People like stories and it’s one of the best ways to share or explain something so that people really absorb and understand the point you are trying to make. From a young age, we are introduced to books, films and now games where an engaging plot is essential to keep interest. As we get older, stories don’t fade from our lives, we just find new ways of sharing, expressing and enjoying them that are more suitable. From books and text to films and visual representations to gaming and interaction and even more – adapting this philosophy to the content we produce is also important to keep interest and engagement.
How to tell a story
Sounds simple, right? Any writer will tell you how difficult it is to tell a story, and not just technically, but finding the right way to really make your audience engage with it. Choosing your characters, setting and plot for what can often be a short piece of writing is extremely difficult – no matter how good your writing is technically.
Pictures and visual aids can certainly hep but this requires a different writing style and medium to really be effective. Your audience is important too, as they will expect certain things from you from each piece of content. That’s not to say you can’t, and shouldn’t, try something new but there needs to be a logical progression from what you have been doing to what you want to do so people can adapt and you can see what works and what doesn’t without the shock factor kicking in.
If you think about a work of fiction of a film, then one of the biggest hooks you will find is the unexpected. As long as there is a link to it and people can see how it happened then it will prove to be one of the most effective tools around and the same goes for your content. I’m not saying to make things up to suit your purpose but you have an option to give your audience a better insight into you as a company or brand (not you as a writer) and this can help close the gap between you and encourage better interactions and sales if that’s your goal.
Making it relatable
One thing you must be aware of is repeating yourself. Turning every little piece of news or content into a story is not going to work to your advantage. People like stories, yes, but if you write or make too many you will end up repeating yourself and people will lose interest. Finding that balance is important but if you focus on certain events, pieces of news and “characters” that can change for each piece you can slowly build up a better picture of your brand, product or service that your target audience and market can relate too.
It’s also important to not throw too many stories out there. Mixing up the format and style of your content is good for keeping it fresh and interesting but if it gets predictable then your audience will move on. You need to walk a very fine line in this area but understanding the power of telling a story will give you a huge advantage when it comes to deciding on what your content will be and how to create and share it.
No Comments