Storytelling Fundamentals & Content Strategy

The Fundamentals of
Storytelling
& Creating a Content Strategy
to Tell Them
brand

Nykea Behiel
Director of Marketing, Rock & Bloom

Marketing is about spreading ideas, and spreading ideas
is the single most important output of our civilization.
Seth Godin

● Fundamentals of Storytelling and Brand
○ Where are you talking?
○ Who are you talking to?
○ How are you delivering your message?
○ Who are you?
○ What stories are you telling?
● Delivering Your Story through Content Marketing
● Free (or cheap!) Tools
Agenda
And their marketing counterparts

What’s the Difference?
Porsche Cayenne vs. VW Touareg

Brown Egg vs. White Egg

PBR vs Blue Ribbon 1844

Van vs. SUV

1. Setting
2. Characters
3. Plot
4. Conflict
5. Theme
6. Story Arc
The Fundamentals of Story
And their marketing counterparts

The setting is the time and location in which your story takes place.
Settings can be very specific, but can also be more broad and
descriptive.
Setting
The Fundamentals of Storytelling
Hogwarts School of
Witchcraft and Wizardry,
1991-1998
A tired cabin in the
woods, nondescript time

Understand the market where you’re conducting business. You can't
be all things to all people. Your field is photography, what is your
niche?
Market
The Fundamentals of Brand Storytelling
Engaged women;
wedding photography
Stay at home moms between the ages
of 26-45 that live within 20 miles of
Saskatoon with a median household
income of greater than $150K/year

Characters are vital to the development of the story; the plot
revolves around them. Central characters almost always include at
least a protagonist and an antagonist, and sometimes a narrator.
Characters

A client coming to you is a
statement about them, not just you

Your stories need to be about someone. They can be about you
and/or your clients. It’s often more effective to tell a compelling
story about the people you help. Possibilities:
Narrator: You
Protagonist: Ideal client
Antagonist: Negative persona
Customer Personas

Customer Personas

Great ways to get started:
● Look at your analytics. Your website and social platforms are a microcosm of who
you are attracting now
● Survey past clients to see why they chose you, what they liked best, etc.
● If possible, survey people who didn’t choose you — why did they go with
someone else? Do they fit your target demo?
● General market research
● Brainstorming your ideal
Customer Personas

Things to consider:
● Background
● Demographic Info
● Identifiers
● Goals
● Challenges
● How I can help to solve their challenges
● Real quotes
● Common objections
● Marketing message that will best resonate
● What do they do before they need you?
● Places they research and content they need
Customer Personas

The plot is the sequence of events that connect the audience to the
protagonist and their ultimate goal.
Plot

The aging patriarch of an organized
crime dynasty transfers control of
his clandestine empire to his
reluctant son.
Plot
Guess the Logline
[Main Character], while not intelligent,
has accidentally been present at many
historic moments, but his true love,
Jenny Curran, eludes him.
The Godfather Forrest Gump

How you plan to achieve your goals. What tactics and mediums will
you use? Where is your core demo?
What are are all the touchpoints you have with customers?
Marketing Strategy &
Customer Journey

Customer Journey

1. Provides a lens for
measuring
sustainable growth

1. Provides a lens for
measuring
sustainable growth
2. Should correlate to
value delivered to
customers

North Star:
# daily active users

Leading
Indicators
That which you can
control.
Easy to influence,
difficult to define
Lagging
Indicators
That which you
ultimately want to
achieve.
Easy to measure,
difficult to influence

The conflict is what drives the story. It’s what creates tension and
builds suspense, which are the elements that make a story
interesting. If there’s no conflict, not only will the audience not care,
but there also won’t be any compelling story to tell.
Conflict
1. Person against person (The
Hunger Games)
2. Person against nature
(Jaws)
3. Person against self (A
Beautiful Mind)
4. Person against society
(The Handmaid’s Tale)
5. Person against the
Supernatural (The War of the
Worlds)
6. Person against technology
(The Matrix)

If you don’t solve a problem, you don’t have a business.
Restaurants solve problems like:
Don’t want to make food
Making a messy kitchen
Lack of expertise
Lack of time
The Problems You Solve

The theme is what the story is really about. It’s the main idea or
underlying meaning. Often, it’s the storyteller’s personal opinion on
the subject matter. A story may have both a major theme and minor
themes.
Theme
One of the main themes in the
Titanic is perseverance

Unless you can pinpoint what makes your business unique in a world
of homogeneous competitors, you cannot target your sales efforts. A
business can peg its USP on one of the Four Ps of marketing: product
characteristics, price structure, placement strategy (location and
distribution) or promotional strategy.
Unique Selling Proposition

For example, Charles Revson, founder of Revlon, always used to say
he sold hope, not makeup. Some airlines sell friendly service, while
others sell on-time service. Neiman Marcus sells luxury, while
Wal-Mart sells bargains.

We’re number two.
We try harder

Melts in your mouth,
not in your hand.

You get fresh, hot pizza
delivered to your door in 30
minutes or less or it's free.

1. Put yourself in your customer's shoes
a. Step back from your daily operations and carefully scrutinize what
your customers really want
2. Know what motivates your customers' behavior and buying decisions
3. Uncover the real reasons customers buy your product instead of a
competitor's
a. Try a survey. Clear your mind of any preconceived ideas about your
product or service and be brutally honest
Identifying Your USP

Brand Archetypes
Archetypes are based on Swiss psychologist Carl Jung’s theory that
humans have a basic tendency to use symbolism to understand
concepts. Jung identified 12 archetypes. Each of these has a
powerful identity. Each archetype has its own set of characteristics,
values, attitudes and behaviors.
The advertising and marketing industry has applied that concept to
create brand archetypes.

Brand Archetypes
The
Innocent
The
Regular
Guy / Gal
The
Hero
The
Outlaw
The
Explorer
The
Creator
The
Ruler
The
Magician
The
Lover
The
Caregiver
The
Jester
The
Sage

Brand Archetypes
The Innocent
Goal: To be happy
Traits: Strives to be good, is pure, young, optimistic, simple, moral,
romantic, loyal
Drawback: Could be naïve or boring
Marketing niche: Companies with strong values, seen as trustworthy,
reliable and honest, associated with morality, good virtues, simplicity, often
nostalgic

Brand Archetypes
The Regular Guy / Gal
Goal: To belong, or connect with others
Traits: Down to earth, supportive, faithful, folksy, person next door,
connects with others
Drawback: Can lack a distinctive identity and blend in too much
Marketing niche: Common touch, solid virtues, gives a sense of belonging

Brand Archetypes
The Hero
Goal: Help to improve the world
Traits: Courageous, bold, honorable, strong, confident, inspirational
Drawback: Can be arrogant or aloof
Marketing niche: Make a positive mark on the world, solve major problems
or enable/inspire others to do so

Brand Archetypes
The Outlaw
Goal: Break the rules and fight authority
Traits: Rebellious, iconoclastic, wild, paving the way for change
Drawback: Could take it too far and be seen in a negative way
Marketing niche: Agent of change, advocate for the disenfranchised, allow
people to vent or break with conventions

Brand Archetypes
The Explorer
Goal: Finds fulfillment through discovery and new experiences
Traits: Restless, adventurous, ambitious, individualistic, independent,
pioneering
Drawback: Might not fit into the mainstream
Marketing niche: Exciting, risk-taking, authentic

Brand Archetypes
The Creator
Goal: Create something with meaning and enduring value
Traits: Creative, imaginative, artistic, inventive, entrepreneur,
non-conformist
Drawback: Could be perfectionistic or impractical
Marketing niche: Visionary, help customers express or create, and foster
their imagination

Brand Archetypes
The Ruler
Goal: Control, create order from chaos
Traits: Leader, responsible, organized, role model, administrator
Drawback: Can lack a common connection, or be too authoritative or
controlling
Marketing niche: Help people become more organized, restore order,
create more stability and security in a chaotic world

Brand Archetypes
The Magician
Goal: Make dreams come true, create something special
Traits: Visionary, charismatic, imaginative, idealistic, spiritual
Drawback: Could take risks that lead to bad outcomes
Marketing niche: Help people transform their world, inspire change,
expand consciousness

Brand Archetypes
The Lover
Goal: Create intimacy, inspire love
Traits: Passionate, sensual, intimate, romantic, warm, committed, idealistic
Drawback: Could be too selfless or not grounded enough
Marketing niche: Help people feel appreciated, belong, connect, enjoy
intimacy, build relationships

Brand Archetypes
The Caregiver
Goal: To care for and protect others
Traits: Caring, maternal, nurturing, selfless, generous, compassionate
Drawback: Being taken advantage of, taken for granted, or exploited
Marketing niche: Help people care for themselves, serve the public through
health care, education or aid programs

Brand Archetypes
The Jester
Goal: To bring joy to the world
Traits: Fun, sense of humor, light-hearted, mischievous, irreverent
Drawback: Could be seen as frivolous or disrespectful
Marketing niche: Help people have a good time or enjoy what they are
doing, allow people to be more impulsive and spontaneous

Brand Archetypes
The Sage
Goal: To help the world gain wisdom and insight
Traits: Knowledgeable, trusted source of information, wisdom and
intelligence, thoughtful, analytical, mentor, guru, advisor
Drawback: Could be overly contemplative or too opinionated
Marketing niche: Help people to better understand the world, provide
practical information and analysis

A strong story plot has a narrative arc that has four required elements of its own.
1. Setup: The world in which the protagonist exists prior to the journey. The setup
usually ends with the conflict being revealed.
2. Rising Tension: The series of obstacles the protagonist must overcome. Each
obstacle is usually more difficult and with higher stakes than the previous one.
3. Climax: The point of highest tension, and the major decisive turning point for the
protagonist.
4. Resolution: The conflict’s conclusion. This is where the protagonist finally
overcomes the conflict, learns to accept it, or is ultimately defeated by it.
Story Arc

● How do you describe your business?
● Can you do it in less than 40 words?
● Would your entire team say it the same way?
● Would your customers say it the same way?
Key Messaging

Story Arc

1. Authenticity
2. Consistency
3. Creativity
4. Relate to your audience
5. Language matters
Telling good stories

Customers may say they want the best product, and
that they want it at the best price. While that is true,
what they want most is authenticity.

From creative excellence to
content excellence

● Consistency builds trust
● Purchasing is more an emotional decision than a practical one —
first contact isn’t always first impression
● Every encounter should count and be positive — website, ads,
social, sales, blog, phone, webinar, etc.
● Consistency makes you recognizable and trustworthy
Provide a consistent customer
experience

Pronouns, assumptions and algorithms
matter

Rewrite a movie plot as a different genre.

A brand doesn’t have a story

You need to tell many hyper
specific stories to stay relevant.

Telling Your Story
Hook Problem Resolution CTA

1. Hook
a. Why should they care? Grab attention right away.
2. Problem
a. Explain the problem you are solving
3. Resolution
a. Explain how you solve that problem
4. CTA
a. At the end of each story should be a call-to-action. On something like an
Instagram post, this can be implicit. On a website or blog, it should be
explicit — likely am actual button
Telling Your Story

What are some of your stories?
Origin Story
Nutcracker Story
Everest Story
Batman Story
Story Arc

1. Setting
2. Characters
3. Plot
4. Conflict
5. Theme
6. Story Arc
The Fundamentals of Brand Story
1. Market
2. Customer Personas & You
3. Marketing Strategy / Customer Journey
4. Problem(s) you Solve
5. USP & Brand Archetype
6. Telling Your Story

Create Content That
Authentically Tells Your Story
Storytelling with Content

Content Marketing
Provide useful,
relevant content
that people come
looking for.

Marketing means buying
your customers
earning
Content

1. Develop a content mission statement
2. Determine capacity, topics and deadlines
3. Define your goals
4. Cadence and platforms
5. Understand your audience/personas
6. Align challenges with content vision
7. Consider SEO
8. Distribution
9. Track metrics
10. Apply data
Creating a content strategy

● Answer these questions:
○ Who is your audience?
○ What kind of content does your audience prefer?
○ What will your content do for that audience?
1. Content mission statement

Company x will create valuable visual, written,
video and audio content for amateur
photographers to help them become proficient
with their gear and take exceptional pictures.
Sample Content Mission
Statement

● Meet with your team regularly to brainstorm ideas
● Determine how much content they can create each week
● Brainstorm audience-centric content
● Set deadlines and publish dates
● Figure out type of post
2. Capacity and content

1. Create affinity for your products, services or brand — brand
awareness
2. To reach new potential customers
3. To retain existing customers
4. Upsell existing customers
5. Something more specific — attend an event, certain sale, etc.
3. Define your goals

Monthly active users
Nights booked
Rides taken
Mesh with your north star

● Research/ask your audience:
○ How often do you want content?
○ How would you prefer to receive it?
○ Where do you want to find it?
○ What do you want to learn about?
4. Cadence and platforms

● Research/ask your audience:
○ Where do you turn for advice on x?
○ What keeps you up at night?
○ How will removing that obstacle make your life easier?
○ Who is your audience? Who is not?
5. Audience and Personas

● How will this piece of content, campaign, etc meet a specific
customer need?
● What specific problem are you solving with this piece of content?
● Where is our customer currently getting this information?
● What is most important to our customer?
● Does this align with our content/company mission?
● Look at other content on the web — what’s good, what’s missing, how
can ours be better? Skyscraper
6. Align Challenges with Vision

Obsess over your customers’ problems,
Not your solutions

1. What keyword(s) are you targeting?
2. How will you get links?
3. Where will this content be hosted?
a. Your own hub or someone else’s?
4. Optimize meta description
5. Use alt tags, image descriptions, keywords in slug, etc
6. Optimize length and keyword density
7. Send to Google for indexing
8. Make your portfolio search friendly
9. Get reviews
7. Consider SEO

● Think of owned, earned and paid channels
● Look for forums, outreach opportunities, social influencers
● Make use of your community
● Tag your clients — use their networks
● Collaborate and co-market
● Where can you post outside of places you house content
8. Distribution

1. Ad networks (ex: Google AdWords)
2. Organic social (ex: LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter)
3. Paid social (ex: Facebook lead cards)
4. SEO
5. Lead nurturing (ex: newsletter)
6. Forums, communities, social bookmarking sites (ex: Digg, reddit,
Inbound.org)
Tactics for distribution

● What's my audience’s desired outcome from our content mission?
● What's a metric that reflects whether or not that has happened?
9. Tracking metrics

● Use data to influence your next pieces of content
● How can I impact that metric with future content?
● Meet regularly to review data
● Brainstorm new ideas together (back to the top!)
10. Applying data

Coschedule headline analyzer tool
Only 62% of
people who click
into an article
end up reading
past the headline

What’s the difference?
-37°C and -38°C

-37°C and -38°C
27°C and 28°C

-37°C and -38°C
27°C and 28°C
3°C and 2 °C

Words are singularly the most powerful force
available to humanity.
Yehuda Berg

Similar to a plot, your story has to have elements that captivate a viewer.
1. Hook
a. Why should they care? Grab attention right away.
2. Problem
a. Explain the problem you are solving
3. Resolution
a. Explain how you solve that problem
4. CTA
a. At the end of each story should be a call-to-action. On something like an
Instagram post, this can be implicit. On a website or blog, it should be
explicit — likely am actual button
Telling Your Story

Storytelling Fundamentals & Content Strategy

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