2. THE POWER OF STORYTELLING
I. Why does your business need a story?
What is business storytelling?Business story telling is about creating an alignment between your business, and your prospects and your customers.
What is the goal of business story telling?In the world of business, a story helps you create contrast between choices.
Stories will help your prospects make sense of decisions they’re about to make, whether it’s deciding on a needed product or service or making a purchase. |
How does it differ from non-business storytelling?
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What is not a business story?A story is not just your history.
A story is why you are doing what you are doing and telling it in a way that appeals to your audience. Story is not cliche, it’s not what everyone else is saying about your company/brand. Sure you may think you provide the best customer service within your industry, but that’s not your story. Storytelling is about standing out, not blending in. |
II. What do you need to tell a great story?
What is Golden Circle? |
Why is Golden Circle important to great storytelling? |
What are the foundational storytelling elements? |
The concept of Golden circle: Why is at the innermost core. Then, How you do it? The outer core is What you do?
WHY is Why are you doing what you’re doing? HOW is How will this help your audience? WHAT is What are you offering? How do you determine characters within a story?The character is the connection between you, the storyteller and your audience.
Why should your content 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.” Because, you can make any industry, any product, or any service stand out and that’s done with providing an experience. Why should your content be clear and concise?Everyone can benefit from cutting down a lengthy story. 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. |
The Golden Circle will help you keep your audience and tone in mind and help nail your branding story.
What is the first, second and third point of view?First Person
The character is yourself. It is more confessional Builds authority Use when there is a known person, an author, behind the content Second Person The character is your audience When using "you" language, you need to understand your buyer personas. Tell the story in a way that shows empathy Third Person "He said." She said" type of language. Case studies about your customers Stories can be both fictional and non-fictional Decide on one and keep it consistent. Consistency is the key when it comes to content and storytelling. Why should your content need to create emotional appealEmotion 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? |
Characters
Conflict Resolution Why is conflict important to a story?The conflict is the lesson in how the character transforms through challenge.
If your story lacks conflict, it is not a story. Instead, it is a pitch, a tag line, a unique selling proposition or plain old statement. The conflict should fit your prospect's problems, needs and your prospect's buyers journey stage. Remember, when it comes to content marketing and storytelling the power is in what you are teaching. How should you end a story?You always end a story with resolution. The resolution should wrap up the story and clearly call your audience to action. It fulfills the purpose behind the story.
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III. What Does a Good Story Look Like
How can you define a business' purpose? |
How can you define the conflict in a story? |
How can you define the characters in a story? |
All business content and story telling should circle back to the purpose of the business
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How can you tell a point of view within a story |
How can you tell if there is a resolution to a story? |
Additional resources you may find useful
Transcript
- Blog: Why Storytelling Will Be the Biggest Business Skill of the Next 5 Years
- Blog: The Power of Visual Storytelling: 15 Stunning Examples to Inspire You
- Blog: A Visual Guide to Telling Compelling Stories for Your Brand [Infographic]
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