Some may remember LeVar Burton from his television show "Reading Rainbow", which, since the 1980s, taught children across the United States the pleasures of reading. But, as technology has changed and evolved, so too has Burton's business plan.
According to Entrepreneur, Burton partnered with experienced entertainment producer Mark Wolfe to create RRKidz – a mobile app designed for 3 to 9-year-old kids to enjoy and encourage reading through videos and other interactive features.
While Burton has been able to take his storytelling business from the TV screen onto mobile devices, the art of storytelling itself isn't too far from internet marketing. In fact, according to Inc. Magazine, a company's story should be at the core of their small business internet marketing campaign.
There are three ways a company can implement stories into its targeted internet marketing campaign: through the product, the owner or the company itself. For example, the source cites a Japanese company that creates traditional screens to decorate or divide rooms.
At a trade show, the business brought in one of its artisan craftsmen to demonstrate how the product is made, thus creating a story to the product. They put a face, a process and an artform to a product that most would have just passed over.
This type of storytelling-marketing can be used to describe how a company was created, which can help give a business a persona and backstory, or the owner, which can help smaller businesses project a more friendly and personal image to its surrounding community.
Whichever way a company chooses, a targeted internet marketing campaign can be greatly improved by folding in a narrative element. By partnering with an experienced digital advertising agency, businesses can do this more effectively.