From the course: Content Marketing Foundations

Tips for successful storytelling

From the course: Content Marketing Foundations

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Tips for successful storytelling

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- Storytelling isn't selling. It's actually a method of sharing information with an audience by conveying emotions, experiences, and perspectives to address a core message. Similarly, a business can embrace storytelling with content as a way to convey valuable information to their customers to attract and engage them on the topics they care about. Content marketing is primarily driven by storytelling, as it's a distinct way for businesses to connect with their customers beyond advertising the benefits of their products and services. To produce meaningful content that builds loyalty and trust with your audience, embrace the fundamentals of storytelling. The first is to identify the core message you're trying to communicate about a topic. Think of it as the purpose behind the topic to be addressed in your content, and the main takeaway you want your audience to walk away with. If you're writing an article about the impact of climate change on employment, then the core message may be that there's lesser-known consequences to climate change to account for. The core message will guide the rest of the details of the article, infographic, documentary, or larger campaign you're working on, which is why it needs to be clear from the start. Next, consider what type of story would effectively convey the topic, and the core message behind it. Should this story be educational? Then, a how-to focused resource might be appropriate. Is this story meant to be entertaining? A humorous tone might be an unexpected way to reach people on a topic that's typically considered serious, dull, or has already been covered extensively. Will the story be values-driven? In this case, you might highlight a partnership at your organization that represents the company's mission in action. After that, it's time to think about the content structure, as the story you plan to tell needs to have a defined beginning, middle, and end to ensure it all makes sense. Having a familiar structure makes it easier for people to finish your content with a strong understanding of the core message. And sometimes, the journey a person experiences with content, when there's a defined starting and stopping point, can even lead to an emotional response. And lastly, always include characters to add a human element and showcase different experiences and perspectives within your content. Whether interviewing an employee in your video series, addressing your customer directly in a white paper, or hosting your company's podcast, showcase people as the characters in your content to make it more relatable and less corporate. For instance, the Cleveland Clinic and Academic Medical Center hosts a podcast where each episode features an interview with a healthcare professional from the clinic. These experts share their advice on important and timely medical topics, but most of all, discuss their personal perspectives and experience in treating different health conditions. As a result, these complex health-related topics feel far less intimidating. Follow these storytelling tips to majorly improve the quality of your content and review the many other LinkedIn learning courses on how to become a better storyteller.

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