable scheduling and reporting tool for businesses.
• Feeling stuck? You may enjoy using an app like Brainsparker. Check out my review on it!

7. Video content (e.g. YouTube)

Video content combines spoken and written stories, which really can grab your audience’s attention.

YouTube and TikTok have been popular video-based platforms for many years, with Instagram and Facebook trying to catch up. The latest Reuters Institute survey data suggests publishers will “continue to be prioritising video platforms like TikTok and YouTube” in 2023. Interestingly, slightly longer videos may become more popular, as they’ll be easier to monetise.

Tips

• Get started with HubSpot’s free video marketing lessons.
• This discussion on some creative (video) storytelling ideas for impactful and meaningful results is worth watching.

Creative content marketing takes time—but it’s worth it

As you’ve seen, storytelling is a huge topic, and this post can only scratch the surface. However, I hope I’ve shown that choosing and implementing the right content strategies and creative approaches for your business is vital.

There are many things you can do yourself if you’re on a low budget, as you’ve seen above. Keep your audience engaged, informed, and interested, and make sure all the creative content you produce is honest and reflects the reality behind your brand. Show your unique story, but don’t embellish or greenwash.

If your budget allows, hire professionals for your storytelling work. Whether for SEO content writing, copywriting, or social media marketing, you’ll find that investing in original, creative brand storytelling will pay off. Telling stories well is an art. It takes time and practice, but your audience will thank you for it.