6 Ways To Tell Better stories in your content marketing

These days, with the increase of volume of noise, both on and offline - most people's attention spans are like a sleepy goldfish. Even when you have a wealth of information however, it's not easy to find your audience and engage them. 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 greatest methods for building a connection to other people is through stories. If we weave stories into our content our content is transformed from information that shared into knowledge. It shows that we're doing our work for more than profit. we're committed to the solution to this issue, and also helping our viewers. Also, it helps create a sense of context among all the pieces of content we make when we combine them in a greater picture.

"If you want to attract people then you must present a compelling and authentic tale. Stories can be a powerful way to share your thoughts to people, make them feel valued and create a a human connection with them." Jeff Bullas Jeff Bullas

  Here are six methods to create better narratives when it comes to content marketing  

1. Make your audience your hero

The first and foremost rule to the art of storytelling in your company. Your role isn't the main character, your customer is. If you are focused on your own interests and the things that interest you and your writing, it will come off as "hype" and create an opposite impact. Instead of creating an emotional connection with your readers, they will repel them.

This doesn't mean that you should not tell stories about you. Sharing your stories is essential. Remember that your audience experiences your stories like they are living the stories. So make sure that the story and the message convey what they need to hear.

  2. Understand where your audience is in "The The Buyer's Journey"

There are a lot of stories to tell, which will you choose? You want the tell stories which be a hit with your viewers and are relevant to them today. The goal is to share a an experience that helps your audience feel energized to move forward together with your help.

The buyer's experience is an excellent provide a framework for understanding the mental state of our clients when they're considering whether or not they want to purchase from us. A buyer's path comprises three main stages: Know that, like and trust. Let's examine each:

Learn: At this stage the audience you are targeting just has to realize that you exist in any way. They might not be conscious of an issue that you are able to resolve. Your stories will need to convey the essence of the issue or potential which will entice them and interest fast. The stories you tell should be brief (your audience won't have much of a time to pay attention to them at this point) and offer either an emotional, or a practical benefit.

  3. Avoid reinventing the wheel. use frameworks

For many of us, telling stories is not something we do naturally. Yes, we "tell stories" but there's a strategy to telling a story that connects you with the audience. The absence of frameworks is similar to creating a brand new story each time you tell a story. Frames allow us to take on different perspectives and explore new avenues of thought that allow us to escape from the ruts of thought that we commonly are stuck in.

There are many different frameworks available but my favorite method of telling stories that engage your viewers and motivate them to take action is The Crossroads Formula. It is the Crossroads Formula breaks up the steps of the Buyer's journey into relevant questions. It then ties those questions to the different levels in the Hero's Journey.

  4. Make use of to tell stories using images

Do not limit yourself to only one type of medium for your story telling. Whether you're writing or speaking your tales, it's possible to include visuals to improve the emotional impact or concept you're trying to communicate.

Visuals are processed quicker by the brain and retained longer than simple text or spoken words. Vision is our strongest sense and messages from visuals cut through to our subconscious without us even realizing it. They can break up large texts and help keep readers interested. They're able to communicate concepts and emotions in ways that others methods of communication aren't able to.

There is no need for a Hollywood film budget to succeed visually-driven storytelling. Think about Wait But Why? A blog by Tim Urban with millions of fans ... You'd think the blog would have enough money to create some amazing visuals, but the blog is full of pencil drawings of stick figures that look as if they were created by an 11-year-old with paint software dating back to 1996...

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

Screenshots that include annotations No need for expensive design here, a screenshot with a few quick annotations can increase the value of the concepts you communicate to visitors through the use of concrete examples to back up the content you write.

Charts and graphsAll you need to tell a good story is the line. The graphs and charts help create visual representations of information and present a visual story with the rise and fall of the information. Look at the way Kurt Vonnegut (my favorite author) transforms classic stories into graphs that are simple.

Memes  Memes Memes are awesome as they use familiar concepts as well as characters and then apply them to a new setting of our content. Based on the mere-exposure effect that people are more likely to choose concepts or pictures that are familiar to them rather than those that they haven't yet encountered.

Quote imagesThis is an easy and efficient way of adding some visuals to your content. Any time you add an opinion from an influencer in support of your idea create an image of a quote. This makes the person you quoted look like a rockstar as well (which makes them more likely to promote your content)

  5. Set big goals

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

Story-driven goals, often known as a BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) represent the impact you want to make in the world with your efforts. This is the world you create day by day by the things you do.

There are a few major advantages of using the BHAG

• It makes it easy to speak about your business It makes it easy to talk about your businessA big goal is a powerful tool to spark conversation and curiosity when discussing your business.
• It is a way to create something larger than your own ego The result is something greater than yourself. By pursuing a bigger goal, you demonstrate that you're doing your job to do more than earn a profit, you're serving more than just profit. You can then engage your audience in your vision and contribute to making the world better through working together.
• The creates greater meaning for you and your team It is a way to create more meaning for your team and you. A BHAG does not only affect the customers you serve, but also the team you work with. 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 which is connected to the story you're telling. If it's measurable you can communicate your accomplishments and make it tangible. It needs to force the person to go beyond their comfortable space. Your goal-setting process will cause a bit of anxiety and leave you wondering "how do I accomplish this?" This pushes your boundaries and prompts you to take action.

For more on how to create the BHAG read: Storytelling Secret Weapons: How to Create A BHAG

  6. Make a "secret recipe"

Do you remember when you were a kid and your mom, grandmother or a significant other who was in your life cooked this special meal that you adored. We'll call it "grandma's lasagna". It was a dish you loved enough that it made it difficult to eat anything else's lasagna. It's true, her lasagna wasn't anything distinctive to her lasagna due to the emotion-based connection you shared to her, all different lasagnas seemed boring...

You can create that "grandma's lasagna" impression with your enterprise by establishing the concept of a "proprietary process". The term "proprietary process" can be used to create an account of the process that helped you can achieve certain results.

Imagine Brian Dean's Skyscraper Technique It's not anything distinctive about the components of this strategy however the phrase "Skyscraper" has become a standard language among SEO marketers.

Here are some of the key components of a custom process:

1. Create it in 3 steps3 steps is the most effective because it's easy to remember and conceptualize.
2. Show you're ordinary:It should point to your humanity as well and share the challenges and struggles of your viewers.
3. Show you're extraordinary:Though you can relate to your customers however, you've done the job or discovered a trick which makes you uniquely suited to tackle the issue.
4. Make it clear that you are interested toonnect your work with your own personal story or a symbol that illustrates why you care about finding a solution for this specific problem.

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

• Discover - We look for some of the most intriguing elements of your life.
• Definition - We are crystal clear about how we would like this story to be communicated.
• Delegate - We build an innovative team that you get help in to tell your story.

For more examples and information about proprietary methods, check out: Storytelling Secret Weapons - - A Private Process.

  Engage your audience by telling better stories  

Stories can have a significant influence on quality and engagement of your content marketing plan. It can inspire new ideas about what you can create, and generate new meaning in purpose that will motivate your team to develop even more. Don't be afraid to be vulnerable and honest, it helps create the emotional relationship that people are searching for.

Beginning with the basics of your story and pay close attention at how the audience reacts to your story. Make sure to practice and evaluate your stories in everyday conversation, and if they pique your audience's interest, then try using it in your writing.

     Do you have a way to use storytelling in your writing? Please let me know via the comments!  

Kyle Gray helps entrepreneurs create compelling stories for their business that drive sales, growth as well as engagement. He has collaborated with hundreds of startups and small-sized businesses to develop efficient strategies for marketing through content. The publication The Story Engine outlines his method of making the process of creating content marketing as well as brand storytelling simple and effective.