The POWER of Marketing Narrative
Let’s face it, you know you need a new website. The one you have right now just doesn’t do the job. It isn’t bringing in the business you had hoped, and you cringe at the thought of constant upkeep to get it there.
Your website probably feels more like a liability than it does an asset to your company.
Five years ago I would have told you: all you need is an updated design, on a platform that can perform FAST when loaded in the browser.
Now, those are all good things, and they definitely effect your bottom line. But I could not have been more wrong.
What your website needs is a great STORY
You’ve probably heard of telling a Brand Story or Starting with WHY. Telling your Brand Story actually bypasses WHAT you do, and the HOW you do it, getting directly into the WHY.
So, why is telling a Story important?
Historically, Stories have been one of the best ways that our minds hold information. Scientific research shows us the RAW power of how they actually mold our minds.
“The human brain responds to the descriptive power of stories in deeply affecting ways, influencing both the sensory and motor cortex. To read a story is to feel an experience and to synchronize our minds with the subject of the story.” — Kissmetrics
Beyond the scientific discovery, companies who have implemented Story have raised their conversion rates by 300%. For that reason, Narrative-Based communication is taking the lead in marketing focused discussions.
Humans are born storytellers and adore visual communication. Storytelling gives life or meaning to a scenario and makes that emotional connection, provoking feelings of ecstasy, sorrow, or peace and captivating your audience. — Neil Patel
Understanding Story Structure
In order to tell a good story, we must first understand the foundation of good storytelling. Most people know, every story has a beginning, middle and end. What most people don’t know, is what goes where.
Here’s some basics to get us started:
- Beginning = The Problem.
Explain the problem that you set out to solve. - Middle = The Solution.
Describe how you solved it. - End = Success.
Get excited about the success this produced.
The Hero’s Journey
Now, basics are good, BUT you want a story that actually CONVERTS. The secret to good story telling is understanding how each element works together symbiotically.
It just so happens, one of my favorite storytellers have actually put this process into a formula. Trust me, what you want as a marketer is in this formula.
Enter Dan Harmon, creator and writer of the critically acclaimed shows, Community and Rick and Morty. Dan built a framework to help you tell stories called “The Story Circle” a distilled version of Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth aka “The Hero’s Journey” and can be applied to tell all stories.
Every Story is the Same
What if I told you every story you have EVER heard is exactly the same? And stories that break this pattern are the stories (and marketing) you loathe?
Every Good Story can be broken down by the Story Circle:
- [YOU] A character is in a zone of comfort,
- [NEED] But they want something.
- [GO] They enter an unfamiliar situation,
- [SEARCH] Adapt to it,
- [FIND] Get what they wanted,
- [TAKE] Pay a heavy price for it,
- [RETURN] Then return to their familiar situation,
- [CHANGE] Having changed.
You’re not the Hero
The problem with telling a Brand Story is that it is one-sided. While a Brand Story is important, what if I told you that you aren’t at the center of your story?
In our last post, The Lean Marketer we revealed the benefit of switching focus from your Solution to your client’s Problem. This allows you to not only connect with a prospective client, but to bring the most Value to the table.
We’re going to do the same thing with the Story we tell. An effective Narrative not about you, its about your reader, and they are the Hero in THEIR story.
The Higher Narrative
Effective marketing is centered around your customer. Your brand is just a part of their Narrative. If the story you tell is truly about them, we must understand the Higher Narrative at work in their life.
Understanding this helps shift the focus off of us, and tell our customer’s story. We’ll apply the beginning, middle and end to their overarching Hero’s Journey. Let’s dig in…
BEGINNING: Their Past:
Your reader has gone through some pretty rough stuff. After all this is why they are searching for answers. The emphasis in this phase is hope and longing. This part of their Hero’s Journey covers the first 4 stages of the Story Circle.
1. “YOU” — ESTABLISH A PROTAGONIST
“The audience is floating freely, like a ghost, until you give them a place to land.” — Dan Harmon
Without first identifying your audience, and empathizing with them, your reader is floating with nothing to keep them grounded. You’ll want to orient your story around them by utilizing User Personas.
2. “NEED” — SOMETHING AIN’T QUITE RIGHT
This is where we demonstrate that something is off balance in the universe, no matter how large or small that universe is — Dan Harmon
This is where we present the idea that things aren’t perfect. It’s part of why they are in the line of business that they are in. They are here to solve a problem of their own. But low and behold, they can’t do their business because of this particular PROBLEM.
3. “GO” — CROSSING THE THRESHOLD
The key is, figure out what your “movie poster” is. What would you advertise to people if you wanted them to come listen to your story? — Dan Harmon
Your customer has decided to brave the outside world, having an idea in their mind of what life could be without their PROBLEM.
4. “SEARCH” — THE ROAD OF TRIALS
Our protagonist has been thrown into the water and now it’s sink or swim. — Dan Harmon
Your customer has been stripped of their fear and trying to figure it out themselves. They are actively searching for a way to ADAPT to their PROBLEM.
MIDDLE: The Crossroads of Destiny
For our marketing minds, I’m calling this the Crossroads of Destiny. I consider it a crossroads because this is where your story and your customers story collides at an intersection. They are now aware of you and your solution, and have a choice to make that will alter their path forward.
5. “FIND” — MEETING WITH THE GODDESS
This is where you make your grand entrance. In Dan Harmon’s terms this stage is the “Meeting with the goddess”
I’m using the phrase “meeting with the goddess” because Joseph Campbell thought about these things longer and harder than me. Syd Field calls this “the mid point.” Catchy. Robert McKee probably calls it “the nexus of inclination” or something. — Dan Harmon
For the first time they have encountered something that just might TAKE THEIR PROBLEM AWAY. This would be where you pitch your awesome service/solution to the degree that it solves their business issues.
At this point in their life, everything has just happened to them. Now they realize they have a choice to take control of their life’s circumstances.
6. “TAKE” — MEET YOUR MAKER
When you realize that something is important, really important, to the point where it’s more important than YOU, you gain full control over your destiny. In the first half of the circle, you were reacting to the forces of the universe, adapting, changing, seeking. Now you have BECOME the universe. You have become that which makes things happen. You have become a living God. — Dan Harmon
Your solution enables your customer to be able to take life head on. Show your audience what an empowered life looks like, or the journeys of others who have gone ahead. How will your customer feel when they become ACTIVATED?
END: The Reward
Nearing the end of their Hero’s journey they will leave empowered, getting the support they need to move forward toward their prize.
7. “RETURN” — BRINGING IT HOME
Your customer returns full circle to where they were before. Remind them about this part of the journey. The small vacation they took by visiting your website and being inspired now comes to an abrupt end, and reality hits.
And reality hits HARD.
This is where I emphasize TOGETHERNESS. Business of any kind is lonely, feeling inspired and equipped is good, but it can be fleeting. Ultimately your customer desires support or companionship in their field of work…maybe not 100% of the time, but at the very least, a promise of being there when they need it.
Your business depends on them, and they depend on you. Magic happens when you move forward in the future TOGETHER.
8. “CHANGE” — MASTER OF BOTH WORLDS
This is the final showdown. You see, their business PROBLEM isn’t actually the issue. They went into business to solve BIGGER problems and take on unsurmountable issues in the world.
“The protagonist, on whatever scale, is now a world-altering ninja. They have been to the strange place, they have adapted to it, they have discovered true power and now they are back where they started, forever changed and forever capable of creating change. In a love story, they are able to love. In a Kung Fu story, they’re able to Kung all of the Fu. In a slasher film, they can now slash the slasher.”
— Dan Harmon
Uncovering what your customer’s big hairy goals are just as important to their business problem that you help them to solve. It could be providing clean water in Africa, or helping the elderly play a more enabled role in society, making food more affordable, or something as crazy as taking people into space. Now they might not all be that extreme, but you get the picture.
Your solution can play a big role in this, but ultimately they are the hero who is moving heaven and earth to see their bigger goals accomplished.
Conclusion…
Narrative-based marketing helps you position yourself in a way that makes you more helpful to your customer by empathizing with your audience, which resonates with them and converts like crazy.
Most importantly, it starts you on a journey ALONGSIDE your customer, not just FOR your customer.
