Okay, so now that you know WHY your business needs a story,
what do you need to tell a GREAT story? First, it's all about
how you frame the story that you are trying to tell. You need to
keep audience and tone in mind, but to really help nail your
branding story, you need to understand the golden circle.
Yes, the golden circle. Sounds mysterious right? Simon SInek
says, "people don't buy what you do, they buy WHY you do
it." Simon Sinek is an ex-advertising executive and
author who is best known for his concept - Golden Circle. The
Golden Circle looks like this and is all about starting with
WHY. According to Sinek, most people communicate by starting
with the "what" they do aspect and eventually work their
way back to talk about "how" and "why" they do what they
do. But companies that are universally identified as unique
and successful, think Apple or Google, communicate with an
"inside-out" type of thinking. They start with the
why and only then do they move on to talk about the how and
what portions of what they do. To keep it simple - WHY is Why
are you doing what you're doing? HOW is How will this help
your audience? And WHAT is What are you offering? So, why does
the order in which you communicate the story matter? It
has to do with the parts of the brain. When you're talking
about what you do, you're speaking to an analytical part
of the brain. But when you talk about the why and how, you're
communicating with feelings and dealing with human behavior. And
remember, storytelling is all about making that connection.
When you're planning a story, take time to think through the
way you're choosing to tell it. To really connect with your
prospects and customers, express the why of your story. Tap into
the emotional side of things and begin to educate or build
awareness from there. The Golden Circle can help you create your
mission statement and set the tone for all of your content.
Now that you understand ordering of a story, it's also
important to discuss the elements that make up that
story. Regardless of the story you're trying to tell and how
you're trying to tell it, storytelling has three essential
elements - characters, conflict, and resolution. But how do these
three parts relate to storytelling and content
marketing? Let's start first with characters. With any good
story, there will be characters. Every story revolves around at
least one character. You need to introduce the people involved.
With content marketing, the people that are involved are
your readers. Your audience. Storytelling can't happen
without valuing and understanding your audience. You
should always be listening and respond to your audience's
wants and needs. If potential customers can get the answers to
their questions AND see themselves as characters in your
story, they'll be more likely to use your product or service
and experience the happy ending you offer. Take a second. Think
about a piece of content (maybe a blog post) that you found
helpful and really resonated with you. Are you thinking about
it? Okay. Why is this piece of content so memorable? There may
be a few reasons why, but some of the most memorable pieces of
content (or stories) stick in an audience's mind because of the
characters involved. For the content that you were thinking
of, were you the character in the story? Did it resonate with
you because you felt like it answered a questioned? Helped
solve a problem? The character is the connection between you,
the storyteller, and your audience. To make sure you're
focusing on the right characters, start with your
buyer persona. This semi-fictional representation of
your ideal buyer can help guide you to understanding the goals
and challenges that your character will face. Is your
buyer persona a full-time parent? Well, you might know
that time is not on their side and they would describe
themselves as busy. You should keep that in mind for your
storytelling. Or is your buyer persona a business owner who is
looking for a better way to communicate between her team
members? She'll likely see herself as the character if a
team is used within your stories. Or maybe you're an
educational organization looking to attract students who want to
take online courses. They might want to read about success
stories of students that are just like them. No matter who
your buyer persona is, the art of storytelling is making sure
you empathize and relate to your audience. While keeping your
buyer persona in mind, you should also determine the point
of view that your story will have. Will it be first-person,
second-person, or thirdperson? And there's no right or wrong
option. It will depend on your buyer persona, the story
you're trying to tell, and the format of that story. For
first-person point of view, this is when the character is
yourself. When you use "I saw this" or "I learned that".
Using this type of language in storytelling is more
confessional. It can help you establish a personal connection
with the reader. You can use this to build authority. Try
using first-person when there is a known person, an author,
behind the content. This could work for a blog post, video, or
even an ebook if the author is noted. As for second-person, the
character in this point of view is your audience. "You will
see" or "you will learn". When using "you" language,
you need to really understand your buyer personas. Make it
personal for them by knowing their pain points. Their goals.
Tell the story in a way that shows empathy. Lastly, can't
forget about third-person. This is the "he said" and "she
said" type of language. Think back to that buyer persona
example for an educational organization. That buyer persona
could potentially benefit from a story done in the third-person.
Case studies about your customers are a good example of
using third-person. Stories for this point of view can be both
fictional or nonfictional. Again, there's no right or
wrong when it comes to point of view. Keep your buyer personas
top of mind and think through what will work best for them.
You may have noticed that all HubSpot Academy videos use
second-person or "you" point of view. That's on purpose.
Since this is YOUR training and this content contains key
takeaways you should learn and act upon, it's important that
these videos speak directly to the intended audience - and
that's YOU! Most importantly, when it comes to point of view,
decide on one and keep it consistent. Consistency is key
when it comes to content and storytelling. Once you have an
idea of who the character will be for your story, it's
important to understand the conflict. The conflict is the
lesson in how the character transforms through challenge. An
emphasis on lesson. Remember, when it comes to content
marketing and storytelling the power is in what you are
teaching. Conflict helps build developmental and emotional
dynamics. It helps make a connection between two entities,
and human-to-human connections are the foundation for a
successful business. Remember, you're dealing with people,
not machines-your company is providing answers, relieving
stress, creating happiness, and making life easier for the end
user. The revenue your company makes comes from a well-thought
business plan and customers who believe in you and what you do.
If your story lacks conflict, then you're probably not
telling a story. Instead you're telling a pitch,
tagline, unique selling point, or a plain statement. This
approach won't resonate with your audience, and from a
content marketing perspective, it won't get you views,
shares, conversions, or customers. Conflict doesn't
mean that you should be overly dramatic. Be genuine. The
conflict should drive the overall story and affect how
characters react. This is what should inspire your audience to
engage. Make sure the conflict fits your prospect's problems,
needs, or stage of the buyer's journey. If it doesn't fit,
why would they be interested in reading the story? How will they
connect? As important as it is to understand your buyer
personas, it's equally as important to understand their
buyer's journey and the conflicts that they face at each
stage. What problems are your buyer personas facing in the
awareness stage? Those are the conflicts that should be in your
story. Spend the time outlining the problems, solutions, and
products or services for the different buyer's journey
stages and you'll have a better idea of the conflicts you
can use in your content. Last element is resolution. Where
there's conflict, your audience will naturally want
some sort of resolution. But what happens next? How does the
story end? How did the character or characters change? It
doesn't always have to be a happy ending. Every good story
has a closing, so the idea of the resolution is to provide
context and emotion for the audience to relate and process
the story. The resolution should wrap up the story but should
also clearly call your audience to action. It fulfills the
purpose behind the story. For content marketing, a resolution
could be next steps or even a call-to-action for more content.
Either way, don't leave them hanging. Character, conflict,
and resolution. It's not a complex process, here's an
example. Keeping it simple by using the nursery rhyme, I'm a
little teapot. You know: I'm a little teapot short and stout
here is my handle, here is my spout. When I get all steamed up
I just shout. Tip me over and pour me out. Now let's break
it down. Who's the character? For this story, it's all about
the little teapot. Let's get into the story... I'm a little
teapot short and stout here is my handle, here is my spout.
This is not a story. It doesn't strike any emotion
that will make you care. But when you introduce some drama
about getting all steamed up, now you have a story making
element. What's going on with this teapot? How can you help?
And how you tie everything together is where the resolution
comes in, the teapot really just needs to be tipped over and
poured out. That's a story. It doesn't have to be complex.
It's actually better to keep it simple so that it resonates
with your audience. Okay, great. You know how it works with a
teapot, but how can this tie into content marketing? Let's
take this storytelling framework and apply it to a business.
Let's choose a market that's saturated with competition, like
shoes. TOMS is a slip on shoe company that focuses on
spreading social good; with every product you purchase, TOMS
will donate a pair of shoes to a child in need. They've made
this a part of their brand identity, by creating a slogan
that reinforces who they are and what they're about, "The One
for One Company". Now let's break TOMS' story down into
three parts. Everyone needs shoes to protect their feet. But
not everyone has the money to pay for shoes. While traveling
in Argentina in 2006, TOMS Founder Blake Mycoskie (the
story's character) witnessed the hardships faced by children
growing up without shoes. TOMS is striking an emotional chord
with their audience by raising awareness for an issue that
they're passionate about. The best part is how TOMS ties it
all together with their resolution, if you buy a pair of
their shoes, then they'll donate a pair of shoes to a
child in need. Now that's a powerful story. And while TOMS
started off as a shoe retailer, they've created a much bigger,
more emotional feel-good story that makes their customers feel
like they're changing the world, by simply purchasing a
pair of shoes from them. And just how much success has this
brought TOMS? Well, they've sold over 60 million pairs of
shoes, which means they've also given over 60 million pairs
of shoes to children in need. Beyond the three elements that
make up the story, there are also some best practices to
follow and keep in mind. To help make your story great and
resonate with your audience you need to: Use content to create
emotional appeal, be consistent and authentic, and keep the
story clear and concise. First, using content to create
emotional appeal. Your story needs emotional resonance.
Emotion is what will give your story power. Make sure to give
your story's character some emotion. Think about the
emotional response that you're looking to get from the reader.
Is it fear, survival, guilt, energized, amusement, maybe even
hope? To get buy-in from your audience you need to elicit
emotion. What's the difference between your story and someone
else's story? What's the mission or purpose of your
company? Why should your audience care? Next, your story
needs to be consistent and authentic. It's not just what
you say through your website or content, but the entire
experience that your company has to offer based on your buyer
personas needs. David Ogilvy, one of the most well-known
advertisers of all time, once said, "tell the truth, but
make it fascinating." You can make any industry, any product,
or any service stand out and that's done with providing an
experience. And lastly, you need keep things clear and concise.
Everyone can benefit from cutting down a lengthy story.
Ever had a friend tell you a story that took them 10 minutes
to get through but probably could have taken them under a
minute? Even long stories benefit when you whittle them
down to just the most important parts. And be specific. You're
not trying to speak to everyone. Your story and experience should
not be a one-size-fits-all approach. Communicating with the
correct audience niche, and creating that need is just as
important, if not more important, than the story
you're telling. So remember, create emotional appeal, be
consistent and authentic, and keep the story clear and
concise. Before creating your story, plan out who the
character is, the tone of voice you'll be using, what is the
conflict, and what is the resolution. And never
forget great storytelling will start with WHY.