5 Tips to Craft the Perfect Marketing Story
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Which are you more likely to remember?
That a blender can run at 4,080 revolutions per minute, OR that it can blend an iPhone?
Let’s go back to 2006… There’s a new website called Twitter that just launched, Beyonce’s Irreplaceable is playing on your iTunes, you’re hoping to rent the Da Vinci Code at Blockbuster this evening, but if no copies are left, you’ll wind up trying to learn something called the Chicken Noodle Soup Dance on a platform known as YouTube.
In 2006, YouTube had just made its way into the world and not many companies had discovered how to successfully leverage this media platform for marketing purposes.
Except for one: Blendtec.
You may remember Blendtec as the creator of the viral “Will It Blend?” series—over 140 videos that use Blendtec blenders to pulverize everything from an iPhone to 50 marbles to glowsticks. This blender was amazing—and Blendtec had the videos to prove it! They weren’t telling you how great this blender was. They were showing you. What an engaging and fun experience—suddenly people around the world were excited about a brand they had probably never heard of before.
For Blendtec, this form of short video storytelling was key to increasing their sales by over 1000%!!!!
Our brains are wired to remember stories, way more than facts. Stories move people and make your brand and your products authentic, unforgettable, and shareable. Whether you’re creating copy for your website, app, or latest campaign, stories are the glue that our brains are hardwired to connect with and remember.
Choosing the perfect story is part art, part science. And the wrong story can be fatal to a marketing campaign. Follow these 5 tips to craft the perfect marketing story for your product or service:
Tip 1: Create a Story Arc
Every good story follows a predictable pattern—and this pattern is called a story arc.
The story arc begins with a SETUP. Consider the setup basic background information: Blendtec makes a blender that they claim can blend anything. The character is introduced here. In Blendtec’s case, this character could be the blender… but it’s more likely the endearing engineer blending marbles and iPhones.
The next part is all about building dramatic tension by letting people know what’s at stake. CONFLICT begins here, and we wonder if the characters are going to be able to overcome the obstacles… will that engineer really be able to blend those marbles? Will the blender hold up to it?
This action builds, and in Blentec’s case, it builds over a series of videos. You’re not just going to watch one… if you’re into it, you’re gonna want to watch a bunch in sequence. They hook you and make you keep watching! They continually build in emotion and dramatic tension — like climbing a staircase — until the very top: the CLIMAX of the story.
In each of Blendtec’s videos, there is a climax. It’s that moment where you’re wondering… ok, everything’s loaded. Now… will it blend? Really?
Across the series, our character is met with new obstacles. New things to blend. Finally, the actions come to a head at the peak of the story arc, which is called a climax.
This climax is followed by a resolution, and falling actions that involve a change in the main character, and reveal the meaning behind the story… that THIS is a killer blender.
Every good story follows this predictable pattern, so practice this story arc and you’ll start to see your influence grow.
Tip 2: Be The Guide, Not The Hero
Most companies don’t realize that the most common way to kill a story about your brand or product, is to position it as the HERO of that story.
Why? Because as humans, each of us is the hero of our OWN story.
Your customers have their own lives going on, and in their minds, they are ALWAYS the hero—the main character.
So now that we know that the customer always thinks of themselves as the hero, we need a different tactic. If you want people to buy from you, to choose your product over a competitor’s, the storyline needs to shift. Instead of talking about yourself, talk about them. Make yourself an essential part of THEIR story.
Here’s an example of how Slack does this well. Slack helps you (the hero) be more productive because you’re sitting in fewer meetings. It helps you bring your communication together in one place. It’s not the hero, it’s the guide helping you get there.
Instead of playing hero, the role you should be playing is the guide, the mentor. This small mindset shift will make a big difference in your sales.
Tip 3: Bring In The Action
Once you set up your story, something happens. It has to happen. If it doesn’t, it’s just background.
The action in your story should rise in intensity as the arc moves uphill. An igniting action is the first movement that propels the momentum of your story.
Throughout the actions, your characters should communicate their inner voice, telling what they think and feel as events unfold. This will help you continually remind your audience what’s at stake, and set your story up for a predictable pattern of goal-obstacles-what happened with each action that builds to the story's climax.
The action in your story doesn’t need to be only through words. You can represent action through visuals, such as videos, images, gifs and even memes. Visual storytelling can be especially effective on social media. A few examples:
Words enhance these visuals, but the action is seen, not heard. You feel the emotion.
As the story writer, YOU get to build your action sequence in the most effective way to convey truth and meaning to your audience.
Tip 4: Clarify Your Message
Clearly communicating about your products can have a huge impact on your business, because nobody will listen to you if your message isn't clear.
The human brain is drawn toward clarity and away from confusion. Story helps because it's a way to make sense of something. Story formulas put everything in order so the brain doesn't have to struggle.
When you’re thinking about how to communicate about your products and services, there are 3 questions I’d suggest you think about:
What is the product or service you offer?
How clear is your message?
What’s next for your customer?
There is a reason most product descriptions don't convert: they are too complicated. So the next time you’re in a frenzy because your brand is having an identity crisis, take a step back, figure out who and what you’re solving for, and really work to simplify that message.
Make sure your entire team can repeat it, not through memorization, but because they get it.
Tip 5: End The Story Correctly
When we think about the most impactful stories we’ve heard in our lives, whether real or fiction, they carry weight because of the same thing: they teach us universal truths that we are able to apply to our lives. And in almost every situation, that meaning comes from some change that happened as a result of the actions in the story.
So to end your story right, two elements must be present: change and meaning. When people hear a joke, they expect a punch line. We may or may not find it funny, but without a punch line, it’s not a joke.
In the same way, a story is not complete without MEANINGFUL change.
Of all the elements of storytelling, the most important part might be in the ending. Your audience needs to know what is different by the end of the story, and what they should take away and apply to their own lives. The best story endings come out of change and communicate a universal truth to your audience, in a way they can relate.
With Blendtec, you walk away knowing that this blender is amazing and better than your typical kitchen blender that can barely pulverize some ice. That’s a 100% clear truth or meaning Blendtec wanted you to take away. And they do a great job at it.
As humans, we are born storytellers. It is in our DNA. The fact that you’ve taken the time to read this fully means that you’re READY to create meaningful and significant stories. I know you. You have stories in you, and YOU were born to tell them.
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If you liked this article, you might like…
My “Storytelling Course” on LinkedIn Learning
InstaBrain : The New Rules for Marketing to Gen Z (grab your free chapter here)
Sarah Weise is the CEO of award-winning marketing research agency Bixa and the bestselling author of InstaBrain: The New Rules for Marketing to Generation Z. For 15 years, Sarah has been a guide to hundreds of leading brands including Google, IBM, Capital One, Mikimoto, PBS, and U.S. Army, to name a few. Sarah helps brands achieve a laser-focus on their customers and build experiences that are downright addictive. She lectures at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business and speaks at conferences and corporate events worldwide.