Six Ways to Tell Better stories in your content marketing

These days, with the increase of the amount of information available - both online and off-line - the average person's attention spans are about as long as a sleepy goldfish. Even with and helpful information, it can be difficult to connect with your target customers and get them to engage. However, there's a bright side to all this noise, since it has left people hungry for something very specific: a human connection.

One of the most effective method to establish a rapport to other people is through stories. When we incorporate stories into our content you transform the content we share into wisdom. This shows that our work for more than profit. we care about solving this problem and helping our readers. Also, it helps create a sense of context among the different pieces of content we create by weaving them in a greater picture.

"If you truly are looking to get people interested then you must tell a genuine and interesting tale. Stories are an excellent way to express your views, impress people and make a human connection with them." Jeff Bullas Jeff Bullas

  Here are 6 ways to tell better stories for your content marketing  

1. Make your audience your hero

This is the very first and most important secret to telling a story for your company. You are not the hero, your customer is. If you are focused on your own interests and what's interesting to you and your writing, it appear to be "hype" and will have an opposite impact. It's instead of building connections with your viewers that they'll turn them off.

That's not to say you shouldn't share stories about you. Sharing your stories is essential. However, remember that the audience experiences your stories like they are living the events. Therefore, ensure that your content and experience are exactly relevant to the audience.

  2. Find out where your customers are within "The buyer's journey"

There are hundreds of stories to tell, which will you choose? The stories you tell should be ones which connect with your readers and are relevant to them right now. You need to give the tale that makes them feel inspired to take the next step together with you.

The buyer's journey is an excellent provide a framework for understanding the mindset of our clients when they're considering whether or not to purchase from us. Buyer's Journey includes three fundamental steps: Knowing, Like and Trust. Let's look at each of them:

Learn: At this stage, your audience just needs to be aware of your existence at all. It is possible that they are not aware that they have problems that you can solve. The stories you tell here should paint a picture of the issue or potential which will entice them and interest quickly. The stories you tell should be brief (your viewers won't have a lot of an attention span for you at this point) and provide either entertaining, emotionally charged or even actionable benefit.

  3. Avoid reinventing the wheel. use frameworks

For many of us, storytelling does not come easily. Sure, we "tell stories" but there's a strategy for telling stories that connects you to your viewers. Not using frameworks is like having to create a new wheel every whenever you tell a tale. Frames allow us to take on different perspectives and explore new avenues of thinking that help our minds to break free from the ruts of thought that we commonly encounter.

There are dozens of different structures available, but my preferred method of telling stories that connect with your audience and inspire action is called The Crossroads formula. The Crossroads Formula breaks up the steps of the Buyer's journey into questions, and matches those questions to the different stages that comprise the Hero's Journey.

  4. Make use of the power of visual storytelling

Do not limit yourself to only one form of storytelling. When you're telling or writing your tales, it's possible to include visuals to improve the emotional impact or concept you're trying to convey.

Visual images are processed more quickly by the brain, and they are stored longer than simple text or spoken word. Vision is our strongest sense and the visual signals cut into our brains without us even realizing it. They can break up large blocks of text and help keep readers interested. They are able to subliminally communicate ideas and feelings in a way that other forms of communication cant.

There is no need for to have a Hollywood film budget to succeed with visual storytelling. Consider Wait, What's the Matter? A blog of Tim Urban with millions of fans ... It would seem that there would be a chance to be able to afford stunning visuals. But this blog is filled with sketches that appear like work done by a 13-year-old using paint software dating back to 1996...

Here are a few simple ways to add visuals to your posts:

Screenshots with annotations: There is no need to spend a lot of money on designs here. A screenshot that includes a couple of quick annotations can increase the value of the concepts you communicate to your visitors by showing real examples that support your essay.

Diagrams and charts -All you require to create a compelling story is a line. Diagrams and charts allow you to make sense of data and tell visually a story through the rise and fall of the information. Take a look at how Kurt Vonnegut (my favorite author) converts old stories into simple graphs.

Memes - Memes are awesome because they take familiar ideas and characters and adapt them in the context of our content. According to the mere-exposure result, people prefer concepts or pictures that they already know over those that are unfamiliar.

Quote imagesThis is a simple and efficient way of adding some visuals to your content. Any time you add an influential person's quote to back your thoughts transform it into the form of a quote. It makes the person quoted look like a rockstar also (which implies they're more likely to promote the content)

  5. Set big goals

Don't rely on your history to discover tales, but you can also create your own stories by setting big goals for your business.

Stories-driven goals, commonly referred to as goals based on stories, also known as BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) reflect the difference that you'd like to create in the world by your work. This is the world you build day-to-day through the work you're doing.

There are a few major advantages of using an BHAG

• It makes it easy to discuss your company and your company.A big goal is a powerful tool to spark conversation and curiosity when discussing your company.
• The HTML0 code creates something greater than your own ego The result is something greater than yourself. with a major goal you demonstrate that you're doing the work you do in a way that is more than making money, you're fulfilling an even greater cause. You can then engage your audience in your vision and take part in creating a better world through working with you.
• It creates more meaning for both you and your team - A BHAG doesn't only impact your clients, but it also impacts your team. The team will get inspired by your mission which increases loyalty and motivation.

To create a BHAG, it is necessary to have a concrete goal with a connection to your story. If the goal is measurable, you'll be able to show your progress and make it tangible. This should force you outside your comfortable zone. The thought of your goals can cause some worry and you'll be wondering "how do I pull this off?" This pushes your limits and inspires action.

To learn more about how to develop a BHAG look up: Storytelling Secret Weapons - How To Create A BHAG

  6. Make an "secret recipe"

When you were young and your mom, grandmother or a significant other in your life would cook that special dish that you loved. Let's call it "grandma's lasagna". The lasagna you ate at grandma's house was so much that it made it difficult to eat anything other lasagna. We'll be honest, your grandmother didn't do anything special to her lasagna however, because of the emotion-based connection you shared to her, all different lasagnas seemed boring...

It is possible to create the "grandma's lasagna" result for your company by creating an "proprietary method". A proprietary process is a way to tell the story of how you achieve a specific result.

Take a look at Brian Dean's Skyscraper Technique - There's nothing too special about the various aspects of this technique however the phrase "Skyscraper" is now a common use by SEO marketers.

Here are the most important elements of a proprietary process:

1. Make it 3-5 steps:3 steps are the best as it's easy to remember and understand.
2. Show you're ordinary:It should point to your humanity as well and share the challenges and struggles of the people you are promoting to.
3. Make yourself stand out:Though you can relate with your client but you've also completed the work or discovered something that makes you uniquely suited to tackle the issue.
4. Show you care: Connect your process with your own personal story or a an analogy that demonstrates how much you value finding a solution for this specific problem.

Another example: I take my clients through "The Scalable Storytelling Method":

• Discover - We find fascinating elements of your story.
• Get clear on how we want this story to be communicated.
• Delegate - As a creative team you can get help in with telling your story.

For more examples and information regarding proprietary processes, refer to: Storytelling Secret Weapons - - A Private Process.

  Make your story more engaging for the audience by telling better stories  

Storytelling can have a dramatic effect on the level of engagement and effectiveness of your content marketing strategy. The stories can stimulate new ideas of how to develop your strategy and create a new sense of the purpose of your marketing that can inspire you to create even more. Don't be afraid to be vulnerable and honest, it will help create the human relationship that people are searching for.

Begin with a small amount of storytelling and keep a careful watch at how the audience reacts to your story. Also, practice and test your story in normal conversations If it piques your audience's interest, then try using it in your writing.

     How do you create stories through your content? Let me know via the remarks!  

Kyle Gray helps entrepreneurs create compelling stories for their business which drive growth, sales as well as engagement. He has worked in a variety of startup companies and small businesses to create effective and sustainable strategies for content marketing. His Book The Story Engine outlines his methods for making marketing through content as well as brand storytelling simple and effective.