When you are creating content, you want it to be compelling, keeping the reader engaged until your final sentence. And, with so many ways for people to consume their media, there are a lot of voices that people can tune in to.
But how do you make yours stand out? How can you hook a reader in mere seconds?
Tickling the sweet spot. What is a sweet spot, you ask?! Well, storytelling is no longer just showing people great products; it is about displaying humanity and sharing something people can relate to. Not only on a fundamental level, either. It is something a little bit deeper than that. Consider that we all have stories from our childhoods that we remember or a story someone we met on a train told us once. We hold on to them. They turn into a part of us.
And from a marketing perspective, they give us the real juice of human behavior and data that sings from the rooftops. And if you really want to know how to pull those numbers and do something valuable with them, then you might consider an online masters in data analytics.
Video
Oh yes, video is powerful, viral, and in 30 seconds, you can paint a verbal picture. YouTube capitalized on creators sharing what they love, with anonymous faces on the internet. Facebook Live stepped into the area to give more options, and TikTok is making it easy to create emotive, visually rich content in minutes. We process images 60 times faster than text. Make it easier for your audience to connect.
Branding
True marketing always holds fast to the idea of the brand. The brand is the voice, the color scheme, the tone of the text, the font… everything. Everything you need to be easy to identify with your audience. There are some logos and fonts that people will forever associate with particular brands. That is a brand telling their story. And, part of your brand will be that you must always be authentic. Readers can tell when you are forcing a point, or not writing in a tone that they have become familiar with. Not only that but if you aren’t honest and authentic, it is a matter of time before you are exposed.
Editor-in-Chief
If you are sticking to one platform, then you are missing out on thousands and potentially millions of engagements, views, conversations, and new customers. One might ask the question – do you not want the extra traffic and conversions? Of course, you do. Twitter is looking for short and snappy pieces of text – but you can punctuate with a gif, link, or an image. LinkedIn is encouraging long copy, and you can network it hard once it is published. Facebook is a free-for-all, but the ‘read more’ is your call-to-action, so your first few lines of text need to be sticky on the eyes and provocative. Speed of production is a key factor in keeping your story going.
The fluidity in which a piece is written, the content, and nuance will all add to the story too. Encourage opinions and experiences to be shared, and that will all become part of the tapestry of your storytelling. In the end, though, you should always leave them wanting more. Questions are the fruits of storytelling.