“Facts tell, but stories sell.” In a world where most of us are increasingly inundated with statistics, figures in the absence of accompanying narratives become meaningless. For content marketing, as in any other field, the story needs to be memorable to create brand value with customers. Thanks to rapidly growing audio-visual and virtual platforms, marketers face no shortage of opportunities to grab consumer attention. Evidently, single-format storytelling has transformed into a multidimensional format and could change further in the future.

Given the rush of digital content, there aren’t any prizes merely for participation. The goal is to do it right and do it right on time. How then can you expect to hit the sweet spot?

A successful marriage of medium and content demands the effective individual utilisation of both. With the medium, the elements of content – sound and display – become the points of focus.

“I hear and I forget. I see and I remember”

Confucius wasn’t far off. Research indicates that only 10% of content that is heard is retained after three days. Instead, if it is coupled with a pertinent image, 65% of the same data will be committed to memory three days later. Furthermore, Cisco’s Visual Networking Index predicts that 80% of traffic online will comprise videos by 2019.

“Create ideas with an eye to maximising their stickiness”

Chip and Dan Heath’s Made to Stick discusses the major traits that make for an engaging story. The first is to keep it simple. For them, that doesn’t translate into creating ‘sound bites’ but learning to separate what the consumer needs to hear from what will unnecessarily muddle perception. The aim, therefore, is to keep ideas simple yet profound.

The second characteristic is unpredictability. Breaking the mould or throwing up the unexpected will always have an impact. Capitalising on the emotion of surprise (or if the story were different, shock) can heighten focus and catch attention in a sea of unstimulating content. For years, washing powder brands competed over whose product removed stains better. And then came Surf Excel with Daag achhe hain (stains are good).

The third mark to hit is tangibility. The Heath brothers recommend appealing to the senses. People forget numbers but they remember striking imagery. Eventually, those images begin prompting the same desired associations in their mind. Take Fevicol. One of their ads starts with different shots of an overcrowded bus that makes its way through a dusty rural road. Its passengers, some hanging by its sides, sway with the rhythm of the vehicle. The visual evokes bewilderment at the stoic resilience of the rustic Indian traveller. The ad concludes with a shot of Fevicol’s brand image plastered on the rear of the bus. The brilliance of this idea lies in presenting its viewer with a common image, followed by the creation of an unexpected link. The consumer is able to absorb the ad with immediacy due to the combination of familiarity and surprise.

The fourth quality to watch for is reliability. Highlighting statistics or having an expert be the mouthpiece delivering the message can certainly be effective ways to generate credibility in the eyes of the consumers. However, for ideas to be able to boast their own integrity is ideal.

Ronald Reagan’s election campaign threw the question, “Before you vote, ask yourself if you are better off today than you were four years ago.” He could have gone for numbers that put the Democrats in a bad light. Instead, he asked people an honest question for which the likely answer was ‘yes’. Reagan played upon popular nostalgia for the good old days.

The last trait lies in taking an emotional approach. Make people identify with your content. Child Rights and You often features a single child instead of simply throwing statistics on the screen. It appeals to the haves through the plight of the have-nots.

“People don’t buy ‘what’ you do; they buy ‘why’ you do”

Simon Sinek highlights the importance of outlining one’s ideals. This he terms as the ‘why’. He labels it as the innermost layer. The next (outer) layer is the ‘how’ or the USP. The outermost layer, the ‘what’, refers to operational details.

Since it is easiest to answer this circle from the outside-in, most ideating marketers never reach the inside of the circle – that is, the reason behind their pursuit.

Sinek exemplifies this through Apple’s ad pitch: “Everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo, we believe in thinking differently… by making our products beautifully designed, simple to use… we just happen to make great computers. Wanna buy one?”

And there you have the why, the how, and the what – a reversal of the conventional order.

“What stories you tell depends on your current relationship with your audience—where you’re as a couple”

Joe Lazauskas analogises the dynamic association between the marketing funnel and storytelling through a romantic relationship. You start by sharing your common interests and views. Then you talk about the things and people in your life. It is only after a while that you reveal the closer, more intimate details about yourself.

As a content marketer you would take a similar route with your audience. Start by talking about common beliefs. Slowly graduate to discussing customers. And finally, speak of your products and facilities.

So, in what factors does the future of storytelling lie?

1. Before putting out content, make sure you have utilised both visual and auditory elements.
2. Your story should be simple, unexpected, tangible, reliable, and should have an emotional appeal.
3. Outline your motivations and beliefs (the ‘why’) to the customer.
4. Ease the customer into your story through shared views, details about your investors, and only then talk about your product or service details.

As David M Boje, Professor of Management at New Mexico State University, explains: “Stories are not indicators, they ARE the organisation”.