When it comes to website design, storytelling is a powerful tool that can help you to connect with your audience and build stronger professional relationships with them.
Whether you're a small business owner or a large corporation, the way you tell your story can have a significant impact on the popularity of your brand. In this blog post, we will provide you with some practical tips on how to incorporate storytelling into your website design.
Define Your Story
Your brand story is more than just a mission statement or a list of products or services. It's the essence of your brand and what sets it apart from your competitors. Weave together your core values, principles and goals.
Which involves sitting down and figuring out how you will go about transforming these things into concrete approaches to your organization. What do you bring to the table other than your products or services? What values and beliefs, relevant to your business, do you find particularly compelling? What are your long-term goals and aspirations? Once you have a clear understanding of these, it will be easier to answer more specific questions, too.
Create a Narrative Structure
Think through the beginning, middle, and end of your story, and use this structure to create a compelling narrative that will engage your audience all the way through.
The beginning of your story should introduce your brand and set the tone for the rest of your website. The middle of your story should provide more details about your brand story, your products or services, and how you help your customers. The end of your story should provide a clear call-to-action that encourages your audience to take the next step, whether that's making a purchase, signing up for your newsletter, or contacting you for more information.
Use Visual Elements
Most people care far more about visuals than any piece of content you can write. Use that in order to at least get close enough to them to the point where you have more opportunities to tell them what you are actually about.
For example, if your brand story is about sustainability, you could use images of nature, green spaces, and eco-friendly products to convey your message. If your brand story is about innovation, you could use images of futuristic technology and cutting-edge products.
It is not that deep. You are not making an art gallery, so go with what you have and be aware of what stereotypes people will try to apply to your website.
Make Your Story Easy to Navigate
A website that is difficult to navigate can be frustrating for your audience and can lead to a high bounce rate. In short, there is no story to tell if they do not stick around to hear, or read, it.
Which is why you gotta make things explicit. Use clear calls-to-action (CTAs) to guide your audience through your website and highlight key messages. Use an intuitive navigation menu and ensure that your website is mobile-friendly.
Do not be overly vague
Unless it helps you elucidate concepts, or something along those lines. Vague does not scream compelling. That goes for both your writing, presentation, visuals, etc.
People want things and they want them fast. Thinking about what you meant, or what you are about really, takes time if you do not lay things out clearly. Especially if are aiming for a younger audience. The attention span is fried.
Consistency of the story
Think of your brand story as a thread that weaves together all aspects of your brand. This thread should be strong and consistent, connecting your brand to your audience in a meaningful way. By using consistent language, messaging, and visuals, you can reinforce your brand story and help your audience understand what your organization stands for.
Consistency is also about building trust with your audience. When you do not switch up on them randomly, it shows that you at least have the basics down. The more clear you are about where you stand, the easier it will be to connect with people who would be interested in what you are about.
In short, shortcuts are not recommended, if you think of your organization as a unified thing, addressing problems at their root becomes intuitively more advantageous.