The Secret To Content Marketing Success: Storytelling

Marketing is storytelling. Stories help shape beliefs and also help people remember the things you want them to remember. Authentic and compelling stories, told as part of your content marketing strategy, help build a brand.

For example, owners of the iPhone believe that each successive iPhone is much better than the model it replaces, which is not always true. Here’s a short video of Jimmy Kimmel pranking people with what people believe is Apple’s new iPhone (it’s actually the old iPhone). Watch how people react.

Incidentally, if you want to read an excellent book about storytelling, I recommend Seth Godin’s All Marketers Are Liars.

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Stories should be honest and consistent. They should also create characters your audience will like. For example,  “Giving” is a 3-minute commercial video for Thailand mobile phone service provider True Move. The story begins with a young boy caught stealing medicine for his sick mother. A nearby small restaurant owner helps the boy by buying the medicine and also gives the boy soup to take home to his mom. Watch the video to see the story unfold – it’s a powerful and emotional message conveyed in very simple, short video.

Compelling stories can work on their own – without props, dialogue or subtitles. Watch this phenomenal video encouraging people to always wear their seatbelt. How did you feel when the video ended?

Here’s another example: a wonderful video from Chipotle, a popular fast food restaurant known for their organically-farmed meat and produce. How do you feel about the story in this video?