We at Bigger Than Me are very fortunate to be working with some incredible people, NGOs and Brands who have amazing stories to tell.
However, telling stories is one thing but bringing the reader, viewer and or donor to act on that piece of content is something completely different and requires something special.
Bigger Than Me have been telling stories for sometime now and have learnt a few things a long the way.
People are constantly bombarded by noise (bad content) which clogs up their news feed with some sort of agenda, baiting tactic, shock headline or propaganda, added to this, the social networks have their own agendas in terms of the algorithms used to show users content the networks feel users want to see based their interests and on a revenue model which is prioritised.
We get this, its a business after all but when these social networks start to control the news we see it begs the question, “How reliable are these stories and what’s their end game?”
Inbound Marketing is now the new craze and all hinges on the quality of the content to drive users to your digital assets – website, social media, email – database building etc with the intention of bringing the users into “your world” and dazzlingly them with content that works for them so they stay, engage and convert into some sort of action and then of course become your best supporter, telling everyone how awesome “your world” is.
We use it and it works! However it all comes down to the story.
Here are some no-brainer things to consider before anything:
Why are we doing this?
- This seems like a obvious and silly question but its the most important one of all and very often gets lost in the set up of the corporate structure where the head isn’t talking to the body (so to speak) and before you know it you have something that means nothing and doesn’t tick off any marketing objectives
Whose going to read or watch the content?
- Try to put yourself in their (donor, volunteer, shopper) shoes and visualise them watching the video or reading the story. What do you want them to feel?
How are we going to do this?
- Try think of the context in which they will be consuming the content; a millennial will consume content slightly differently to say Gen X’ers in terms of format, platforms and devices.
Always consider the “give a FU£$%K factor”
- While this isn’t a scientific formula, its something we ask ourselves here all the time. Why would I actually give a FU£$%K and take action.
Creating content in the right context
- Its important to create content (Stories – Video, images) that serve the right purpose vs platform vs budget. Getting Steven Spielberg to film and direct your piece of content for use on Facebook doesn’t make sense.
- How long is the content? It’s really important to think this through carefully based on what you creating and where its going to live
- It’s important to decide on the longevity of the content. Most content is very disposable, seen and never thought of again. Creating content with the aim of “re-purposing” or recycling it where possible is always a good strategy and a cost and time saver.
Telling the back story of the story
- We always look at it like this, there is the “surface story” which is important to land context and situation and then there is the “gut story” which puts the reader, viewer in that space and situation – it’s like SPIN Selling but only we call it SPIN Viewing where you create the following scenario:
- S – Create Situation
- P – Highlight Problem
- I – Show the Implication
- N – Show the Need and how they (viewer, reader) can help and become part of the solution easily.
Also read: Storytelling that doesn’t suck: beyond content marketing
Content cause marketing is very powerful and with the right concept, reasons and vision it can be a tool to drive results, effect great impact and build credibility, however in the wrong hands and for the wrong reasons with ego attached to it could be the next Titanic and we all know how that ended.
Here’s an example from one of the pieces created for the Cipla Foundation, featuring their Managing Trustee, Adventurer and all round awesome guy David Grier that highlights their CSR initiatives subtly and tells the human “gut story” as opposed to the “we awesome” story.