M a r k e t e r the seven plots all stories must follow
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HOW DOES IT END? The end result of telling a story is to convey a message. If you want your audience to feel something, or take action, keep the ending in mind with every word you write. For instance, if your goal is to tell the story of how your product addressed a business challenge, then the story should end with the customer result, including real ROI numbers, so it’s tangible, believable and honest. WHOSE STORY ARE WE TELLING? As humans and brands, we tend to talk about ourselves; howev- er, storytelling is not the place for this. The more you can tell the stories of others, the more engaging and interesting you’ll become. Telling the stories of customers, partners and employ- ees will get more interest than a story about your brand, because you’re creating a person-to-person connection with your story. Your reader should relate to the story. Make it about them. WHERE DO YOU SOURCE THE STORY? If your story is not about you, then where do you get the infor- mation? The best place to start is with your audience. If you’re telling customer stories, reach out to your customers and ask them to share their stories. Start with those customers that enjoy talking to you. These customers leave product reviews, speak at conferences about you, and answer questions about your product on Twitter. This is your low hanging fruit. Interview and record the conversation. Have a planned list of questions going in, and a transcriber on standby. HOW CAN THE STORY BE SHARED IN OTHER WAYS? Consider how you can slice and dice a story. Start big and broad, with all of your supportive assets driving back to that bigger story. W Give your stories the impact they need by answering these 5 questions STORYTELLING CAN TAKE THE MUNDANE AND MAKE IT INTERESTING Amanda Nelson is Director, Community Marketing at Salesforce. BACK TO CONTENTS PAGE Ads.indd 15 17/05/2018 17:18 BACK TO CONTENTS PAGE S o p h i s t i c a t e d M a r k e t e r 15 The best TED Talks on Storytelling S You can search each of these fascinating storytelling talks by name at www.TED.com, and in the process you’ll find more related inspiration. torytelling is no simple, off-the-peg strategy. As these TED talks reveal, it’s a complex and nuanced art, a fundamen- tal aspect of being human that can drive powerfully positive, or powerfully negative results. Stories engage and inspire, but they also manipu- late and mislead. That’s why learning to challenge the stories you hear can be just as important as learning to tell new ones. Here’s our hand-picked selection of the best TED Talks on stories: why they matter, how to construct better ones and where they might lead us in the future: WHY STORIES MATTER Need convincing about the importance of story- telling for marketers? Try Yuval Noah Harari’s talk, T H E B R I E F Gearoid Buckley explores the best TED insights on the science, meaning and potential of stories What explains the rise of humans? The answer (no prizes for guessing) is stories, but not necessar- ily, the type of stories you’d expect. Harari explains how our ability to create new fictional realities is what separates us from animals, and has given birth to companies, brands, nations, even money. HOW TO TELL A GREAT STORY Much has been written about formulas for the perfect story. Andrew Stanton, the writer behind
and embraces others in a hugely entertaining talk, The clues to a great story, that’s a must for anyone looking to make an audience care. In a world where marketers face intensifying competition for atten- tion, this is an essential guide not only to creating a great story, but making that story count.
Stories have the potential to free our minds, punch holes in preconceptions and generate empathy that crosses nations and cultural boundaries. Unfortunately, that’s not always what happens. In
The danger of a single story, Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie explores how single, dominant, stereotypical stories can be used to reinforce power relationships and disenfranchise whole groups of people. It’s a theme continued by Turkish-born novelist Elif Shafak, in her talk on The politics of fiction. Both of these authors argue passionately against a world with preconceptions about the types of stories different people should tell. As Adichie puts it, stereotypes aren’t wrong, they are just incomplete stories. You won’t change people’s perceptions by conforming to them. THE VALUE OF CHALLENGING THE STORY Malcolm Gladwell’s talk on The unheard story of David and Goliath is not only a brilliant telling of a story you thought you knew, but also a masterclass in looking at established stories from different perspectives. Don’t just accept the narrative around your category. There is often a more unexpected, profound and illuminating story hiding below the surface.
As the media landscape evolves, what new forms will storytelling take? In
artist Scott McCloud shares some fascinating insights on how to evolve storytelling techniques when the creative canvas keeps changing. BACK TO CONTENTS PAGE 16 S o p h i s t i c a t e d M a r k e t e r Andrew Monu grew up on the receiving end of ignorant profiling, and promised himself never to let bias affect his own judgments of people. He explains why that’s such a difficult promise to keep hen I was 19, I was rollerblading in a near-empty car park, practising doing circles and going backwards. That was a big manoeuvre for me back then! I was really starting to get the hang of it when a loud voice broke my concentration. “You there!” It was a woman’s voice coming from the tennis court next to the car park. At first I wasn’t sure that she was addressing me, so I carried on skating. In the corner of my eye, I could see the woman signalling to her tennis partner to halt the game. She was now walking across the tennis court towards me. Her voice became more and more irritable. “Yes, you! You there!” She banged her tennis racket against the mesh fence of the tennis court. “What do you think you’re doing?” At 19, I’d already been subjected to enough ignorant profiling to know what she was getting at. A black kid, especially a young black man, could only have been up to no good, despite every indication to the contrary. I stopped skating and looked up at her. Despite my anger, I somehow managed to stay calm and to keep my voice even. These are the words that came out of my mouth: “I was actually trying to steal your car.” I said, nonchalantly gesturing around the car park. “Which one is it?” The woman was dumbstruck; rooted to the spot like I’d just served an ace down the middle. Take that! I thought. I had said to her face what she was thinking all along. I turned away and carried on skating in the same spot. Now I’d love to tell you that I did a little mic drop and that was the end of it, but that’s not how this story goes. Five minutes later, I was pushed up against the door of a police car with my hands held behind my back by an officer. My guess was that they’d called the police before the woman had even started talking to me. I was angry because this woman simply didn’t see me for who I actually was. I was a studious, hard-working kid, who had never stolen anything. She didn’t ‘see’ me. She didn’t even bother to look. And so she saw something else entirely, a work of fiction based on her own prejudice. I’m telling you this story because of a promise I made to myself. I told myself that I would never be that person at the tennis court. I would never jump to conclusions about people. But twenty years later, I have broken that oath many times over. I carry bias in almost everything that I do. We all do. But the more I work on managing my biases, the better I get. Why am I telling you this? I hope that by admit- ting to my preconceived ideas, I can help others to be more aware of their own, and that’s a vital part of building an inclusive workplace.
I believe strongly in the importance of being yourself at work. It’s non-negotiable. But while it’s important for my personal wellbeing, bringing my true self to work can come at a price for those who work with me. I have bias. Both conscious and unconscious. Whether it’s during that interview where I decided early on that I wasn’t really feeling the candidate. Or how I assume that the middle class, death metal-loving white guy has nothing in common with me.
The more power and influence you have, the more damage your bias can cause. When John Amaechi OBE came to speak at LinkedIn recently about the importance of discussions around race and inclu- sion, he used the funny analogy of how managers are like giants who tower above their employees. The point stayed with me: we must watch where we tread as we will have a lasting impact on our teams - good and bad. WHY BEING CONSCIOUS OF YOUR BIAS IS THE FIRST STEP W T H E B R I E F BACK TO CONTENTS PAGE S o p h i s t i c a t e d M a r k e t e r 17 Stop thinking that this doesn’t apply to you Many of us believe we’re too ‘enlightened’ to be biased. We have travelled, have a diverse group of friends and are liberal at heart. Things like racial, gender or sexuality bias are problems that belong to past generations, right? Sorry, but not true. This isn’t about overt prejudice. It’s about how you inform your decisions, which can be harder to unpick. There are dozens of reasons why I carry bias. It could be my African upbringing, my immigrant experience or my professional life. Here’s an interesting test to see what might be shaping your bias. Write down the 10 friends who you trust the most in the world. And you can’t include family - no cheating. Then break down their key characteristics such as ethnicity, educa- tion level, class, sexuality. When I did this, it opened my eyes. Although I pride myself on the fact that my closest friends are mixed racially and socio-eco- nomically, every one identifies as cisgender and heterosexual. I don’t occupy as diverse a piece of the world as I thought, and I need to change that. Don’t ‘tut’. Pick up the litter around you John Amaechi OBE talks about how tolerating bad behavior is like letting litter build up around the office. He points out how many of us just ‘tut’, when colleagues say inappropriate things about our female, gay, white or black colleagues. Just like litter, we view each instance as ‘too small’ an issue and we let it go. And before we know it, we’re surrounded by it. And that becomes part of our culture.
I’m not saying that bias is good, but denying its existence is so much worse. It gets in the way of meaningful conversations that could lead to better understanding. Acknowledging that you’re not perfect makes you more open to learning. Hopefully, that means that I can feel comfortable telling my white colleague that I don’t appreciate the term ‘colored’ without him thinking that his card is marked and without me feeling like I’m now viewed as someone with a chip on his shoulder. Bias is not someone else’s problem. We all have a role to play to create a more inclusive workplace. That’s why I volunteer as part of Embrace, LinkedIn’s Employee Resource Group. The aim of the group is to overcome unconscious bias and build a sense of belonging by embracing cultural, national and ethnic diversity at every level of our organization. I hope that one day this becomes the new norm and the group becomes redundant. Until then, we have some work to do. Together. “I’M NOT SAYING THAT BIAS IS GOOD, BUT DENYING ITS EXISTENCE IS SO MUCH WORSE” BACK TO CONTENTS PAGE This is a great time for any B2B marketer interested in accessing original thinking and inspiration. Here are 50 blogs that I wouldn’t want to be without: W0RDS BY J ASON MILLER BACK TO CONTENTS PAGE S o p h i s t i c a t e d M a r k e t e r 19 SEO
It’s one of the fastest-moving areas of marketing and a skillset that every marketer needs. These blogs will help to keep you where it’s at on search trends: 1. BLIND FIVE YEAR OLD Blind Five Year Old is an SEO agency and blog run by AJ Kohn. The name comes from a tried-and-tested SEO philos- ophy: treat search engines like they are blind five year-olds. It’s technical but very authoritative and a must-read if you’re passionate about search. http://www.blindfiveyearold.com 2. SEARCH ENGINE JOURNAL Mixing news, tips and tactics, this is applied search marketing wisdom with some great insights for marketers.
Link-building is still a woefully under-appreciated art in SEO and content marketing. Brian Dean’s blog dispenses much-needed, practical wisdom that can make a real differ- ence to your content visibility.
If you’re planning a role for video content in your strategy then you need to follow this blog. It’s where you find the real juice on what works and what doesn’t, in both the technical and the creative sense.
The grand-daddy of all SEO blogs, founded by the legendary Rand Fishkin. It will keep you on top of all the latest develop- ments in search, with plenty of inspiration mixed in. https://moz.com/blog 6. SEARCH ENGINE LAND More news-focused than the other SEO blogs that I follow, this one gives me absolute confidence that I’m on top of everything I need to know. https://searchengineland.com 7. SEO BY THE SEA I think of this as a living encyclopedia of search. It takes a research-led approach to SEO issues as they come up, combing through published material from the search engines to piece together how things actually work.
T H E B R I E F 5 3 I was updating my Feedly RSS feed last month as part of a digital spring clean, and two things struck me: firstly, I follow a lot of creativity and marketing-related blogs; secondly, I wouldn’t want to be without any of them. Here are the 50 that I follow most religiously. I believe any B2B marketer will benefit from making space for them in their feed: BACK TO CONTENTS PAGE 20 S o p h i s t i c a t e d M a r k e t e r Marketing and advertising
From the ups and downs of working with content agencies to the nuts and bolts of building a content calendar, with plenty of top-level tips on formats from podcasts to webinars: this is a feed must-have for content marketers. You’ll find plenty of great in-depth resources too. http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/blog 9. CONVINCE AND CONVERT Jay Baer is one of the most entertaining, original and insightful voices out there on content. His blog stands out for its focus on linking content back to the bottom line. You want evidence, numbers and ROI? This blog will help you deliver them.
Your ‘guide to the social media jungle’ delivers a regular flow of ‘how-to’ posts that answer some of the most pressing practi- cal questions you’re likely to have as a content marketer. https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com 11. MARTECH There’s a great mix of technology-related content on here, including broader issues of how marketing and tech intersect. The real value, though, is in the podcasts: practical insights from real experts on different emerging platforms.
Copyblogger founder Brian Clark is one of the pioneers of B2B content marketing. This blog reflects that legacy: packed with resources (the podcasts are particularly good), but also explor- ing all aspects of what it means to be a content marketer today.
Michael Brenner is the author of The Content Formula and one of the most widely shared thought-leaders on LinkedIn SlideShare, which makes his blog an essential addition to your feed. https://marketinginsidergroup.com/blog 14. MARKETING LAND Broad-ranging, authoritative and current, with around five new posts a day on average: Marketing Land is a great source for the digital marketing news that you won’t necessarily get from the mainstream marketing press. It’s not afraid of a good strong opinion either. https://marketingland.com 15. MARKETINGPROFS Any blog associated with my friend and mentor Ann Handley is guaranteed to deliver smart, alternative opinions that are sharply expressed. The MarketingProfs blog doesn’t disap- point. Add it to your feed and you’ll find a regular stream of alternative perspectives on life as a content marketer. You’ll also get a heads up on MarketingProfs’ new resources (some of the best in the business), as they’re launched. https://www.marketingprofs.com/opinions 16. KISSMETRICS Metrics and analytics remain a blind spot for many content marketing strategies. This blog is on a mission to remedy that. It focuses on the outcomes you need and then works back to explore the techniques that can get you there.
Great name, and a very canny blog approaching internet marketing from an SEO perspective.
It promises “digital marketing news with side of snark” and I honestly can’t think of a better description for what AimClear serves up. It’s a living example of how you can pep up content by stirring a bit of attitude and energy into it.
T H E B R I E F 24 12 BACK TO CONTENTS PAGE S o p h i s t i c a t e d M a r k e t e r 21 19. ADAGE AdAge is still one of marketing’s most authoritative thought-leadership brands, and that’s reflected in the heavy- weight line-up of columnists on this blog. http://adage.com/blogs 20. ADLAND Savvy, smart and plugging you straight into the creative side of marketing: I get a regular top-up of creative inspi- ration from Adland. https://adland.tv 21. ADRANTS Out-there opinions, occasionally off-message, and always interesting whether you agree with them or not: that’s what you get with this blog. http://www.adrants.com 22. OGILVY ON OUR MINDS Tapping you straight into the thinking of a global agency, with perspectives and practical advice from across different markets.
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