Last updated on August 2nd, 2023
In this guide, you’ll learn how to effectively use stories in text, email, or social media to warm up leads, prospects, and clients.
And if you’d prefer this blog post in story form, click here:
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Listen closely, because I’m about to tell you a secret to effective advertising.
Grabbing your audience’s attention — quickly.
To be honest, it’s probably not much of a secret; I’m sure you already knew that, but I had to get your attention so I can tell you one of the actual secrets.
In the digital age, grabbing someone’s attention isn’t as easy as it once was.
We’ve all got a limitless amount of marketing thrown our way on a daily basis.
From the moment you wake up to the time you drift to sleep, you’re immersed in them.
Because of this, the average consumer is desensitized to all but the most eye-grabbing advertisements.
But there’s a (relatively) new kid on the marketing block: Stories.
No, not that kind; I mean social media stories.
In this article, I’m going to explain what story marketing is and how you can implement it yourself.
Let’s get right into it.
- Where stories have taken over
- Introducing VipeCloud Stories — the future of video content
- Why you need to leverage stories for your business
- How to use stories for marketing and sales
- Start marketing with stories today
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Where Stories Have Taken Over…
Stories are taking over the world of marketing.
By stories, I mean marketing through short, bite-sized videos and images rather than your traditional drawn-out video or text ad.
Because while video marketing has been around on social media for quite some time now — stories are giving marketers the edge to stand out against the grain.
Let’s look into how companies, marketers, and influencers alike are taking the internet by storm with stories on various platforms.
41% of marketers choose LinkedIn as their single most important platform for their business, beating Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
As one of the most popular social media platforms for professionals worldwide, LinkedIn may seem oversaturated on the outside.
And it’s true, for those who don’t find ways to outpace the competition, there isn’t much space to grow with LinkedIn marketing.
But for the marketers who innovate and use creativity to give them the edge?
For them, LinkedIn remains an untapped gold mine.
Take a look at this post by Shay Rowbottom, for example.
In this post, she posts a quick snapshot of her post’s engagement. And for her social media video marketing business, this is an excellent way to show off a quick case study to her audience.
And despite being such a simple story, it does a great job of showcasing Shay’s success with video marketing on LinkedIn.
Stories like these help to build a connection with your audience and add the necessary human touch they need to trust you, and it yields excellent results — as Shay Robottom would probably tell you.
YouTube
And while we’re on the topic of short, bite-sized videos — it is still possible to use shorter-form content to market effectively on an app for long-form content — if you approach things correctly, that is.
One great showcase of story marketing is Youtube. YouTube has taken the world by storm, especially in recent days — where individual influencers and companies alike have been able to build empires out of their followings.
Take Owen Video here as an example.
While a personal brand like his may have some key differences from a traditional company’s brand, some tenets stay the same. One of those tenets is that everyone needs to market themselves and build a loyal following.
And that’s exactly what he’s doing here.
By using YouTube Stories to interact with his subscribers, he’s building a connection, getting audience feedback, growing his following, giving valuable lessons to those followers, and establishing expertise all in one swing.
Stories come in all shapes and sizes, which means you have a metric ton of options when it comes to using them in your own strategy.
A picture is worth a thousand words — a saying that Lululemon uses to great effect here.
Instagram provides multiple excellent avenues for story marketing that Lululemon uses excellently.
Instagram’s story feature allows brands to put together video & picture series like this one below:
These sequenced stories are excellent for hooking attention and keeping it for the duration of the ride.
Stories on Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Tiktok, and More…
Not convinced that the power of stories is significant?
There was a study, which showed an 87% increase in landing page visits as the result of showing sequenced ads rather than non-sequenced.
It doesn’t end there either, because the list of social media platforms that have added stories to their repertoire doesn’t end there.
There’s Twitter, Snapchat, or even TikTok to utilize for your own brand and start taking advantage of stories on.
But with all that said, there’s one marketing avenue that remains largely untouched by stories: Email.
& Coming Soon: Stories are the Future of Video Email
Don’t get us wrong; using video through email has been around for quite some time, but it’s rare to see companies use it to the fullest extent.
But if stories are working so effectively? Shouldn’t brands start utilizing them in their email campaigns?
At VipeCloud, we think they should, which is why we’re helping to pioneer story marketing through email.
Video stories are the future of marketing, and if you want to be ahead of the competition rather than lingering behind, now is the perfect time to start..
Introducing VipeCloud Stories — The Future of Video Content
VipeCloud Stories is a new feature we’re proud to bring to the table — and, if used correctly — a game-changer for marketers and sales teams.
Stories allow you to send multi-slide (or as we call them, “chapter”) stories through emails, texts, and posts.
The slides can be text-based, image-based, or even contain video content. Each story can contain 12 chapters and even has a customizable call to action at the end.
Users on your platform can create, edit, and share the stories anywhere you can share a link or video.
Stay tuned, and we’ll talk about just how you can implement them to amazing effect.
Stories are Only Getting More Popular — Here’s Why You Need to Leverage it for Business.
It’s been found that 85% of internet users watch video content at least monthly.
People love video, and while written content is still important, videos tend to be more digestible to your average prospect.
Stories are a Growing Channel for Marketers
As many as 87% of marketers already use video in some capacity to boost their marketing efforts.
And 54% of consumers say they want more video content from brands they like.
This means that if you aren’t putting out video content, you’re missing out on brownie points (and sales) from 54% of your prospects and customers.
And that’s not to mention the value that video content brings.
Video Content Packs a Lot of Value
If you’re familiar with advertising and marketing, it’s no secret that you only have a few seconds to grasp your audience’s attention before they’re onto the next thing.
And keeping their attention can prove just as — if not more — challenging than getting it in the first place.
When people are reading your content, the majority of them aren’t going to get all the way through each marketing piece you send.
With video, you’ve got a way around that.
Or rather, you have an easier way to keep the attention and provide more value than you would’ve otherwise.
After all, you can pack a lot of info into a 2-minute video.
Who Can Benefit from Using Stories for Marketing?
To give it to you short:
If you market your business digitally, you could benefit from stories.
And if you don’t take full advantage of the latest digital marketing features, now’s a better time than ever to start.
Even before digital advertising was a thing, brands used a form of video stories to get in front of their ideal audiences — TV.
The problem?
TV Advertising is expensive, unfocused, and outdated.
Digital stories through social media and email make video advertising accessible for any brand with an online presence.
Ways Businesses Can Use Stories for Marketing and Generating More Sales
Alright, we’ve talked about the why; hopefully, we’re all on board in saying that video is the way forward.
There’s still just one challenge ahead.
I’ve yet to teach you the how.
But don’t worry, because video advertising isn’t as complicated of a beast as it seems to be. So let’s get right into it.
Use Them for Email
First up is the previously mentioned email marketing avenue.
Email marketing is excellent for video because it lets you stand out.
The vast majority of marketing emails out there are either text — or, if you’re lucky — images.
And hey, text emails aren’t bad by any means. In fact, you should implement text emails alongside stories in your own strategy; they’ve certainly got a time and place.
But wherever possible, consider the power that stories may have over the traditional email methods.
You could spruce up an abandoned cart email, for instance. Or maybe you’d like to send a video to thank a new client after the close personally.
The possibilities are near endless; we’ll even go further in-depth on specific examples later in this article.
Use Them for Texting and Messaging
The great thing about VipeCloud’s Story feature is that it isn’t just limited to emails or even social media — you can even send stories through text.
Again, using stories through text is yet another way for you to stand out against your competition; when’s the last time you received a video marketing message from a brand you like?
If you’re like most, video marketing through texts is probably unheard of.
Though if you’re interested in sprucing up your SMS marketing strategy, check out our guide to SMS marketing here.
Post Them on Social Media
And to top it off, there’s the trusty social media avenue.
Social media may already have quite a bit of video advertising on it, but that doesn’t mean there’s no room for you to make a profit.
In fact, we even saw earlier that sequenced advertising brings over 87% more visits than non-sequenced advertising.
Specific Use Cases for Utilizing Stories in Your Business
Now, let’s talk about some of the specific ways you can implement stories into your strategy. And where they might be better than the traditional forms of marketing.
Thank You Emails
Thank you emails are a prime example of simple and highly effective areas for Stories to shine.
Rather than sending an email that looks like this:
Why not send a video personally thanking your customers?
While it may seem like a small difference, remember, adding a relatable human touch to your marketing efforts is crucial for building trust.
And your job of relationship-building isn’t over once they’ve made the purchase — it’s your job to continue your excellent relationship with them.
You’d be surprised at how big of a difference a thank you video can make to your customers and how much more likely they may be to refer you even more sales.
Capitalizing on Abandoned Carts
In a single year, abandoned carts account for around $4.6 trillion in lost eCommerce sales.
And one of the biggest reasons the companies lose out on those sales?
They don’t follow up.
Abandoned cart emails are some of the most straightforward ways to recapture interest in customers that would’ve otherwise not bought from you.
And stories give you another way to capitalize on that fact.
One example of how you might use this is sending product demonstrations or informational posts to customers that abandoned carts to regain their attention. Then, you could finish off your story with a quick call to action to reconsider purchasing.
Pitching Proposals
Now, you should probably be doing your proposals in-person, or over a call if you’re a B2B salesperson.
But in certain scenarios, it may make sense for you to send a proposal through email if you’re dealing with a prospect that is hard to book a meeting with — or if you’ve already built trust with them. Or maybe, you’re pitching to a marketing director that needs to get an OK from the CEO first.
This is when you could combine stories, email, and proposals.
Instead of sending a boring document or powerpoint, why not create a high-value piece of video content?
Follow-Ups with Prospects and Clients
After a meeting with a prospect or client, you should always be sending follow-up emails to them.
It’s just a big part of solidifying a warm relationship with the people who give you business.
So instead of sending a text-only email — try sending a story email recapping the meeting, giving additional information, maybe throw in a little joke, and go over next steps.
Who wouldn’t appreciate that?
Video Content Campaigns to Supplement Your Blog Posts
You and I both know that the blog posts you write are packed to the brim with value.
(Don’t help creating conversion-focused content? Check out our guide on how to write customer-winning sales content.)
The problem?
Not all of your prospects know that. Or maybe they just don’t have the time to read up on all of your posts.
But video can pack a lot more information in a quick time frame while also staying much better at attention-grabbing.
How to Market with Stories Using VipeCloud
Marketing with stories could be your next big step in marketing to give you the edge.
And implementing them isn’t hard either — we’ll even help you do it.
Let us be the ones to help you utilize the power of marketing stories by requesting your free demo today, right from the VipeCloud dashboard.
Not using VipeCloud yet? Then we’ve got just the offer for you.
Get Started With VipeCloud Today
At VipeCloud, we love to show our customers what the platform can do first hand.
That way, you don’t have to take our word for it; you can see the results for yourself — after all, actions speak louder than words.
And we’ll even help you transfer your current systems and data over, for no extra charge.
If you want to take bounds past your competition, request your free demo of VipeCloud today.
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