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Convey the Concept through a Warm Human Storyteller

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Lately, brands increasingly prioritize people as the voice of their value, Robert Rose writes in “Trust the Story, or the Storyteller?‘

“Storytelling is a powerful marketing tool that can be used to connect with customers on an emotional level, build trust and credibility, and ultimately drive sales,” Oxford Academic agrees, naming three reasons stories are so important a part of content marketing:

  1. Stories evoke emotions – empathy, joy, sadness, anger.
  2. Stories offer a glimpse into your values and beliefs.
  3. Storytelling gives your brand a unique personality. There are many different types of stories that can be used to connect with customers, the authors point out, including brand stories, customer experience stories, employee experience stories, customer testimonial stories, and case studies.  No matter the type of story, the point is to use vivid language to help readers visualize the event or happening.While it’s true that stories help us remember, that’s not good enough, Joe Lazuskas explains – they have to make us care.  Your stories need to talk about why you come to work every day, and about what you believe the future of your industry ought to look like. Two particularly important elements of a story are:
    a)Relatability – you’re telling the story of a person similar to the target reader.  b) Fluency – Realistically, Lazuskas reminds us, most U.S. adults can’t read at even a high school level; we need to keep a low barrier to entry between the audience and the story level.

    As a content marketer at Say It For You, I can never forget an article I read years ago about an experiment performed at Stanford University.  Students were each asked to give one-minute speeches containing three statistics and one story.  Later, students were asked to recall the highlights in each other’s talk.  Only five percent of the listeners remembered a single statistic, while 63% were able to remember the story line.

To convey marketing concepts, use a warm, human storyteller!

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Tell the Story Behind the Product and the Purpose

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In “So that’s why we do that!”, Karina Ebert tells where many common habits and inventions come from. The “10,000 steps” a day health benchmark, for example, was a catchy marketing move by manufacturer Yamasa, “since the Japanese character for 10,000 looks a lot like a person walking”. Credit for festive birthday candles likely goes to the ancient Greeks, Ebert tells readers, who purportedly made cakes in the shape of the moon to honor Artemis, goddess of the moon and the hunt, with the candles providing “moonglow”. Escape-release latches inside car trunks, mandatory since 2001, came about after armed kidnappers forced a couple into the trunk of their car in 1995.

“The story of how your company came to manufacture or sell a specific product can be helpful to a prospective buyer,” magoda.com says in advising about press releases. By sharing an original story highlighting how a product or practice evolved, the authors explain, “you can effectively link your brand with a solution while delivering details and insight to an interested audience.” While the spotlight is on the product, they caution, the content needs to explain why your company is important in the process of delivering the product to the user.

.History-of-our-company background stories have a humanizing effect, we know at Say It For You, engaging readers and creating feelings of empathy and admiration for the business owners or professional practitioners who overcame adversity. At the same time, the stories call attention to modern solutions (in terms of both product improvements and customer service practices that grew out of those past experiences).

It’s worth repeating – people relate to stories about people more than to facts and statistics, and particularly more than to sales pitches. In representing our business owners and practitioners, we need to tape this mantra to our computer screens: Let the history of your industry and the history of your own business do the selling.

Keep telling the story behind the products and the purposes for which they’re used!

 

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The Accordion Method in Content Marketing

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Whether you’re preparing for an interview or for generating content, the Accordion Method involves having ready a short, a medium, and a long answer for every question you’re likely to be asked, Paula Rizzo advises in Writer’s Digest:

  • The short answer is the sound bite that grabs attention.
  • The medium answer adds more content around the topic.
  • The long answer adds much more detail and opinion.

As a senior health producer at Fox News Channel, Rizzo recalls, she was booking guest experts all the time. Sometimes an expert would ramble when the host wanted a short answer, and sometimes people didn’t give enough information. You need to be able to deliver content in a way that fits the situation, Rizzo cautions.

Here is how, in creating online marketing content, writers can follow Rizzo’s five steps for success:
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1. What is the question? First, brainstorm the basic question (or questions) you’ll likely be asked during the interview. You need to get to know the show and its audience, Rizzo advises.

Who are your target customers or clients? What approach would have the most appeal to that segment of your market?  Will the emphasis be on your products? Your special services? Your expertise?  Pick one primary area of focus in preparing your “short answer”.

2. Watch previous episodes. Learning what questions were posed by hosts to other interviewees is crucial, Rizzo says.

At Say It For You, we encourage freelance content writers and business owners alike to curate, meaning to gather OPW (Other People’s Wisdom) and share that with their readers, commenting on that material and relating it to their own topic.

3. What is the short answer? Think in headlines. For the host who wants a short, targeted answer, interviewees must be prepared to offer just that, Rizzo explains.

A business blog post should impart one new idea or call for a single action. Focused on one thing, your post has greater impact, since people are bombarded with many messages each day. 

4. What is the medium answer? Even when a medium answer is called for it’s important to “start with a bang” and then add some context and evidence.

When expanding to a medium from a short answer, think about whether the information is not only useful, but will be received as unique (rather than the same information found in other places..

5. What is the long answer? Give compelling evidence for your attention-grabbing short answer.

To sustain our content writing over long periods of time without losing reader excitement and engagement, we need to constantly add to our own body of knowledge – about our industry or professional field, and about what’s going on around us in our culture.

For online marketers, the Accordion Method helps writers research and “store” content for different segments of a target audience.

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People Pleasing Not Always a Good Thing for Content writers

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People pleasing involves not only putting other people’s needs first, but also toning down a strong message for something more palatable, coach Eric Kaufman explains in Real Leaders magazine. That’s not a good thing, he explains, because toning down one’s message limits our own decision-making and squanders our power.

 

While, as content marketers, our goal is to engage readers, that does not mean “pleasing” them by reiterating common assumptions and opinions, we’ve learned at Say It For You. In fact,  whether you’re writing content for a business, a professional practice, or a nonprofit organization, it’s essential to present an opinion, a slant, on the information you’re serving up for readers.

The style needn’t be harsh – after all, you’re out to nurture the relationships you’ve established and welcome new clients and customers to the business or practice, not “turn them off”.

Still, what I’ve learned over the years of creating blog content for dozens and dozens of clients in different industries and professions is that, in order to turn clients and customers “on”, we must incorporate one important ingredient – opinion. As influencers, we need a strong message to demonstrate, rather than squander, our clients’ power to be influencers.

When online readers find their way to blog content, one question they need answered is “Who lives here?” “What guidance is being offered as I face purchasing decisions?” Providing information about products and services, even aggregating information from other sources, can be useful – even “pleasing”   to readers, but in terms of achieving Influencer status – it takes opinion.

“Although being kind and helpful is generally a good thing, going too far to please others can leave you emotionally depleted, stressed, and anxious,” Kendra Cherry of VeryWellMind emphasizes.

 

In content marketing, while it’s important to tell readers what our clients can do for them, it’s even more important to show readers who those owners are!

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Content Writers as Newscasters

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“Your social security log-in may change,” Elaine Silverstein warns in Kiplinger Personal Finance, explaining that the change is to both simplify sign-in and make the process more secure. For social security recipients, the headline is a grabber.

According to Social Bee, a “hook” is designed to entice readers to keep reading, and might consist of:

  • a credible statistic
  • an inspiring quote
  • an open-ended question
  • a bold statement
  • a figure of speech
  • an emotional connection

At Say It For You, one way content marketers can engage readers is by keeping them up to date with news that has the potential to directly affect them. Like newspapers, business blog content writing can balance feature stories with news. When it comes to content marketing for a business or practice, readers need to know about:

  • new products and services they can now obtain through you
  • any new partners or employees you wan tot introduce
  • your recent or upcoming activities in your community
  • any changes in company (or practice) policy, procedure, or rules that might affect customers, clients, and patients.

It’s very important, I explain to newbie content writers, to present this “news” in a way that appears to be “all about them” – is this going to demand action on their part?  Will their convenience be enhanced or diminished?

 If, in fact, the new information is likely to be perceived as ‘bad news”, offer alternatives that can help readers meet their goals.  End with a goodwill statement focused on the future, Jennifer Kahnweiler, Ph,d. says.

Showing that you are keeping abreast of the latest thinking and developments in your field is the key to earning “expert power”, showing readers that you are in a good position to spot both threats and opportunities. What’s more, as content writers, we must position our practitioner and business owner clients as leaders – not only are they “up on” on the latest developments in their fields, they themselves are helping bring about positive change and growth.

For readers, content marketers serve as newscasters

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