Stories Make Digital Content Worth Reading
Content is the oxygen of digital marketing. It’s what keeps digital marketing alive.
Storytelling is like breathing, it gives purpose and direction to digital content by incorporating universal and fundamental concepts people can relate to and understand.
StoryBrand provides a content framework for using the principles of storytelling in your digital content.
If you have not heard of StoryBrand, then you have some homework. It’s based on the best selling book “Building a StoryBrand” by Donald Miller. This book is a must-read for sales and marketing pros.
Here are a few tips for integrating StoryBrand concepts and tactics into your digital marketing efforts and marketing content.
Your Customer is the Hero and You are the Guide
Stories have characters embarking on a journey or a series of actions in response to events. The core character of the story is often a hero. The challenges faced by the hero and the other characters draw us into the story and make it interesting.
A key point of StoryBrand is your customer is the hero, not your company. Most marketing content places the company as the hero offering solutions, when in fact your prospective customers see themselves as the hero. Your role is to be their guide offering solutions or a plan to deal with their challenges and/or desires.
Following this formula by making your customer the hero is what makes your story memorable and it is key to making your marketing message memorable.
Does your marketing communication place your target market as the hero or is your company the hero?
Taglines and Headers
Communicating effectively in digital marketing starts with taglines and headers. People don’t usually read a block of text unless a header or tagline pulls them deeper into your content.
These important marketing messages must place your prospective customers as the hero so you can be their guide in the story. Write simple taglines to communicate directly how you solve problems for your customers and add value to their lives.
Remember the Villain of the Story
You can also use headlines and taglines to remind your readers about the “villain” in their story.
Villains are the obstacles people face to achieve their desires or avoid pain. This includes saving time and money, ease of use and convenience. Making life simple and easier for your prospects helps them defeat the villain. As a guide, your company’s products and services provide a plan or a way to help people defeat the villain.
StoryBrand and Intuitive Website’s Four-Step Process
The IW Four-Step Process consists of the following:
- Strategy
- Strategic Communications
- Inbound Marketing
- Conversions and ROI
StoryBrand concepts flow throughout each of the Four-Steps.
StoryBrand is key to step one, Digital Strategy. It clarifies how you add value to your customers and helps you think about meeting customer needs as a guide with a unique plan.
Strategic Communication is at the heart of StoryBrand and comprises the storytelling concepts discussed in the book StoryBrand.
The content used in your strategic messaging attracts people to you through your inbound marketing tactics, which is step three. Stories have a great impact on people’s ability to connect and take action. This supercharges inbound marketing.
In step four, you measure the impact your content is having on lead conversions and sales growth along with the ROI. Following StoryBrand concepts leads to stronger ROI from digital marketing.
Keep Messaging Simple and Direct
People can only consume so much content and information in today’s overwhelming world of digital content and noise. If you are fortunate enough to have someone visit your website, then make it extremely easy for them to understand what you do and why they should buy from you.
Your website must have plenty of content on interior pages for readers who want to go deep and read more. Your website homepage and key product and services landing pages must use brief taglines and communicate directly so people are motivated to reach out to your company to learn more or buy.
Summary
There is more to learn about StoryBrand. Read the book and apply the StoryBrand content and messaging formula to overhaul your website content and develop email programs driving in sales growth for your company.
Make StoryBrand your guide as you work on all aspects of your digital marketing tactics and content.
IW can help you as we now have a StoryBrand certified consultant on our team. Contact us today for a free StoryBrand consultation and start improving how you communicate with prospective customers.
Action Items
- Read the book “Building a StoryBrand.”
- Develop a StoryBrand script for your marketing messaging using the book’s guidelines.
- Review your website homepage and make the customer the hero not your company.
- Use easy to understand and very direct taglines that meet the needs of your target market.
- Review your digital marketing plan and the Four-Steps. Incorporate StoryBrand into each of the steps.
- Book a time to meet with an IW consultant to review StoryBrand concepts.
