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In their book Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, authors Chip and Dan Heath argue that stories are powerful persuaders because of their ability to simulate and inspire. When writing that book, they read hundreds of stories to search for templates of stories that would motivate, energize, and drive productive action. The Heath brothers identified three basic story templates: the challenge plot, the connection plot, and the creativity plot. Those plots are based on Chip Heath's research at Stanford University. I've added a fourth, called the cautionary plot. Each of these four approaches can, depending on the specific circumstances, convince the buyer to accept change—i.e., be come amenable to buying the seller's product or service....
One of the most important tools in any salesperson’s tool kit consist of success stories that demonstrate capabilities, build credibility, and move the prospect closer to signing on the bottom line. Here’s a template used to describe the three parts of the commonly told success story:
As digital video and streaming services continue to recast the viewing landscape, a handful of digital executives and Sundance Film Festival attendees pushed to have the burgeoning videosphere represented during one of filmmaking's highest-profile events—and Rick Parkhill, CEO of VMA Media, made it happen.
After securing support from sponsors Twitter, Fullscreen, Maker, Zefr, Above Average, Hulu and Naritiv, he persuaded festival organizers that this was, in fact, a viable extension, and Digital Storytelling was born. The event kicks off Thursday, Jan. 21, on the eve of the film festival, with additional sponsors including CNN's Courageous content studio, Fox Network Group's True(x) and The Huffington Post signing on....
Snap three pictures.
Add captions.
Choose graphics.
Let Nutshell turn it all into a shareable cinematic story....
“Deconstructing the art and science of storytelling, This sentence, the one you're reading right now, is the most important one in this entire feature.”
The old novelty marketing ideas don’t work any more. With over 825 million Facebook posts a day, 7,500 Tweets a second, and at least 86 different social networks with over 1,000,000 users, your audience is constantly bombarded with blogs, jokes, memes, news, reviews, pictures, and other things on social media that aren’t related to your brand. At the beginning of 2014 there were over 180 million websites on the Internet (one website for every 40 people on the planet), most will have social pages churning out posts that compete with you for clicks and attention.
People have such social fatigue that by the time your post arrives in someone’s feed you could be the 200th thing they’ve seen that minute and they’ll move on to the 201st less than a second later.Your socially fatigued customers live in an age where ‘good’ isn’t good enough, and ‘excellent’ is barely remembered.
To truly stand out you need to create a real impact and connect with your audience on a deeper level than just pretty pictures and humour. Here’s eight key components that successful marketers use to turn socially comatose casual browsers into chipper consumers....
Taking a media approach to building an online audience is a lot more effective than traditional marketing and advertising. This is true, not because it tricks anyone, but because it gives people what they want in a format that they prefer. And that’s powerful stuff.
How does it work?
Check out our first New Rainmaker SlideShare, and discover for yourself the eight primary ways that building a digital media platform is more influential than straight up marketing....
The plumber, the roofer and the electrician sell us a cure. They come to our house, fix the problem, and leave.
The consultant, the doctor (often) and the politician sell us the narrative. They don't always change things, but...
While the social media platform started as the darling of recruiters, it’s evolved into something much more, blending the attributes of social media with storytelling (content creation) and what amounts to a news service.
I think of LinkedIn as “Facebook for white-collar professionals.”
To understand LinkedIn’s direction, look no further than hires made from media properties like Fortune Magazine and the Associated Press.
They definitely intend to scale both original and curated storytelling.
That’s why it’s worth taking a few minutes to optimize your LinkedIn profile. I recognize that if you plug [optimize LinkedIn profile] or [optimize LinkedIn page] into Google, you’ll find literally hundreds of articles that will walk you through the process with the precision of a marine making his bed.
But here are three LinkedIn hacks that can add some verve to your profile....
Brands must learn to master the art of short-form storytelling. Technology today enables it; and consumer attention spans or lack thereof, demand it. Whether if be a 15 second video, a photo or 140 characters, there is no doubt that brands must learn how to tell their story quickly and efficiently, and for good reason.
There is a content and media surplus; and there is an attention deficit in the minds of consumers. These two factors alone make it extremely difficult trying to reach consumers.
But with all they hype about short-form storytelling, too many brands often forget about the longer brand narrative and they are making a big mistake by doing so. Even with the rise in social media usage, consumers are still using Google; and they are still using it a lot. It’s the home page for millions of people globally and the gateway into learning and discovering new things....
Referencing his book The Dangerous Animals Club, Tobolowsky said, "True trumps clever any day of the week. So I really try to make sure that all of my stories in the book are (1) true, and (2) that they happened to me. It's far more important to tell a true story even if it's not perfect in all the details than to make up a clever lie." Although many see content marketing as just that—marketing—smart marketers know that what they're delivering is a great story. At the heart of that is truth, education, and personality—however imperfect it all may be. Small business owners are directly involved in all aspects of their business and have personal connections with customers. It stands to reason, then, that they have a wealth of powerful stories at their disposal. Want to become a content marketing rock star? Grab attention and connect with potential customers through those stories. Here's how to do it authentically....
Our goal as savvy email marketers is to look beyond the lure of the one-time conversion and strive to build an ongoing relationship between consumers and our brands. Why is this goal so important? Because it’s been proven through many a marketing study that engaged customers become loyal customers and loyal customers are the most valuable segment in any list or database. This type of highly engaged, loyal customer typically has higher overall lifetime value than the casual consumer. They’re also more likely to be an evangelist, introducing new customers to your brand in a very personal way and building the next layer of loyal customers. But, how can you help to build a stronger bond with your customer base? In my last article, I outlined ways to stimulate an unengaged audience by increasing the relevancy of your email creative by including more dynamic content. Sharing relevant content demonstrates to customers that we know them as individuals and are dedicated to providing them with useful information, products or services. Using historical and behavior data is a great way to present content that’s tailored to their individual needs and preferences, but you also need to engage with your audience on an emotional level in order to achieve the goal of creating a true brand-loyal customer.... Let’s explore four creative ways in which email marketers have used data as a platform to build creative that forms a bond between their customers and their brand....
...So the question is: Why is a story so important to your personal branding strategy? First of all, it sets your brand apart as unique. Every brand has its own story to tell, but yours is the only one of its kind. What drives you? Why did you enter the field that you find yourself in today? You’d be surprised at what details will intrigue the reader and give your audience an idea of what your brand is really about. Perhaps one of the most effective characteristics of a story is that it humanizes your brand. It’s easy to launch a brand, but the story behind it can leave your target audience wondering where it came from. What is your actual purpose? What drives your actions? Was it the right opportunity at the right moment? Now consider how your brand has affected others. How have you impacted the lives of those involved with your brand? Has it always gone smoothly? Are you new at this? What’s your experience prior to the creation of your brand? What is the story behind your personal brand? While the story for your brand might satisfy your present audience, the aspects of your personal brand story can turn you from just a brand into the personification they can truly relate to....
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It’s in vogue for marketers to think of themselves as storytellers. But much of the marketing that gets passed off as “storytelling” really isn’t that much of a story. There is genuine power in stories and there are inspiring examples of brands that tell stories. But I think that often gets diluted by all of the content produced in the name of storytelling that is really just a thinly veiled marketing pitch. Not all marketing is storytelling. Not all content tells a story. Most case studies are just case studies. Most video testimonials are just video testimonials. Most long-form blog posts are just long-form blog posts. I enjoyed this 2-minute critique from Stefan Sagmeister about storytelling (from an interview ironically made while speaking at a marketing conference on storytelling).As he summarized, “Storytelling has taken on the mantle of bullshit.”...
Do you remember anything at all when you watch ads -- or is the experience a hazy blur? The fact is, consumers rarely remember a product -- they remember stories, which may inspire the use of the product. That element is what online advertising is lacking. Two weeks ago I talked about the value of complementary storytelling vs. disruption. For advertising to be as effective as it can be, ad stories need to align with the content so that it, along with targeting, ensures relevance of the message in a way that elicits a response.
I also want to remind advertisers to spend the extra time to tell a story that inspires consumers, rather than simply telling them about your product. I don’t mean that all ads have to move you to tears. I’m referring to inspiration in the manner of a quiet...
With only 21% of B2B marketers saying they are successful at tracking content marketing ROI, it’s inspiring to see success in an unexpected (even perceived as stodgy) environment: academic medical centers. We’re proud to share the story of Wake Forest Innovations, the commercialization arm for Wake Forest University and Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. I was fortunate to speak with its Director of Marketing and Business Development, Vishal Khanna, who is a finalist for Content Marketer of the Year. (The award will be announced at Content Marketing World in September.)
Vishal was chosen as a finalist for his dedication to performance in content marketing. While you may not work for an entity in an academic medical center or a university, you will find insights and lessons to learn from Vishal’s story. He and his staff of one full-time-equivalent employee and two 30-hour-a-week contractors rock performance by executing a content marketing strategy that an agency helped them develop....
“Storytelling.” It’s the flavor of the day, whether you’re talking about content marketing, visual communications or public relations, and for good reason. Stories are how humans communicate – with each other individually, across populations and over centuries.
In fact, many organizations are pretty good at identifying and defining their key story lines. The key to success in brand storytelling is in the next step – the strategic deployment of the story. Telling the brand story effectively requires a plan.
And to be clear, we’re not talking about hanging a touchy-feely post up on the blog and then calling it a day. No. Brand storytelling, in this context, means developing a sustained plan to create and execute a strategic approach to telling the brand story, in a way that supports company’s objectives. Personally, I don’t give a hoot about impressions. Let’s gun for something a bit more meaningful....
No, we're not talking about Apple or Amazon or Big Data or the Marketing Cloud or Programmatic Buying.
Chevy’s Rikk Wilde “looked down at his notes often, spoke haltingly and explained to the pitcher that he'd like the Colorado” —Marketing Daily’s Karl Greenberg has the skinny today on its new “inner truck guy” conventional campaign — “because it has ‘class-winning and leading, you know, technology and stuff,’” James R. Healey reports in USA Today.
“The nervous Wilde was assured this morning he still has a job,” Greg Gardner and Alisa Priddle reported in the Detroit Free Press last evening. “And in fact he appears to have garnered millions in free publicity for the Chevrolet brand, which has received at least $2.4 million in media exposure from the unconventional presentation, according to Front Row Analytics. Bloomberg reports that is six times more than the $392,000 it would have brought in with a more polished performance.
”It did not take long for #technologyandstuff to pop up on Twitter with GM president North America Mark Reuss (@GMdudeinNA posting, “It's what I've been saying for years.....#technologyandstuff,” Gardner and Priddle report....
It could almost be a writing workshop prompt: tell a story, do it in six words, go for the wow effect — and that’s exactly what the Ritz-Carlton wants. Recently, the hotel company launched a campaign inviting social media friends and followers to provide six-word stories about their Ritz-Carlton experiences with the hashtag #RCMemories.
The company calls these stories “Six Word Wows,” and the campaign, if one were to believe the corporate website’s press release tagline, is “Paying Homage To Classic Ernest Hemingway Line.” “Which classic Hemingway line?” we might ask. “If people bring so much courage to this world the world has to kill them to break them, so of course it kills them”?
No, Ritz-Carlton is referring to the probably apocryphal anecdote that when bet he couldn’t write a story in six words, Hemingway replied, “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”....
Every business interaction with a prospective buyer or customer is a potential story. That’s right, stories about your business are already being shared. Isn’t it time to take a more proactive approach to contribute to the conversation?
Stories are media, and media is media, regardless of the source. This is why every business must become a media company to better manage its story within the communities it serves.
What I’m going to share with you today is that your business can actually use storytelling as a means for accomplishing goals beyond marketing to shape future events that become signature stories....
Research shows that stories, anecdotes and metaphors are more memorable than data. At Searchlove last week, business consultant and author Danny Scheinmann discussed why stories work, the hidden structures behind them and how they can help your business to communicate effectively....
The challenge is clear by now: Intrusive, interruptive, self-centered marketing no longer works the way it once did, and its effectiveness will only continue to diminish in the social age. The question is what will replace the legacy model.
There’s a one-word answer: stories.
It makes sense. Finding--or creating--a narrative thread has always been how we as a species find order in the chaos of life. And it’s how smart brands are defining what’s next in the chaos of modern marketing.
What’s the case for content? There are human reasons. Stories are welcome where ads are resisted. They’re shareable and shapeable, constantly changing based on those they touch and those who touch them. They carve the quickest path to the heart and the mind--there’s literally brain science behind how humans interact with stories.
There are also business reasons. Content marketing moves the brand needle, increasing awareness, changing perception, creating desire and driving to purchase. And as stories spread--carried along by audiences--budgets don’t. Stories work....
Your competition can copy everything you do except for the story you tell.
Stop slugging it out with your competitors for a trickle of long-tail traffic. Content Marketing Institute’s Chief Strategist Robert Rose explains how you can crawl out of the trenches and get noticed by shifting your focus from search engines to storytelling.
Your competition is optimizing for the same keywords you are. More likely than not, they even follow the same recipe that you do: research keywords for the different stages of the funnel, spin up a post for each, and wait for Google to deliver new prospects. Even if you tweak your optimization to get ahead, a competitor will notice, copy it, and leave you back at square one.
Instead of relying so heavily on search engines to deliver customers, make your content the lead generator by telling a compelling story that engages readers, gets shared, and produces conversions. Robert Rose, Chief Strategist at The Content Marketing Institute, sat down with OpenView Labs to discuss why storytelling is such an important differentiator in today’s content-saturated marketing landscape and how you can get started....
I believe in the premise of amazing, interesting, human, wacky, irreverent, or timely so much that I co-wrote a book in 2010 that is partially devoted to it—especially the human and timely components. But here’s the truth: I’ve worked with more than seven hundred companies as a marketing consultant, and I’ve come to realize that while “be amazing” can work, it’s also extraordinarily difficult. Telling someone to be amazing is like telling someone to make a viral video. There’s no such thing as a “viral video.” There are videos that become viral, but they are few and far between. The marketing of “be amazing” is the marketing of the swing-for-the-fences home run hitter. There are two by-products of that approach: an occasional home run, and many strikeouts. You can do better. You can break through the noise and the clutter and grab the attention of your customers by employing a different approach that is reliable, scalable, functional, and effective. It’s simply this: stop trying to be amazing and start being useful....
Many people will tell you that marketing is a game of numbers. They’ll say it’s about researching a target audience, developing a targeted message, and using advanced statistics and metrics to determine where that message should be delivered. Of course there’s a significant amount of truth to that statement, but I don’t think it remains as true as it once was. Successful marketing is about storytelling. In the past decade or so, that’s become even more true than it was before. Why has it become more true? Social media. Social media has turned marketing from a numbers driven game to a story telling game. How has it done that? That’s what I’ll discuss below....
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Storyselling can help sell and here are four plots to consider