I post regularly, and with a real passion, about the importance of producing high quality content. It is certainly important to clients of our content marketing agency, who want their material to be shared (and of course, all absolutely do!), so it has to be good enough to rise above today’s digital din. It’s all about quality, quality, quality!
I’ve blogged in the past about the enduring power that storytelling has to captivate an audience and communicate information in a way that is both entertaining and memorable. I’ve also provided my perspective on how to turn all the fascinating facts about your company—its history, its people, the challenges it has faced, its successes and failures, its offerings and vision for the future— into compelling content to power your inbound marketing program. As you’re preparing to tell your story, it’s important to consider the formats and channels you’ll use.
As I sat down to write this blog post on a chilly October morning, I cradled a mug of strong, black coffee in my hands and stared out the window at the cars passing on the street below. Their exhaust spiraled upward like the steam from my cup ‘o joe. I paused briefly, and then I began typing...
Storytelling—one of humanity's oldest and most treasured art forms. Some stories have been passed down from generation to generation as old wives' tales and myths, and more recently, stories have been shared as trending hashtags and viral animal videos. No matter the format or medium, they have a way of making complex issues easier to understand and what would normally be excruciatingly boring topics, enthralling. No one knows when the first story was told, but one thing is clear: stories impact almost every aspect of our day-to-day lives—music, books, paintings, television, religion, news media, social media, and even the marketing and advertising tactics we see.
You are at a party and are introduced to two people. You ask each the standard questions about where they are from, what they do for a living, etc. The first replies, “I’m Kathy. I’m from the Midwest.” The second responds with, “I’m Lisa. I’m originally from Orlando but I moved to Colorado after college because I LOVE the mountains and the snow.” You immediately feel more of a connection with Lisa. Why? Because she’s shared just a little bit of her story.
You can remember it as if it happened yesterday, even though it was nine years ago. You and the other members of the marketing and management teams stood around a conference table staring down at printouts of the five finalists from which you would choose the logo and color palette for your newly-formed company.
Storytelling… it can be the most powerful form of marketing you use. I say “can be” because in order for a marketing story to be hungrily consumed, there are certain key ingredients it must contain. And these elements are the same regardless of what you are marketing or who your target audience is.
What if McDonald’s had chosen to put a gray M on a brown background instead of going with “golden arches” on red? How about if the Denver Broncos picked pink and yellow rather than orange and blue? (We work with companies nationwide, but we’re based in Colorado Springs. If you don’t share it, please forgive our Bronco Pride!)
Whether you are a startup looking to define your brand or a well-established company wanting to breathe new life into yours, there are a number of key aspects to keep in mind. All too often, businesses settle for logos, color palettes, taglines, and other branding elements that simply look “pretty good” or read “pretty well.”
Hooray! You’ve decided to engage in the oldest form of marketing there is: storytelling.
But, where do you start? How do you begin a content marketing strategy? What stories do you have that are worth telling?
If you’ve been entrenched in “features and benefits” marketing for years, or even decades, it can be very hard to shift gears and come up with compelling storylines.
“After crossing the raging river, I tracked the beast into a deep, forbidding forest. The sun was setting and I began to see red eyes watching me from the darkness as I hurried on. Breaking out of the trees and into a meadow, I encountered him at last light, the most majestic deer I have ever seen. He fought valiantly, but in the end I brought him down with my spear. Would you care to trade some of the fresh vegetables you have there for this delicious venison?”
As we all know, there are certain things that have value on their own but serve as powerful, mutual catalysts when combined. Such is the case with branding and content. But to avoid any risk that "branded content” might be interpreted as how satisfied you are with the seared rear end of a cow, let’s start with some definitions.
In the "good old days" of marketing and advertising, copywriters were compelled to constantly herald the merits of their products to customers with increasingly flowery and dramatic terms. Words like:
