Storytelling expert Dr. Veit Etzold talks about Digital Storytelling and Content Marketing, emphasizing the necessity of clearly positioning oneself and placing products in an increasingly complex world.
Content is king!
Every media manager knows this. Especially in the 21st century, content is becoming increasingly important. According to a study by the magazine "Fortune," the share of intangible assets as part of the total company value in the USA has more than quadrupled from 17% in 1975 to over 80% in 2015! Similar trends can be observed in other knowledge-based countries and industrialized nations.
In the digital world, the abundance of information is inexhaustible, while the user's attention span is getting shorter and the competition for the customer's "Eyeball Attention" is becoming fiercer. After all, the competition is just a click away.
Storytelling, especially Digital Storytelling, is an essential element of Content Marketing as it puts the customer and their experiences at the center, similar to the hero in a good story. Since ancient times, humans have been telling their "Best Practices" in the form of stories, and the brain's gatekeeper still ruthlessly filters out what doesn't sound like a good story. Today more than ever! Fact-heavy presentations and boring PowerPoint charts are unwelcome guests. And digital data deserts even more so.
The lecture "Digital Storytelling – Content Marketing in the markets of tomorrow!" shows how companies in the 21st century can use storytelling to:
a - explain and implement strategies,
b - sell high-margin products,
c - better market themselves in the digital world, and thereby
d - overall increase the value of their company.
Digital Storytelling helps you to serve millions of customers in a scalable business and at the same time make each customer feel that your company knows exactly what this individual customer really needs through a good story.
Because every unsolved customer problem today is a profitable business model for tomorrow!
What does Digital Storytelling have to do with Content Marketing?
Veit Etzold: For me, storytelling is an essential element of Content Marketing as it puts the customer and their experiences at the center, similar to the hero in a good story.
How did you get into Digital Storytelling and Content Marketing?
Veit Etzold: During my time at Dresdner Bank / Allianz and Boston Consulting Group (BCG), I dealt with marketing questions. Especially at BCG, the focus shifted more towards how to explain complex and expensive services like strategy consulting in a simple and entertaining way so that the customer understands them.
Can you give us a sneak preview of your Digital Storytelling lecture?
Veit Etzold: I will show why storytelling is an essential part of Content Marketing, especially in the digital world. In the digital world, the information overload is increasing, attention spans are getting shorter, and the competition is just a click away. The first impression must be right, and the story must resonate. It is important to tell a story and not just list facts. Everything dressed in a story receives the highest attention in the brain. After all, stories are the way our ancestors explained their best practices for survival. And our brain still sees it that way today.
What developments in Content Marketing and Digital Storytelling are you following with particular interest?
Veit Etzold: I see a necessary change in advertising: I see, for example, how seemingly boring companies like health insurance companies use customer stories in content marketing to prevent viewers from immediately switching channels. Coca Cola is, of course, a classic example of content marketing. I am, however, surprised that companies that would benefit from content marketing, such as established energy providers in the face of the energy transition, are still hesitant. Banks, with a few clumsy attempts aside, are also not doing enough, although it is sorely needed.
To learn more about
Veit Etzold, click here:
https://www.speakers-excellence.de/redner/dr-veit-etzold-storytelling.html
For more on Digital Storytelling, visit:
http://www.veit-etzold.de/digital-storytelling/
