Once Upon a Time... Were You a Storyteller?

by Jennifer Brough, PR Strategist, The Anderson Group
Email comments to jbrough@theandersongrp.com.

We are constantly bombarded with content that is original, aggregated, co-created, licensed and user-generated. From an online perspective, the graphic to the right shows how content breaks down on a daily basis.  Statistics quoted from Scribbal

So, how do you rise above the clutter?
Your content is optimized to within an inch of its life. It is distributed successfully through a myriad of tools. You’ve followed the rules of engagement (even though you think “engagement” is a word that should be banned due to overuse), by minimizing your promotional message in exchange for a friendly, non-threatening helpful tone. And yet, your metrics suggest abject failure – no one clicks, reads or cares about your stellar opinions. What gives?

What does your instinct tell you? Here are four ways to set a foundation for crafting your stories:

1. Practice saying your stories out loud. As children we learned to talk before writing. To listen, before speaking. Does it not make sense to articulate our brand story before putting pen to paper? The relationship of talking to writing is central to capturing the story and finding your voice.


2. Evaluate how you read information and apply insights to your audience. You want others to be as passionate about your story as you are: To see and feel what you see and feel. In order to capture the imagination of others, it is helpful to consider the reading process, and how each step builds toward your desired outcomes.


3. Get to know your audience in order to deliver what’s most meaningful. In many ways, they call the shots, as it is no longer about simply pushing out abundant content. Does that mean you must constantly be in a reactive mode? That you know longer have control of your brand and its story? Of course not! It simply requires a more open, organic approach to storytelling.


4. Explore your brand’s stories, from challenges through celebrations. Some suggest that there are a limited number of themes available when it comes to developing a story – Love, Discovery, Underdog, Revenge and the Quest, to name a few. How can you play with these generalities when talking about your own brand?

Back to the question that started this section: How do you rise above the clutter? Or, to borrow from Martin Lindstrom, author of Buy∙ology: “What determines which information makes it into our consciousness, and what ends up in our brains’ industrial dump of instantly forgettable Huggies ads and other equally unmemorable encounters of the consumer kind?”

Here’s an answer: It is the narrative thread that serves to connect your passion to others, whether you are writing the great 21st century novel or articulating your brand’s story. Find your narrative thread, and you’re set. Therein lies your Quest.