Insurance is an emotion-driven industry. People seek insurance to protect the things that are most important to them \u2013 like their families, their homes, and their businesses. Prioritizing storytelling in your marketing strategy makes perfect sense, as storytelling can evoke powerful emotions, humanize a brand, and inspire engagement and trust. Drawing insights from \u201cThe Purpose-Told Story,\u201d a chapter of \u201cStorynomics: Story-Driven Marketing in the Post-Advertising World,\u201d by screenwriting expert Robert McKee and digital marketing expert Thomas Gerace, we\u2019ll explore how to use stories as impactful insurance marketing strategies.<\/p>\n
In this chapter of \u201cStorynomics,\u201d the authors argue that whether you are writing a work of fiction or an ad, the best stories \u201csatisfy with a meaningful, emotional experience\u201d that leaves us \u201cfuller human being[s] than when we entered.\u201d In insurance marketing, this means telling stories that reflect your clients\u2019 and potential clients\u2019 needs and demonstrate how your insurance solutions can meet those needs and resolve problems effectively. The authors identify eight stages essential to effective story-driven marketing. Here\u2019s how you can make them work for your insurance brand.<\/p>\n
As an experienced marketer, you understand that you can never make assumptions about your audience. Before you launch into any storytelling campaign, you need to define:<\/p>\n
What is your insurance brand\u2019s core value? Is it exceptional customer support, comprehensive coverage options, expertise in a specific type of business support, or quick claims processing? Your story\u2019s main character could be a client imagining themselves navigating a complex situation \u2013 like a stressed homeowner coordinating home repairs after a fire or a business owner trying to keep operations running while dealing with a potentially devastating data breach.<\/p>\n
Create a compelling event that would disrupt your protagonist\u2019s life, such as a middle-of-the-night fire or an employee misstep that leads to a company data breach. You want this incident to immediately engage viewers or readers and highlight the emotional stakes involved, making them invested in the resolution of the story. Your main character\u2019s reaction to whatever happens as they imagine themselves in this situation should establish them as a relatable, well-meaning person who the audience will root for.<\/p>\n
Clearly define what your protagonist seeks as they imagine these scenarios playing out. Peace of mind, financial stability, or protection from unforeseen events are common goals when people turn to an insurance company for protection. Your featured homeowner wants to ensure that their family wouldn\u2019t be stuck in a hotel for months while the fire claims processes drags on, and your business owner wouldn\u2019t want to risk losing the trust of the customers who\u2019ve stuck by them for decades.<\/p>\n
Show your main character taking initial, reasonable steps toward finding that peace of mind and security. They might begin researching insurance options or contacting various providers, just as your audience has done, or will do, in their own lives.<\/p>\n
Introduce an unexpected obstacle or challenge that adds complexity to your protagonist\u2019s journey. Maybe the homeowner keeps reading negative reviews of insurance providers written by families who\u2019ve waited years to have repairs completed on their home or receive replacements for the possessions they\u2019ve lost. Perhaps the business owner keeps being told their company is not considered large enough or high-risk enough to warrant data breach coverage. The reaction should be an obstacle the audience can relate to, something that mirrors their own experiences or concerns.<\/p>\n
Present a pivotal moment where your main character must make a critical decision. They need to choose a policy for their brand-new home or small business, but they\u2019re having trouble deciding between a less expensive, less reliable option that would save them some cash in the short term or paying a little more for a trusted reputation and peace of mind. The tension here should be palpable, and the choice should clearly lead them to choose your insurance solution.<\/p>\n
After choosing your insurance solution, you can show how your protagonist\u2019s stress levels decrease as they smile watching their kids play in the backyard or their employees help a new customer. They achieve their desired outcome \u2013 the peace of mind of knowing they\u2019ll have a smooth claims process or comprehensive coverage if they ever need it.<\/p>\n
Neuroscientists have found that the brain\u2019s response to a good story\u2019s climax results in a few seconds of open-mindedness, during which memory is heightened. The authors say smart marketers should put their logo and any slogans right after the climax to take advantage of this phenomenon.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t miss out on the opportunity to elevate your insurance marketing through the power of storytelling. Start creating narratives that not only showcase the value of your offerings but also connect deeply with your audience. LIGHTSTREAM is here to help. Contact us<\/a> today to learn how we can help you tell the stories that will help you achieve your marketing goals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Impactful stories can compel audiences to choose your insurance products and services<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4059,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"wds_primary_category":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insurance"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelightstreamgroup.com\/old_bak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4506","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelightstreamgroup.com\/old_bak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelightstreamgroup.com\/old_bak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelightstreamgroup.com\/old_bak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelightstreamgroup.com\/old_bak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4506"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelightstreamgroup.com\/old_bak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4506\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4519,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelightstreamgroup.com\/old_bak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4506\/revisions\/4519"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelightstreamgroup.com\/old_bak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelightstreamgroup.com\/old_bak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelightstreamgroup.com\/old_bak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelightstreamgroup.com\/old_bak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}