Public Relations & Social Marketing Insight

Many brands today are turning to storytelling in branding as a strategy to connect with consumers. These curated speeches demonstrate how this particular strategy benefits different brands and how it can be implemented in different industries. 

So we have all heard time and time again, "to attract links you need to build great content". But very few actually talk about what good content looks like. That's because good content can come in many different forms.

 

Here's an article by Joe Hall that very clearly explains why content on a website gets ignored. And they are all story principles!

 

Keep this list handy and make sure when you are creating content -- any kind of content whether it be a blog post or a brochure -- that you include a well written title, has a unique voice, contrast, a focused key message, etc.

 

Read the article for more!

 

This review was written by Karen Dietz for her curated content on business storytelling at www.scoop.it/t/just-story-it ;

Right answers to wrong questions virtually guarantee failure. Innovators betting on "out of the box" thinking or "faster, better, cheaper" innovation paradigms for success all too frequently find themselves — and their customers — disappointed.

 

Hey folks -- this is a pivotal article about biz storytelling. Why??

 

Because it addresses the most neglected aspect of effective business storytelling -- the story about the future that you and your customers/clients are creating together.

 

What I love about this article is its twist -- the level of biz storytelling these days is mostly focused on how to authentically share stories about your products/services, people, or founding to capture the hearts and minds of propsects and build loyal customers. That is OK as far as it goes.

 

But there could be more. Way more.

 

Instead of asking, "What do our customers want [and how do I share a story about that]?" how about asking, "What do our customers want to become [and what is the story I can share about that]?" What a fundamentally different -- and better -- question!

 

Org story advice for crafting 'Future Stories' is typically "Write a newspaper article about your company 5 years from now & the awards you are receivng" or some such version of that. Not bad. But there could be more -- way more.

 

When we start asking ourselves the questions posed in this article, whole new worlds start opening up. 'Future stories' are really about the future we are creating together with our customers/clients -- it is the call to be part of something bigger than ourselves.

 

Go read this article -- quickly! You will be glad you did because it will get you to fundamentally shift how you think about and share about your business, and the stories you tell about it.

 

And if you need a really great example of a company doing this, then check out this latest Nike video. 

http://www.cbssports.com/olympics/blog/eye-on-olympics/19654085/video-nikes-new-olympics-ad-greatness-is-for-all-of-us ;

 

And if you want to review a written form of this, then check out my Manifesto on my website. The Manifesto is still a work in progress, but you will get the idea. http://www.juststoryit.com/FutureStory ;

 

Enjoy this short article -- its insights, questions, and a different kind of conversation we can have about business storytelling.

 

This review was written by Karen Dietz for her curated content on business storytelling at www.scoop.it/t/just-story-it ;

As content takes its rightful place at the forefront of marketing, I'm seeing many marketers fail at basic storytelling.

 

Marketers are ineffective when they use the classic "customer testimonial" format and pop that onto their blog or make it into a video. "Here’s our product. It is great. Here are customers who say it is great. Now buy some of our product." This just doesn't hold people's attention.

 

How interesting would a book or movie be were it to have this plot?:
Boy meets girl.
They fall in love.
They get married.

 

That's what most people do with their business writing.

 

Effective storytelling

The best stories drip with conflict. They have a hero and sometimes a villain. There is a story arc. As a writing teacher once told me: "Writing without conflict is propaganda."

"As the buzz about content marketing, social media and all things digital continues to rise, one of the catch phrases that gets a lot of attention is storytelling in marketing. We afford it incredible lip service but do we actually practice it?"

Hmmmm -- good question. Here the author, Drew McLellan asks if in previous decades business was better at storytelling in its marketing and advertising.

 

Makes you think. Drew includes 3 videos to make his point. The first is a 1980s video from Dunkin Donuts as an example of effective storytelling. Well -- it is definitely not storytelling but instead an add that is all features and benefits.

 

The other two advertising videos however, are great examples from the past of really good stories.

 

I don't know if our biz storytelling is not as good these days as in previous decades. But I do like the questions Drew poses at the end of the post to help us decide.

 

What do you think? Is our biz storytelling better or worse than before?

 

This review was written by Karen Dietz for her curated content on business storytelling at www.scoop.it/t/just-story-it ;

[Valuable read for content, PR pros ~ Jeff]

Winning entrepreneurs bond emotionally with employees, investors and customers--and dramatically increase their chances for funding and for long term success--when they hone their ability to tell meaningful stories about their businesses.

 

Here is an article discussing 2 examples of effective business storytelling for marketing/branding/identity purposes that really work. One is a small business (Baby Steals) and the other one is a large enterpriese (IKEA). You will notice the difference in their stories as the size of the business kicks in.

 

Pay close attention to what the founder of Baby Steals did/does -- because implicit in the example shared are story listening skills and how the stories she was hearing from customers/prospects also shaped the success of her company.

 

And then there are 10 tips for bringing storytelling into your business marketing/branding efforts. All are solid. A word of advice here -- working on several of these 10 tips takes time. The ideas you come up with during your first pass you will want to test with friends, colleagues, customers, and prospects. This is an iterative process where your focus and messaging gets sharper, clearer, and more powerful over time. So give yourself the opportunity to play. This goes no matter what size of business you have -- micro to large enteprise.

 

We are heading into the 4th quarter of the year -- what a great time to hone in on your business storytelling, laying a stronger foundation for your company in 2013.

 

This review was written by Karen Dietz for her collection of articles on business storytelling at www.scoop.it/t/just-story-it ;