Six Ways to Tell Better Storytelling in Your Content Marketing

Today, in the midst of increasing volume of noise, both on and offline - most people's attention spans are about as long as a sleepy goldfish. Even when you have a wealth of information however, it's not easy to find your customers and get them to engage. But there's a silver lining for all this nonsense, since it has left people hungry for something very specific: a human connection.

One of the greatest method to establish a rapport to other people is through stories. When we incorporate stories into our content we transform the information we share into wisdom. This shows that what we do for not just the sake of profit. we are committed to the solution to this issue, and also helping our viewers. Also, it helps create a sense of context among each piece of content we make by weaving them to form a larger picture.

"If you really are looking to get people interested, you need to present a compelling and authentic story. Stories are an excellent way to share your thoughts as well as impress your audience and establish a a human connection with them." Jeff Bullas Jeff Bullas

  Here are 6 ways to make better storytelling happen for your content marketing  

1. Your audience should be become the hero.

The first and most crucial aspect of the art of storytelling in your company. Your role isn't the main character, your customer is. If you concentrate on yourself and the things that interest you, then your stories are perceived as "hype" and create an opposite impact. It's instead of building an emotional connection with your readers, they will repel them.

That's not to say you should not tell stories about yourself. Sharing your stories is essential. But remember that your viewers will experience your tales as if they lived the events. Therefore, ensure that your story and the message convey relevant to the audience.

  2. Find out where your customers are in "The Buyer's Journey"

You've got hundreds of stories to tell, which will you choose? You want the tell stories that will connect with your readers and are relevant to them right now. You need to give the an experience that helps your audience feel energized to make the next move together with you.

The buyer's journey is a useful framework to framework to help us understand the state of mind of our customers in deciding whether or not they want to purchase from us. Buyer's Journey has three basic phases: Know, Like and Trust. Let's take a look at each of them:

Be aware: At this stage, your audience just needs to know you exist even. They may not even be aware of the problem you have to solve. The stories you tell here will need to convey the essence of the opportunity or problem which will entice them and interest quickly. The stories you tell should be brief (your readers won't have that much of an attention span for your stories but) and provide either an emotional, or a practical value.

  3. Do not reinvent the wheel. use frameworks

In many cases, telling stories is not something we do naturally. Yes, we "tell stories" but there's a way for telling stories that connects you with the audience. The absence of frameworks is similar to having to create a new wheel each when you tell a story. Frames help us discover different perspectives and explore new avenues of thinking that help us to escape from the mental traps that we are stuck in.

There are dozens of different models available. My favorite for telling stories that truly connect with your audience and inspire action is called the Crossroads Formula. It is the Crossroads Formula breaks up the phases of the Buyer's Journey into questions and then matches them to the various stages that comprise the Hero's Journey.

  4. Use to tell stories using images

Do not limit yourself to only one type of medium for your story telling. If you're either writing or telling the stories, you can include visuals to help to enhance the emotion or message you want to convey.

Visual images are processed more quickly by the brain and retained longer than textual information or spoken words. Visual perception is one of our most powerful senses and messages from visuals cut into our brains without us even realizing it. They are able to break up huge chunks of text, and help keep readers engaging. They can subtly communicate ideas and feelings in a way that other methods of communication cannot.

You don't need a Hollywood film budget to make it with visual storytelling. Consider Wait, What's the Matter? A blog by Tim Urban with millions of followers ... It would seem that the blog would have some cash for some amazing visuals, but the blog is brimming with sketches that appear as if they were created by an 11-year-old with paint software in 1996...

Here are some easy ways to add visuals to your content:

Screenshots accompanied by annotations: There is no need to spend a lot of money on design here, a screenshot that includes a couple of quick annotations can increase the value of the concepts you communicate to your visitors by showing actual examples to support your writing.

Diagrams and charts -All you need for telling a great story is a line. Charts and graphs help you take data and create a visual story with the rise and fall of the information. Look at the way Kurt Vonnegut (my favorite author) turns classic tales into easy graphs.

Memes HTML0 Memes Memes are fantastic because they take familiar ideas as well as characters and then apply them to a new setting of our material. According to the "simple-exposure" result, people prefer the ideas or images they already know over those that are unfamiliar.

Quote images -This is a quick and powerful way to add images to your posts. When you include a quote from an influencer to back your thoughts, make it into an image of a quote. This makes the person you quote appear like a rockstar also (which means they are more likely to share the content)

  5. Set big goals

It's not enough to look back at your past to find stories. You can make your own stories by setting large goals for your business.

Stories-driven goals, commonly referred to as a BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) reflect the difference you want to make in the world with your efforts. This is the world you create day by day through the work you're doing.

There are several key benefits to using an BHAG

• It allows you to discuss your company -A big goal is an excellent tool for sparking conversations and interest when discussing your business.
• It creates something bigger than yourself The result is something greater than yourself. with a major goal you demonstrate that you're doing your job to do more than earn a making money, you're fulfilling a greater purpose. You can then engage the people who are interested in your mission and contribute to making the world better through working alongside you.
• This creates more significance for you and your team (team) A BHAG isn't just about your customers, but your entire team. The team will get inspired by your mission that increases motivation and loyalty.

For a BHAG to be created, you need a measurable goal with a connection to your story. If it's measurable you can show your accomplishments and also make it concrete. It needs to force you outside your familiar space. Thinking of your goal can cause some anxiety and leave you wondering "how am I going to achieve this?" This pushes your limits and inspires action.

To learn more about how to create a BHAG, check out: Storytelling Secret Weapons - How To Create A BHAG

  6. Create your own "secret recipe"

Remember when you were young and your grandma, mother or some other significant person you knew would prepare this special meal that you adored. It was "grandma's lasagna". The lasagna you ate at grandma's house was such that you found it difficult to eat anything who else's lasagna. It's true, grandmother didn't do anything distinctive to her lasagna however, because of the emotion-based connection you shared with her, the others' lasagnas were bland...

You can create an "grandma's lasagna" result for your company through the creation of the concept of a "proprietary method". The term "proprietary process" is a way to tell a story about how you can achieve certain results.

Imagine Brian Dean's Skyscraper Technique - There's nothing too distinctive about the components of this strategy, but the term "Skyscraper" is now common use by SEO marketing professionals.

Here are some of the key aspects of a process that is proprietary:

1. Create it in 3-5 steps:3 steps is the most effective because it's easier to keep in mind and conceptualize.
2. Show you're ordinary:It should point to the fact that you're human too and have shared the struggles and frustrations of your viewers.
3. You're different:Though you can relate to your customer however, you've done the job or discovered a trick that allows you to be uniquely qualified to tackle the issue.
4. Let your heart shine toonnect your process with a personal story or symbol that illustrates how much you value the solution to this specific issue.

This is another way I walk my clients through "The Scalable Storytelling Method":

• Discover - We look for fascinating parts of your story.
• Get certain of how we wish for the story to be told.
• Delegate - We build a team of creatives that can get help in with telling your story.

For additional examples and details regarding proprietary processes, refer to: Storytelling Secret Weapons - A Proprietary Process.

  Engage your audience through better storytelling  

Stories can have a significant influence on quality and engagement of your content marketing plan. This can spark new concepts of how to develop your strategy and give new meaning to your purpose that will motivate your team to develop even more. Be confident and open about being open and honest. It can help you create that human connections that your customers are looking for.

Beginning with the basics of your story and be attentive to see how the public reacts to the information you provide. Additionally, you should practice and test your stories in everyday conversation, and if they pique the listener's curiosity, try the story in your own content.

     Do you have a way to use storytelling in your content? Please let me know in the comment section!  

Kyle Gray helps entrepreneurs create powerful storylines for their businesses that drive sales, growth and increase engagement. He has collaborated with hundreds of startups and small businesses to create scalable content marketing strategies. His publication The Story Engine outlines his method of making the process of creating content marketing as well as brand storytelling simple and successful.