What the #$%^ is Story Marketing?

So it started with a conversation, the kind that begins between two people seated not more than one foot from each other, sharing a complex bottle of Australian Shiraz, talking through their thoughts after a long day of work.

” I keep hearing about this Story thing”

“Yeah, it’s been showing up in Forbes, Fast Company, Entrepreneur.com everywhere. It engages your audience, emotionally ties your message and is apparently written by unicorns and flying badgers. But seriously, what is it?”

“Story marketing, story design, finding the story, hell if I know. One thing is certain, It sounds more fun than a report about the “5 benefits of implementing agile methodology.” Bring on the unicorns, I say.”

What is a story?

You’re never going to kill storytelling because it’s built into the human plan. We come with it.
Margaret Atwood

Like many trends that fire people up early buzzwords around brand-storytelling are kept highly abstract. But this simply signifies a lack of understanding because stories are actually far from abstract. They are predictable, structured and easy to implement.

You see, a story at its core is very simple and very familiar. It holds universal charm in it’s the ability to take very complicated concepts and deliver them in a highly simplified format.

As a consumer of stories, we know when we have engaged fully not just intellectually because it simply feels different. There is more enjoyment than digesting an observation, a report or a how-to manual. We love stories because they have characters and often paint a scene that we can escape to, for just a moment.

What are the essential components?

So you hear many people talk about the hero’s journey. It’s the experiences that motivate the characters of your story. Its the reason a character move from one action point to the next, and as readers we ove to lose ourselves in these action points.

So first you need a hero.
Next, you need to clearly know the challenge that needs to be overcome.
Finally, you must have a very clear picture of what the scene looks like before your hero is aware of the challenge and the world after the hero has attempted to deal with the challenge.

Why is a story impactful?

So the truth is that stories are memorable and connect to our core emotions because in a way they are barnum statements.

Barnum Statements are statements which most people will agree with, regarding themselves, while not realizing that almost every other person will also agree with them regarding their own lives
– Urban Dictionary

Yes, you heard me. Barnum (like the ones used by cons, liers and well, all influential storytellers.) You need them. These universal truths can strip down a story to a single moment and allow the audience to imagine themselves in that moment. A stripped down story triggers empathy because it’s human nature to discover meaning by imagining our own experiences past or future into it. The resulting feeling is truthful and satisfying.

This leads me to introduce the most important consideration when choosing to use a story marketing approach. You must have a character that is relatable to your audience. Directly relatable. One that uses the same slang, drinks the same wine, experiences the same doubt, believes the same truth.

The real power in an effective story is in the way it is first stipped down but is then rebuild with delicate sensory details that transport the audience into the scene. That’s where a great copywriter can improve upon your work but why you can often achieve results without them.

What’s my story? I’m not two-dimensional so how does this relate to my brand messaging?

As a stakeholder in your business, your offering is likely complicated, your audience is likely not just one type and the solution you provide is not just one solution. A story marketing approach allows you to relate to your audience by offering not one but many points of view that address all these complexities.

But be aware, NOT in one document that relays all your solutions, that’s your product guide or catalog. These documents are also important but trigger a very different set of emotions in your audience.

As the storyteller, the challenge you face is in how you connect all of these fragmented points of view. Here is a simple trick. Write or outline first, then stop and think about each point of view you choose to include. Strip each story down to their core Barnum messages.

The common theme in all these stories in it’s purest, most stripped-down form is your brand value offering. It is very difficult to tell a story without being true to your core values. Your brand message is the connecting thread. The theme emerges without much effort at all.

What we know?

Your brand messaging can be told in a story and by its nature, stories are great ways to relay your values and excitement.

A story marketing approach gives you room to demonstrate all the ways your brand aids the hero character.

Across many simplified stories, you can immerse your desired audience and encourage a connection.

Story messaging makes brand messaging relatable. It’s kind of the perfect self- fulfilling prophecy for success.

YOUR AUDIENCE IS THE HERO, YOUR BRAND SUPPORTS THE HERO, YOU ARE THE STORYTELLER

See not so hard to understand is it? No unicorns needed.