Over the last few years, content marketing has become more prominent and has been at the forefront for businesses and their overall marketing strategy. With platforms and mediums such as video and social media continuing to be utilised, more content is being produced. However, what lies at the heart of making content resonate with people is story-telling and story-selling.
To be a good story-teller, you have to be a good story -seller and that helps makes content more appealing to consumers – old, new and potential. Allow me to explain.
As human beings, our brains function in a specific way. The left side of the brain is responsible for controlling the right side of the body and vice versa. However what the left side also does is performs tasks to do with logic, analysis, maths and reasoning while the right side of the brain is home to emotions and is used to perform tasks to do with creativity, art, intuition and music.
According to a global study in 2017 titled “Meaningful Brands” from Havas Group which links brand performance to our everyday lives, 84% of people expect brands to provide content that:
- Entertains
- Tells stories
- Provide solutions
- Creates experiences and events
When telling a story, people want content that provides emotive context. However, when companies are trying to sell a product or service, they cannot just be storytellers, they need to become story-sellers. A story cannot just be told when something in business needs to be sold. This is where information, data, statistics come into place as it will connect to the left side of the brain to help justify making decisions. Statistics from the Content Marketing Institute has shown that 91% of UK marketers ensure that their content is fact-based and/or credible. This can help instil trust and brand loyalty.
To be story-seller, it is about using a combination of emotive and logical content to make people buy a product or service. Here is a hypothetical example.
“Jonathan has been saving up from the last year to try to do an advertising course (already I am providing emotional content and setting the story up) but prices were still expensive so it seemed unattainable. This year, courses currently online are offering a 40% discount (using data and taping into the logical side i.e. the intellectual side of the brain). Jonathan finds an international accredited course in advertising and is currently working towards his qualification. To find an accredited course with a 40% discount contact X”.
That is just a very rough example of using story selling and using a mixture of emotion, logic and intellect to deliver a message straight to a potential consumer to create a demand for a product or service. Story-selling is not an easy thing to do and can take time to master using information, data and creating a detailed story which comprises of the left and right hemisphere of the brain.
As the year is about to draw to a close and new one about to begin, more content will be produced and businesses should continue to tell stories but also sell them too.
Emmmanuel #EKsMarketingViews
eksmarketingviews.wordpress.com 