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Storytelling and visuals are two of the most powerful tools content marketers have. Both of these attributes can help get ideas across more effectively and increase engagement. Combining these two elements—well, that’s a recipe for success. How can marketers go about creating a successful visual story? Luckily, there are plenty of tools available to help you take a marketing yarn and weave it into a beautiful visual. Here are 11 of the top software programs, websites, and more for creating your visual content marketing stories....
Stories enable us to build personality and create a connection with consumers. But can we actually tell a story on social media? Is it possible to narrate a story with social media posts that are supposed to be short and sweet? It turns out there are many ways to use social media for storytelling! In this post, I’m sharing 20 actionable ways to use social media for storytelling.
Lindsay Smith shares her incredible insights into how National Geographic Travel is able to utilize the power of storytelling to propel the brand into new heights – continuously going where others aren’t able to go on social media. You’ll also learn some cool things like: - How Nat Geo Travel curates all of their amazing photography on Instagram
- The success metrics that Nat Geo pays close attention to on social media
- Why Nat Geo Travel’s stories are able to reach the massive audience that they are
- The key components to every great story on social media...
August, Interpol arrested a 40-year-old Nigerian con artist, known only as “Mike,” who was the alleged mastermind of an email scam cartel that swindled over $60 million from victims around the world. Mike operated various email schemes including the infamous “Nigerian Prince” ruse, which elaborately establishes a heartbreaking and potentially profitable tale before asking for money. The prince scams are a case study in the power of storytelling. Before asking for money, the con artists weave intricate tales that appeal to people’s emotions. While these scammers tend to prey on the gullible, like this 63-year-old Nebraskan woman who lost over $40,000, the more elaborate variations call on astronauts or London gallerists to target people who may be more sophisticated. In fact, as Maria Konnikova told Contently in an interview about the dark side of storytelling, intelligent people are the most vulnerable to investment fraud. According to another new book, Denying to the Grave: Why We Ignore the Facts That Will Save Us, they’re also more likely to join cults. Our predisposition to believing good stories comes down to human physiology and psychology. We’re wired for well-told narratives. They can be so alluring, enticing, and transformative that they can cause even the smartest readers to change their minds, relinquish money, and see the world through someone else’s eyes. Even though credibility counts for a lot, you ultimately must make an audience feel things to compel action. It’s a frustrating reality for scientists and statisticians, who often try to persuade people with authority and numbers. Statistics may seem irrefutable, but they can hurt a cause, priming people to think analytically, which increases skepticism and decreases the likelihood for action....
Today, if you’re not telling a story that captivates your audience, you simply won’t be heard. Video storytelling is most effective when the story being told is relevant to the brand, entices viewers to change their behavior, and motivates them to buy a product or service. Hitting this trifecta is no easy task, but with the right strategy, video can ultimately become your most powerful marketing medium. Who ever thought a soap company could create a campaign that revolutionized the way women — and, really, the entire world — defined “beauty”? When done right, one short digital clip can go viral and motivate viewers across the globe to change their outlooks and behavior. Let Your Story Do the TalkingEvery brand story must include three key ingredients:...
You stare out of the window for inspiration. You reread your post. Nothing comes to mind. Sigh. What more is there to say? You don’t want your post to fizzle out with a few drab sentences. A bland paragraph at the end could wreck your whole blog post. But how can you come up with something truly inspirational?...
Create truly responsive stories, white-papers, blog posts, or reports with our unique format that automatically takes advantage of every device size. With full screen video and imagery, interactivity, and lots of great layouts and designs to choose from, you can replace those static PDFs and boring blog posts.
You’re doing a presentation, so you should start with the facts you want to get across right? Wrong! A good public speaker takes their audience on a journey, leaving them feeling inspired, motivated and completely on board with your message. But structuring your speech to get your ideas across and keep your audience engaged all the way through to the end can be tricky. Experienced public speakers tell stories to get their point across. They do this because humans are hardwired for stories. They love heroes, journeys, suspense, surprises, layers and happy endings. Why Is Storytelling Important? Before we talk about the basic building blocks of a story, let’s take a step back and briefly talk about why storytelling is so powerful. Humans have an instinctive predilection for stories. Think about it, Gurg the caveman hunts the big wooly mammoth and he returns to tell his story by painting pictures on the cave walls. Today, Claire, comes back from a big night out at the bars and shares her story by posting gossip and photos on her Facebook wall. We all tell stories. We tell stories of romantic love. We tell stories about the challenges we face. We tell stories that explain how we got that distinctive scar on our knee. If you’re trying to inform, persuade, motivate, or entertain, you need to incorporate stories. That means every time you speak, you should think about how to enhance your message with stories....
That’s right. The basis of visual storytelling can come from words. I call these “word visuals.” They’re perfect for PR folks who can struggle with bringing a visual dimension to communications. Words as a design technique play to our strength. These “word visuals” come in four flavors: - Clever words that stand on their own: The words, sometimes in hand-written form, completely carry the day. Little or no design goes into this type of visual storytelling. - Speech cloud from a celebrity: I get a lot of mileage from this technique which is particularly effective for B2B companies where you don’t expect a Conan O’Brien to surface. - Replace the words in an existing visual: Take something that already exists and replace the words with your own. The words carry a simple image: The Game of Thrones image with our friend Tyrion that kicks off this post offers an example of this approach. The words on top of elementary design give hope of a chuckle....
But when it comes to content marketing, there’s a component that doesn’t always seem logical: storytelling.
I’m not talking about writing a fiction novel. I am talking about having the ability to write about even the most boring topics in a fun-to-read way.
It’s something that many marketers, even good ones, struggle to do.
Do you also have trouble with this part of creating content?
I see you nodding....
We tell stories to our coworkers and peers all the time — to persuade someone to support our project, to explain to an employee how he might improve, or to inspire a team that is facing challenges. It’s an essential skill, but what makes a compelling story in a business context? And how can you improve your ability to tell stories that persuade? What the Experts Say In our information-saturated age, business leaders “won’t be heard unless they’re telling stories,” says Nick Morgan, author of Power Cues and president and founder of Public Words, a communications consulting firm. “Facts and figures and all the rational things that we think are important in the business world actually don’t stick in our minds at all,” he says. But stories create “sticky” memories by attaching emotions to things that happen. That means leaders who can create and share good stories have a powerful advantage over others. And fortunately, everyone has the ability to become a better storyteller. “We are programmed through our evolutionary biology to be both consumers and creators of story,” says Jonah Sachs, CEO of Free Range Studios and author of Winning the Story Wars. “It certainly can be taught and learned.” Here’s how to use storytelling to your benefit....
War has built empires, but it is empathy and love that has sustained the human species. Empathy plays a huge role in helping people and society function well. This is why empathy, and those things which foster it, have always been and will always be important. Stories are empathy workhorses. In this post, I’m going to share three main ideas related to effective storytelling....
As a writer, you want people to pay attention to what you have to say…But with people processing over 100,000 digital words every day, you’ve got your work cut out. With so much clutter and noise, how can you possibly stand out and get your words noticed? Perhaps storytelling is the answer. Stories light up our brain and fire neurons in the same way as an actual physical action would. They arouse our emotions, stimulate learning, command attention and persuade action. The makeup of a well-crafted story comes down to interesting characters, relatable plots, and most importantly, a feeling of vulnerability and connection....
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When an author set out to tell a story in years past, he or she typically did so on paper, a typewriter or by typing at a computer.But today, storytellers find imaginative ways to share their ideas with interactive and visual elements. On modern mediums like Twitter, Vine, YouTube and other mobile applications, storytellers are crafting tales in ways that would have been unfathomable a decade ago. Offline, too, authors have begun rethinking the traditional concept of the book in ways both innovative and unorthodox. Might a story be better understood as a set of machine parts? How might destroying a book actually bring its messages to life?Here are nine ways authors are revolutionizing the way stories are told....
Let’s not kid ourselves. Telling a compelling story about your business or brand on social media is exceptionally difficult. Social media posts—with their character restrictions and limited screen real estate—are not ideal for expressing brand promises, values, and philosophies with any real detail or emotional impact. This is why many marketers supplement their social media strategies with a content marketing strategy as a means of including long-form content. Thankfully, the major social media platforms recognize that this issue exists, and have taken strides to incorporate content formats that are optimal for telling better brand stories. This article will discuss three such content types...
In the dark-dark city, on the dark-dark street, in the dark-dark office, there was one dark-dark company, but no one knew about it because the company couldn’t tell people about itself… Modern information consumers want more than just data. People of this generation are used to getting accessible news, ideas, information, and knowledge; they know the tricks and cannot stand importunate marketing. The more promotional lines they see in a text, the faster they stop reading it. That is why storytelling is a great idea for any marketing campaign. People love stories. They are thrilled to read about something similar to what they’ve experienced, to delve into one’s dirty laundry, to see love stories, etc. Storytelling can be a very powerful tool for content creators. They can influence people’s emotions and get those precious likes and shares....
No matter what you do, no matter your profession is; entrepreneur, marketer, designer, small business owner; our job is always to tell our story. The way your business grows, the way you sell products, the way you make money and a real impact is through authentic and powerful stories. We’re all storytellers, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that we can all tell great stories. Yet. So to give you an insight into the art of storytelling – the art of telling your brand’s story – I’ve put together the 27 most inspiring quotes that will teach you how to become a better storyteller....
One of the most common challenges I hear from business leaders and marketers is this: “We have a hard time telling our story”. They have a desire to tell people who they are and why they’re important and yet they stumble when trying to explain this in a way that’s interesting or engaging. In essence, they have no idea how to tell their story — they are not interesting, so people are not interested. So, what’s the secret? How do you tell your story so people actually care? Here are 5 ways to start telling stories that people actually care about:...
Have you ever gotten a sense of déjà vu while reading a book or watching a movie that’s otherwise totally new to you? Obviously you have— so many stories are built on the same foundations of archetypes and tropes. Stripped of complexities, all stories are basically the same: an individual ventures into the unknown to acquire something they desire.
That’s not a new idea— Joseph Campbell broke the door down in 1949 with his book, The Hero With a Thousand Faces. Odysseus, Christ, Captain Ahab, Gautama Buddha, Jane Eyre, Luke Skywalker… different names and faces, different times and places, but all the same story. Not only that, the same effective story. What Campbell called “The Hero’s Journey” has resonated with humanity for millennia, and is the root for so many stories that we cherish.
So why wouldn’t this apply to public speaking? Any muttonhead can tell you that good speeches tell a story. This infographic will show you exactly how Campbell’s 17 Steps can lead to storytelling success. It doesn’t matter if you want to discuss Martin Luther King’s march to Selma, why you deserve a raise, or Walking Dead plot summaries. The Hero’s Journey can apply to almost any presentation.
Via David Hain, Jeff Domansky
When you combine the timeless necessity of storytelling with the sheer power of visual content, you arrive at one of the most potent forces shaping the future of communication today: Visual storytelling.
Here are some of the trends I believe will shape the future of this field by blurring the lines between once-neatly-defined concepts.
The results make for interesting reading. Reagan and co say that their techniques all point to the existence of six basic emotional arcs that form the building blocks of more complex stories. They are also able to identify the stories that are the best examples of each arc. The six basic emotional arcs are these:A steady, ongoing rise in emotional valence, as in a rags-to-riches story such as Alice’s Adventures Underground by Lewis Carroll. A steady ongoing fall in emotional valence, as in a tragedy such as Romeo and Juliet. A fall then a rise, such as the man-in-a-hole story, discussed by Vonnegut. A rise then a fall, such as the Greek myth of Icarus. Rise-fall-rise, such as Cinderella. Fall-rise-fall, such as Oedipus. Finally, the team looks at the correlation between the emotional arc and the number of story downloads to see which types of arc are most popular. It turns out the most popular are stories that follow the Icarus and Oedipus arcs and stories that follow more complex arcs that use the basic building blocks in sequence. In particular, the team says the most popular are stories involving two sequential man-in-hole arcs and a Cinderella arc followed by a tragedy....
Immersive storytelling is a technique that is finding its way into new spaces such as theatres, games, documentaries, advertising and journalism. The aim is to give people the feeling of really ‘being there’, calling on 3D gaming, virtual and augmented reality technologiesin the process. Tech is making our media more entertaining, hard-hitting and unique.
Over the last year, immersive storytelling has erupted. Here are four recent examples of how to do it well. Each one demonstrates how the media and tech industries can take the principles of immersive storytelling to make better communications and entertainment. Some examples give us 15 minutes of fame, some use immersive storytelling for good, but all of them are brilliant in their own way....
From beginning to end, a transmedia story should be a social phenomenon, one which draws people together and unifies them through shared experiences. At present, the industry is obsessed with creating toys and applications which are too exclusive. They do not address the primary goal of storytelling—bringing individuals together by revealing some truth about the world around us.
Like the ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ stories of the 1980s, these gimmick driven products isolate rather than connect your viewers. Well designed alternate reality games are popular because they immerse players within the same social experience (the same way big talent shows like Idol or The Voice do but on a smaller scale). The players are unified toward a common goal against a common evil.
If transmedia is to be even more successful in the future, we need to concentrate on designed experiences that are socially inclusive which have the power to bring people together through common interests and goals. This will require that we take more care in designing the path along which our readers and viewers access our stories. Transmedial producers have a tendency of creating interactive experiences that are overly complex which ultimately deter audience engagement across every available piece of content. We need to define the ‘path’ between audience access points much like the map function on a video game so that audience members know where they are in relative to the story as a whole and where they’re going, regardless of which piece of content they’ve accessed.
I'm in the business of creating compelling stories. As a filmmaker, I need to understand how stories touch audiences—why one story is an instantly appealing box office success while another fails miserably to connect. I’ve been fortunate enough to work with some of the world’s most talented storytellers—gifted directors, novelists, screenwriters, actors, and other producers—and from them I’ve gleaned insights into the alchemy of great stories. Make no mistake, a hit movie is still an elusive target, and I’ve had my share of flops. But experience has at least provided me with a clear sense of the essential elements of a story and how to tap into its power. The power of storytelling is also central to my work as a business executive and entrepreneur. Over the years, I’ve learned that the ability to articulate your story or that of your company is crucial in almost every phase of enterprise management. It works all along the business food chain: A great salesperson knows how to tell a story in which the product is the hero. A successful line manager can rally the team to extraordinary efforts through a story that shows how short-term sacrifice leads to long-term success. An effective CEO uses an emotional narrative about the company’s mission to attract investors and partners, to set lofty goals, and to inspire employees. Sometimes, a well-crafted story can even transform a seemingly hopeless situation into an unexpected triumph....
Want to have more customers, opt-ins on your website and clicks on your “Buy Now” button? Do what Hollywood does -- use stories to sell your products and services. This makes sense: At some point, you've probably gone to a meeting featuring a PowerPoint presentation with charts and graphs . . . and wanted to poke your eyes out with a pencil. The reason: Stories, not data, are what inspire people. Stories, not bullet points, create customer loyalty, build social media platforms and increase sales. Stories create an emotional bond between your business and your customers. And today's technology helps us tell those stories in the many different ways it's given us to offer our message to millions of potential customers -- instantly. Yet, many businesses are losing customers because their methods of reaching them are outdated. Want to get people to buy your product? Then get them to listen. Here are three essential stories you need on your website to do just that:...
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Try your hand at some of these top visual storytelling tools to enhance your content marketing stories.