6 Ways To Tell Better Storytelling in Your Content Marketing

Today, in the midst of increasing volume of noise, both on and off-line - the average person's focus spans are just like a sleepy goldfish. Even when you have a wealth of information It can be a challenge to find your people and keep them engaged. However, there's a bright side for all this nonsense, as it's made people thirsty for something very specific: a human connection.

One of the best ways to build a relationship with others is through storytelling. When we incorporate stories in our posts, we transform the information shared into knowledge. It shows that we're doing what we do for more than profit. we are committed to the solution to this issue, and also helping our audience. Also, it helps create a sense of context among the different pieces of content we create by weaving them in a greater image.

"If you really want to attract people then you must share a real and engaging tale. Stories can be a powerful way to express your views as well as impress your audience and establish a the human connection." - Jeff Bullas

  Here are 6 ways to make better storytelling happen when it comes to content marketing  

1. Make your audience the hero

This is the very first and most crucial aspect of storytelling for your business. The hero is not you, your customer is. If you focus on yourself and your interests the stories you tell will come off as "hype" and will have the opposite effect. Instead of creating a connection with your audience and attracting them, your stories will turn off them.

This doesn't mean that you should not tell stories about yourself. Sharing your stories is essential. However, remember that the viewers will experience your tales like they are living them. Therefore, ensure that your experience and message are the ones they want to hear.

  2. Know who your target audience is within "The buyer's journey"

There are a lot of stories you can tell What will you select? It is important to tell stories that will be a hit with your viewers and are relevant to them right now. The goal is to share a tale that makes people feel encouraged to take the next step with your help.

The buyer's experience is an effective framework to help us understand the state of mind of our audience when they're considering whether or not they want to purchase from us. The buyer's journey includes three fundamental phases: Know the Trust, Like and Know. Let's examine each one:

Learn: At this stage your target audience only needs to be aware of your existence at all. They might not be aware that they have the problem you have to solve. The stories you tell here will need to convey the essence of the opportunity or problem that will grab their attention and curiosity quickly. They should be concise (your viewers won't have a lot of a time to pay attention to you at this point) and should provide an emotional, or a practical worth.

  3. Don't reinvent the wheel - make use of frameworks

In many cases, telling stories is not something we do naturally. We "tell stories" but there's a way to telling a story which really resonates with the audience. Not using frameworks is like trying to reinvent the wheel every time you tell a story. Frames allow us to take on fresh perspectives and take new routes of thinking that help us to escape from the mental traps that we are stuck in.

There are numerous structures available, but my preferred to tell stories that connect with your audience and motivate them to take action is The Crossroads formula. The Crossroads Formula breaks up the stages of the Buyer's Journey into questions, and matches them to the various levels that comprise the Hero's Journey.

  4. Make use of the power of visual storytelling

Don't limit yourself to just one medium in your storytelling. Whether you're writing or speaking your stories it's possible to incorporate visuals to further enhance the emotional experience or idea you're trying to communicate.

Visuals are processed quicker by the brain, and they are stored longer than textual information or spoken words. Vision is our strongest sense and messages from visuals cut into our brains without our conscious awareness. They can break up large texts and keep people reading and interested. They are able to subliminally communicate ideas and feelings in a way that other methods of communication cannot.

There is no need for to have a Hollywood budget for film to be successful visually-driven storytelling. Take a look at Wait, What's the Matter? A blog written by Tim Urban with millions of followers ... It would seem that the blog would have enough money to create incredible visuals, however the blog is full of sketches that appear like work done by an 11-year-old with paint software in 1996...

Here are a few easy ways to add visuals to your content:

Screenshots accompanied by annotations: You don't need a costly layout here. Taking a screen shot that includes a couple of quick annotations could enhance the worth of the concepts you communicate to visitors through the use of concrete examples to back up the content you write.

Charts and graphsAll you require for telling a great story is an arrow. The graphs and charts help create visual representations of the data and present visually a story through rising and falling the data. Look at the way Kurt Vonnegut (my favorite author) turns classic tales into graphs that are simple.

Memes  Memes Memes are awesome because they take familiar ideas and characters and apply them to a new setting of our content. According to the mere-exposure result the majority of people choose the ideas or images are familiar to them rather than those that they haven't yet encountered.

Quote images -This is a simple and powerful way to add some visuals to your content. When you include a quote from an influencer to back your thoughts, make it into a quote image. It makes the person quoted look like a rockstar as well (which implies they're more likely to share your posts)

  5. Set big goals

It's not enough to look back at your history to discover stories. You can make your own tales by establishing high-level goals for your company.

Story-driven goals, often known as the BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) are the kind of impact you want to make in the world through your work. This is the world is created day in and day out through the work you're doing.

There are several key benefits to using an BHAG

• It allows you to discuss your company and your company.A major goal can be an effective tool that can spark discussion and interest in discussing your business.
• It creates something bigger than yourself - with a major goal you show that you're doing the work you do for more than just making money, you're fulfilling an even greater cause. This allows you to enroll your audience in your vision and play a part in creating a better world through working with you.
• The creates greater meaning for both you and your team - A BHAG does not only affect the customers you serve, but also your entire team. Your team will be inspired by your vision that increases motivation and loyalty.

For a BHAG to be created, you must have a goal that is measurable which is connected to the story you're telling. If you're able to measure it, share the progress you've made as well as make it tangible. The goal should push you to step out of your familiar zone. Thinking of your goal will cause a bit of anxiety and leave you wondering "how am I going to pull this off?" This pushes your limits and inspires action.

To learn more about how to make a BHAG read: Storytelling Secret Weapons - How To Create A BHAG

  6. Make your own "secret recipe"

Do you remember when you were a kid and your mom, grandmother or any other important person 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 enough that it made it difficult to eat anything else's lasagna. We'll be honest, your her lasagna wasn't anything distinctive to her lasagna due to the emotion-based connection you shared with her, all the others' lasagnas were bland...

It is possible to create the "grandma's lasagna" effect with your business through the creation of an "proprietary process". The term "proprietary process" can be used to create a story about how you can achieve certain results.

Take a look at Brian Dean's Skyscraper Technique It's not anything distinctive about the elements of the strategy, but the term "Skyscraper" has become a standard language among SEO marketing professionals.

Here are a few key aspects of a process that is proprietary:

1. Make it 3-5 steps:3 steps is the most effective because it's easier to keep in mind and comprehend.
2. Make it clear that you're not unique:It should point to your humanity too and have shared the struggles and frustrations of your audience.
3. You're different:Though you can relate to your customers however, you've done your homework or discovered a trick that makes you uniquely suited to tackle the issue.
4. Let your heart shine toonnect your process with your own personal story or a metaphor that shows why you care about finding a solution for this specific problem.

Here's another example, I guide my clients through the "The Scalable Storytelling Method":

• Discover - We find some of the most intriguing elements of your life.
• Get crystal clear about how we would like that story to be shared.
• Delegate - We build a creative team you can get help in with telling your story.

To find more examples and further information on proprietary processes check out: Storytelling Secret Weapons - A proprietary process.

  Engage your audience by telling better stories  

Stories can have a significant impact on the engagement and effectiveness 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 transparent and vulnerable, 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 storytelling in daily conversations If it piques people's attention, you can incorporate the story in your own content.

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

Kyle Gray helps entrepreneurs create powerful storylines for their businesses which drive growth, sales, and engagement. He has worked with numerous startups as well as small businesses to create effective and sustainable strategies for content marketing. The Book The Story Engine outlines his process for making content marketing and brand storytelling easy and successful.