Why you should learn Storytelling deeply in 2025

There’s that famous quote:

“There’s the story you tell yourself, and the story the world tells about you.”
Usually seen in moody typeface over a photo of someone hiking through fog, followed by a podcast ad.

But behind the bumper sticker philosophy is something weird and true: we can’t stop telling stories. We explain life through stories. We sell things through stories. We even justify our third coffee of the day with a story. (“I just need to feel alive again.”)

So why are stories so powerful?

It’s Not You, It’s Evolution

Let’s go way back, like, “before electricity” back. Early humans didn’t survive because they had spreadsheets or KPIs. They survived because they passed on critical information like:

“Don’t eat those berries, they’ll make you see the spirit world.”
“Kev tried to pet the sabretooth tiger. Funeral’s at six.”

The people who remembered these stories lived longer. The ones who didn’t became a cautionary tale. Storytelling became an evolutionary cheat code. It turned raw experience into social survival software.

Fast forward to now, and your brain is still wired for story. Not facts. Not features. Narrative.

Which brings us to…

Marketing. Where All Good Stories Go to Die.

If you’ve ever seen a brand post that begins:

“We’re proud to announce…”
You know how quickly storytelling can go off a cliff.

Most marketing is either too boring (“Here’s our new CRM feature list”) or too desperate (“We believe in love, hope, and machine learning!”). Neither is a story. Both are PowerPoint in disguise.

Great storytelling in marketing isn’t about shouting “Look at us!”
It’s about showing:
Here’s the world. Here’s the problem. Here’s what changed.

And critically: Here’s why it matters to you.

A Good Story Isn’t a Case Study with a Logo Slapped On

Real storytelling needs drama. Conflict. Weird socks wouldn’t hurt either. It needs tension. Stakes. Something human.

Here’s how brands do it well:

1. Apple – The 1984 Ad

They didn’t say, “Here’s a computer with 512KB of RAM.”
They said, “Here’s a rebellion against conformity.”
They told a story about us and let the product sneak in as the sidekick.

2. Airbnb – Belong Anywhere

They don’t say “book unique homes online.”
They say “feel at home anywhere in the world.”
It’s not about beds. It’s about identity. Belonging. Safety. Human needs.

3. Patagonia – Don’t Buy This Jacket

They ran an ad literally telling you not to buy their stuff. Why? Because the real story was about environmental values, not clothes. The story resonated. People told that story for them.

But Wait — There’s a Trapdoor

Even the best story can fall flat if you forget this rule:

Content is king, but context is God.

Tell a long, emotional story on LinkedIn? You might win hearts.
Tell that same story on TikTok? You’ll be aggressively ignored by someone doing a backflip while lip-syncing.

You have to know the stage your story will be told on. A good story on the wrong platform is like doing Hamlet on a bouncy castle.

Adapt your storytelling to the format, the audience, the mood.
Snackable drama on Instagram. Thoughtful arcs on newsletters. Raw honesty in podcast interviews. You get the idea.

So How Do You Make Your Brand’s Story Interesting?

Some tips. No fog. No hiking photos.

Don’t be the hero.
Your customer is. You’re the mentor. The Yoda. The Alfred to their Batman. Stop making it all about you.
Find tension.
What problem does your audience face? What’s annoying, hard, risky? Don’t smooth it over. Lean into it.
Make it weirdly specific.
Don’t say “helped a client scale.” Say “helped a three-person wedding cake company in Swindon go viral on Pinterest.”
Start in the middle.
Drop us into the action. Nobody wants a story that begins, “Our founder always loved spreadsheets…” NOPE.
Match the mood to the medium.
LinkedIn isn’t TikTok. Newsletters aren’t billboards. A story that wins on one platform might flop on another. Context rules.

Final Thought (Before You Start Writing a Netflix Pitch for Your SaaS Product)

You already have a story. Your customers have thousands. The trick is choosing one that’s interesting, true, and told in the right way, in the right place.

If you get that right, your brand doesn’t need to shout.
It whispers the right story to the right person and they listen.

And maybe they even retell it for you.