You’re A Story Addict. But So Is Everyone.

As marketers, we hear “storytelling” get thrown around a lot — so much so that it seems to have lost all meaning.

If you wonder what story really means when it comes to branding and marketing, you’ll end up arriving at either complex answers or foolish ones, like “A story is beginning, middle, and end.” That’s like saying a car is “a transportation vehicle” and expecting someone to do something with it. “A train is a beginning, middle, and end too….now go build one.”

Sure, they’re all true, but now what? That grossly oversimplified descriptions don’t get us anywhere. They don’t explain, differentiate, move, or inspire. They certainly don’t tell a story.

And that may be why brands and marketers are such terrrrrrrrrible storytellers, and consumers are sick of it.

So, let’s explore a more complex answer that’s at least more fun:

Storytelling is Simply Dealing Drugs!

And, We’re All Drug Addicts!

How did I get there? Well, on a social level, storytelling is human connection — humanity using humanity to engage humanity. But, on a biological, or chemical, level, storytelling is a natural formula for activating human attention and connection.

That’s because storytelling is ingrained in us. It’s part of our code. It’s what powered our evolution. It’s innate and inescapable.

Our brains are wired for stories. We need them, we love them, we want some more of them. Good stories create lasting emotional connections that persuade, educate, entertain, and convert us into whatever the dealer teller wants.

Like a drug, we seek them out. We have fun with them. We immerse ourselves in stories to get a release, relaxation, excitement, and the chance to mentally play, accessing fantasy lives and worlds to escape the everyday and boring.

Stories are life! We go to bed at night, and our brains sit up, telling themselves stories in the form of dreams. It’s entertainment, but also an evolutionary preparation for life, as we dream of things in life we might face to prepare ourselves. But, mostly, it’s that sweet sweet drug we seek!

HOW IT WORKS — THE SCIENCE OF STORIES

Experiencing a story alters our neurochemical processes, releasing drugs into our systems and, because of that, we’re all big ol’ drug addicts. And, as marketers, that makes us all-American drug dealers. (Deal with it, and come get your fix!)

When you experience a story, neurotransmitters and neurochemicals in the brain hijack your cortex for a cocktail of throwing objectively observant skills out the window. You’re high, and that’s just what happens.

We get our fix, and we think of nothing else. My name is James and I’m an addict.

And, strangely enough, our brain chemistry, in response to stories, is an actual marketing funnel — proof god was a marketer.

Our Top-Of-Funnel Drug: Cortisol
From a marketer’s perspective, cortisol may be the compound most closely associated with the “top of the funnel” experience — the first contact with a customer — known as awareness.

Released to focus attention, this hormone is mainly released at times of overstimulation, like scrolling through your Instagram feed. The more stimulation you feel, the more cortisol you release.

Let’s revisit that last statement: The more stimulation you feel, the more cortisol you release. NOT the more you’re told about product attributes. NOT the size of the logo. NOT the more we ask for emails or the scanning of QR codes. This is a time for entertainment, for connection, for NOT selling.

From Awareness To Interest: Dopamine
Listening to a good story lights up the same part of the brain as when one experiences pleasure. Stories therefore excite neurons that make dopamine. This affects emotions, movements, and sensations of pleasure and pain.

With a profound impact on our brain and body, it actually plays a critical role in drug addiction, significantly impacting our focus, motivation, memory, and reward-response behavior. These are all critical to engaging an audience and incentivizing them to act.

In order to yield Dopamine we need to tell a story that tempers interest with a hook or twist. This can be done with an interesting question or a suspenseful statement at the beginning of the story. This takes us further down the funnel, rewarding us for sticking with the journey.

The Brain Drug Everyone Loves To Love: Oxytocin
Oxytocin is known as the love hormone. It impacts bonding behavior and creates empathy and trust for a brand. Stories have a unique ability to build a bond between the storyteller and the audience. That’s because a unique phenomenon happens during storytelling called mirroring. Listeners experience similar brain activity to each other and to the storyteller. This is a process that does not happen when reading a deck slide.

To produce Oxytocin, we need to tell stories that tug at heartstrings and make the audience feel more human; being honest in our stories will be a major factor in triggering Oxytocin. This brain drug retains an audience, keeping them engaged — and it makes them share us!

Free Painkillers: Endorphins
When endorphins reach our limbic system, we experience pleasure and satisfaction. The limbic system is the oldest part of our brain and is responsible for emotion. It’s also where we make our decisions (and then rationalize afterward with our neocortex).

Elevating endorphin levels in our audience is critical in driving buying decisions because with enough endorphins in their drug cocktail, this is where they buy. With this chemical flooding your brain, you’re prompted to take action. But, only if something warrants our attention — so don’t be boring, marketers!

That is our job: to not be boring.

After all, we’re all both drug dealers and drug addicts, and that doesn’t sound boring at all.