People want stories, not marketing. In the Storyteller Marketing session at SES NY, Brian Lewis of Engine Ready, discussed the effectiveness of leveraging storytelling in marketing.

We make sense of our world and our place in it through stories. We can relate to and be captivated by stories as they stimulate and inspire us. We want stories, not marketing. Do you use storytelling to paint the picture for your people to better understand your business or product (and ultimately why they should care about it)?

Storyteller marketing can be a very effective way to get the message out about your brand. Effective stories are easy to remember and share, are dramatic and convey a lesson. Stories can be used to help people believe and to make people take action. These people I talk about..you might also know them as your customers.

The entertainment factor is a big reason storytelling is so effective. Stories are engaging, real and typically deal with problems and solutions (who doesn't have these and need these?). Besides, data is boring. You can use data to create your story, but not to tell it.

Let's look at a very tangible example of storyteller marketing; checkout this example from the Wall Street Journal. This story was written in the 70s and worked so effectively, they used it for decades. When you find something that works, you can stick with it. While you might need to refresh parts of it from time to time to keep it current, if the concept works, run with it.