The Art Of Storytelling Part 2

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It was a dark and stormy night…

No, thatā€™s not how were going to start, but, admittedly, it has become a bit of a clichĆ© for how some stories begin. I still want to talk about stories and storytelling, but before I go any further, please take three short minutes and watch the video above.

I thought the video would make for an inspiring beginning. A clip from The Last Tycoon starring Robert De Niro, it is one of my favourite clips to illustrate imagination, moviemaking and storytelling.

As you saw, De Niroā€™s character had his guests enthralled with the story he was telling. It was a story that had no ending, yet the audience wanted to know the outcome. De Niroā€™s character left it with them to decide how it should end.

How many of us could have finished the story? How many of us could have started it? Why is storytelling so hard for some?

And if it is so hard for some, then why is storytelling something we hear so much about with respect to social media and content strategy?

The Telling of the Story

I participated on a panel entitled The Art of Storytelling at Podcamp earlier this year discussing which companies were doing it well (e.g. Audi and their super bowl commercial, Prom) and which were not doing it well (e.g. Lincolnā€™s Steer The Script driven by ideas from Jimmy and Twitter).

Most organizations know how to tell their story, but typically they tell it with a sales agenda or they focus on features rather than benefits. In the realm of social media, organizations and individuals need to tell stories that entertain, inform, uplift and even provoke.

Often, it helps if organizations or individuals only tell part of the story and let others carry it further. In some cases, enabling people to tell their own stories can have even more dramatic effects. Intel has recent examples of both.

Intelā€™s Visual Life program told the stories of others. Intel did not talk about what they made, ā€œbut what they made possible.ā€

They shared the story of Scott Schumann, a.k.a. The Sartorialist, who takes pictures of people on the streets of Milan, Paris and New York and shares them with thousands of people every day on his blog. And with the Museum of Me, Intel enabled individuals to create a virtual museum based on their Facebook profile, friends and timeline that you could then move through.

Intel enabled people to create their own stories in a very unique and experiential way.

In both cases, the Intel brand was carried along as many of the different stories were shared across a variety of social media channels. By enabling the stories of others, Intelā€™s story gets told too.

The Participation of Storytellers

Another example of a company enabling storytelling through user-generated content is GoPro.

GoPro Official Website  The World s Most Versatile Camera

Take a look at the videos posted by users on their website. There are plenty of extreme sports examples, but there are also others, like the father teaching his three-year-old son how to surf.

GoPro not only allows users to capture their stories but, in some ways, allows the viewer to be part of the story.

Intel and GoPro created or enabled the creation of engaging content.

Other companies like WestJet and their Winglet WednesdaysĀ ask passengers to take pictures of the wingtip on the staple plane that WestJet uses and share them on Facebook.

This is a subtle way of WestJet getting passengers to show their affinity for their brand and tell some stories about where they are going or where they are coming from.

But storytelling and user-generated content doesnā€™t always have to be about videos or pictures.

Blogs were the first foray into storytelling, and their authors, the users, were the ones telling the stories in simple text. Not all the stories had heroes, villains or a cliff-hanger ending.

Over time, blogs and the concept of storytelling have woven their way into the means by which companies and individuals reach and engage audiences. The stories get read, discussed, debated and, ideally, shared because they strike a chord with the reader: they teach us something, we see ourselves to some degree in them, or see someone we know in them so we share them.

What does storytelling have to do with business and sales? A great deal actually.

Different Sides of the Story

Let me tell you essentially the same story two different ways to make my point.

#1 – Public Perception

A company should focus on good customer service and fixing problems in case someone is treated poorly, then the company will hopefully be able to avoid, or quickly deal with, the mistreated customer sharing their disappointment with friends.

#2 – Private Perception

Recently, I was at conference with 1500+ people in the audience. The MC shared a story with the audience about a retail experience he had had. He was recently married, but before the wedding his bride-to-be had ordered a pair of shoes for him online from one of the oldest and most established shoe retailers in Canada. He received a delivery, but unfortunately what he received was not what his fiancƩe had ordered.

The Groom was savvy about social media and chose to reach out to the retailer via the retailerā€™s branded Twitter account. Sadly, he had to resort to other means of reaching the retailer to fix the situation because they did not respond to his inquiry via Twitter for A MONTH. Thatā€™s right ā€” A MONTH. Would returning a phone call a month later be acceptable? Most would agree that the answer to that question is ā€œno.ā€

He shared his customer service experience with a room filled with 1500+ people and the retailer, mentioned by name, likely had no idea that they were the subjects of a disappointing customer experience.

Now, which version of the story resonated with you? Number two, right?

After all, we have a hero in the everyman sharing his experience, a villain in the retailer, and a story most of us can relate to. The story has more colour, more drama, and more to remember.

So how can organizations be more memorable with their storytelling if so many feel that they donā€™t have stories to tell, or canā€™t tell them very well? I often answer that question by sharing the story of Indium Corporation and how they addressed the issue of content and storytelling.

An Army of Storytellers

I had the good fortune to interview Rick Short from Indium Corporation. His efforts have been covered in books like Content Rules because of the amazing things that he and his colleagues have been able to achieve through blogging, content creation and storytelling.

In speaking with Rick, I learned that Indium Corporation has 70+ keyword-driven blogs written by 10+ staff engineers who write about solder paste and other related topics. You read that correctly ā€” SOLDER PASTE.

Search Results  solder paste

The blogs reach a very specific audience and position the bloggers, and Indium Corporation more broadly, as thought leaders, and this translates into highly qualified leads who are engaged by the content and are easier to close. Rickā€™s motto is ā€œContent to Contact to Cash.ā€

So if you or your organization do not think you have a story to tell or are afraid that you wonā€™t tell it in an engaging way, remember Indium Corporation. If they can make solder paste an engaging and profitable topic to write stories about, you shouldnā€™t have anything to worry about.

If you are still struggling with the idea of telling a story, then, if applicable, think about the time you first met your spouse or significant other and how you have told that story when asked. If you have had years of practice, then you have probably improved the story over time and your own natural inclination to tell the story with passion comes through.

Think about how often we share stories from our youth or how stories are told by groups of friends who shared an experience years ago at school, camping or ā€œthat time whenā€¦.ā€ What about the ever-popular, ā€œYou wonā€™t believe what happened to meā€?

We hear, witness and tell stories every day, from the mundane to the thought-provoking, and some of the sad and funny in between.

In order for us to up our storytelling game in support of our businesses, our marketing efforts, and ultimately our sales, we need to get out of our own way, find new angles and perspectives for talking about who we are and what we do, and more importantly, seek and celebrate the stories of those we have helped and impacted in some memorable way.

As always, I would love to hear your thoughts and comments, and if you have an idea of what the nickel is for Iā€™m all ears.

0 thoughts on “The Art Of Storytelling Part 2

  1. Thanks for the responsive site which enables me to comment whilst waiting 85 minutes in line at Universal Studios with 100 degrees and wilting.
    Storytelling is an amazing art that takes creatives from all disciplines to craft.
    I wrote about Intel and tried its Memory of Me. I also recall shedding tears watching it. I have written about GoPro and saw a guy at Harry Potter yesterday with one ready to use on roller coaster. He could not speak English.
    I do message mapping. It’s not much different than storytelling but it is.
    You guys are the new go to for in depth incite on major marketing topics. TU

  2. Erin F. says:

    I love the “we need to get out of our own way.” I agree. I’ve even used the line to talk about the writing process itself as well as writing for our businesses.
    I also think I need to devote more time here. šŸ™‚

  3. ajenkins says:

    bowden2bowden thx for the RT

  4. hessiej says:

    @ajenkinsĀ When you first introduced Indium Corp. to me, it became a case study that I continue to use in my arsenal to demonstrate the power of social media even for the most complicated and even mundane products. You’re ONLY as boring as you make yourself out to be. Storytelling is a tactic that needs to be woven into any company’s content. If Indium knows how to pull in readers then there is no excuse for any one else out there.

    • ajenkins says:

      hessiejĀ Agreed. Indium is a favourite example of mine as this post proves. If we continue to evangelize their efforts then hopefully more companies will find the courage to at least try. Even that will be a victory!

  5. ArCIntel says:

    joecardillo Ldillonschalk thanks for the mentions guys:) ^HJ

  6. ajenkins says:

    lisahorvat Thanks for sharing. Glad you liked it.

  7. ajenkins says:

    Ldillonschalk Many thanks for sharing and for causing The Art of Storytelling Part 1. Much appreciated.

  8. ajenkins says:

    toddmcphetridge Thanks for getting our work out there. Really appreciate it. bowden2bowden ArCIntel (insight by http://t.co/sDkp0hPLTr)

  9. Lisa Gerber says:

    When I think of good storytellers vs bad storytellers, and I’m thinking from a personal not a corporate standpoint, I’d say self-editing is an important component.Ā UnnecessaryĀ details and a long chronology are boring. Companies MUST have the ability to edit out the stuff their buyers don’t care about.Ā 
    Thank you for the video of the Last Tycoon – I was spellbound. I have to rent that movie. šŸ™‚ and I should spend more time here too. šŸ™‚

  10. ArCIntel says:

    jkjeffcoat thanks Jessica for the mention!

  11. ArCIntel says:

    John_G_Olson thanks for the mention John! Have a great weekend!

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