6 Ways To Tell Better Stories In Your Content Marketing

Content marketing is possibly the most crucial element of any marketing strategy.
It's your time to shine,
your opportunity to put your best foot forward, to attract and convert prospects
into customers without having to sell to them.
But as today's customers don't decide
to buy from you based on what you sell, but rather why they should buy from you,
creating content that is engaging and entertaining should be the driving
force behind your content marketing strategy.
Now, I know I just told you that content marketing isn't about selling
to prospects, but what if I told you that turning your content into stories
might actually enable you to sell? Enter the art of storytelling.
Hi, guys, it's Jack here
from Neighbourhood, where we help friends find, sell and keep their people.
It's not a revelation
when I say everyone loves a great story, it's a fact.
But the beauty of storytelling is so much more than just telling stories
in the world of content marketing stories of the perfect way to humanise your brand
as they're the beating heart of inbound marketing as a whole.
They are what people remember.
Stories give us a reason to communicate and relate.
They are stimulating and give us something to believe in.
Utilising storytelling in your inbound
marketing provides the opportunity to portray the customer as the hero.
Storytelling is not a process, method or technique.
It's an art.
And just like art, it requires creativity, vision, skill and practise.
When stories are told well,
they can change your behaviour, your opinions, even your life.
So as valuable as storytelling is,
it isn't something you can grasp in one sitting.
So let's break it down. Before writing any story,
it's important to know that there are
three components that make up a good story,
regardless of what you're trying to tell.
Characters. Every story features at least one character.
But the main character is the key
component in relating your audience back to the story.
The main character is the bridge between you, the storyteller and the audience.
The goal is for the audience to put
themselves in the character's shoes, and if they do, they'll be more likely
to follow through with your call to action. Conflict.
The conflict is the lesson of how the character overcomes the challenge.
Conflict in stories elicits emotions
that connects the audience on a personal level through relatable experiences.
The power lies in what you're conveying and teaching.
If there's no conflict, it's likely not a good story.
Resolution.
Every good story has an ending,
but it doesn't always have to be happily ever after.
Your stories
resolution should wrap up the story and provide context around the characters
and conflict and leave your audience with a call to action.
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Now that you know the essence needed
for your story, let's talk about how to craft one. Tip one:
know your audience. Before putting pen to paper or fingers to a keyboard,
do some research on your target market and define your buyer personas,
if you haven't already. In order to create a compelling story,
you need to understand who your audience is and who will respond and take action.
This will provide you crucial direction for the next few steps as you build out
the foundation of your story. Define your core message.
Like every story, it should have a core message before moving forward.
When planning content create stories that relate to your content pillars so
your stories align with your content strategy.
To help define this, try and summarise your story in six to ten words.
Decide what kind of story you're telling.
Not all stories are created equal or
the same. When it comes to determining what kind of story you're telling,
figure out how you want your audience to feel or react as they read.
This will help you determine how to weave your story with the objective you're pursuing.
If your objective is to tell people about yourself, tell a story that features
genuine, humanising struggles, values and wins.
Today's consumers connect with brands
that market authenticity and storytelling is no exception.
Incite action. Your story should describe how
a successful action was completed in the past and explain how readers might
be able to implement the same kind of change.
But remember to avoid excessive or exaggerated details so your audience can
focus on the action that your story encourages. Or impart knowledge or educate.
Tell the story that features a trial and error experience so readers can learn
about the problem and how that solution was discovered and applied.
Discuss other alternative solutions too. Number four.
Establish your call to action very similar to your objective, CTA's
direct the consumers to the exact action
you'd like your audience to take after reading or interacting with your content.
What exactly do you want your readers to do?
Donate money, subscribe to a newsletter or buy a product.
Outline this alongside your objective to make sure they line up.
Number five, choose your story medium.
Stories can take many shapes and forms, offering you a wide range
of content that is appropriate to your objectives and content pillars.
Some stories are read, some are watched and others are listened to.
Choosing a story medium depends on your type of story.
Here are some of the different ways you can tell your story.
Written stories can often be told through articles, blog posts or books.
These are mostly text and may include some images.
Written stories are by far the most
affordable and attainable method of storytelling as it's free or very low
cost. Spoken story is told in person, such as a presentation pitch or panel.
Think Ted talks.
A digital story is told through a variety
of media such as video, animation or interactive stories.
This option is most effective
for emotionally resonating stories as well as active visual stories,
and is why it's also the most expensive. Tip 6, share your story.
Now that you've perfected the art of storytelling, it's time to promote it.
Depending on the chosen medium of your
story, you should definitely look at sharing it on social media and email.
The more places you share your story, the more engagement
you can expect from your audience.
As mentioned before, storytelling is an art, a beautiful,
time consuming but worth mastering art for both your business and your customers.
Stories bring people together and inspire action and response.
Besides, today's customers don't decide
to buy because you're selling, but rather why you're selling it.
It takes the objectives from your content
marketing strategy and turns them into a creative and engaging way
to interact and communicate with your audience.
If you found this video helpful, then feel free to share it with someone
you know that needs a hand with their content marketing.
Be sure to check out the link in the description to our one stop shop
content pillar page, where you'll get a full rundown of everything content marketing.
Or you could subscribe to our blog,
where you'll find a bunch more tools, tips and templates to Help you Find Sell &
Keep your people, just like Neighbourhood does.
So that's it for me. Happy marketing.