Jungle Communications

Are you finding it difficult to get your customers to understand what you offer? Is your unclear messaging negatively affecting your conversions? You’re not alone! In the marketing world, we often focus so much on what we want to sell that we forget to tell a story that truly connects with our audience.

We’ve all heard about “storytelling,” but do you really know how to use it correctly to increase your conversions? It’s time to set aside complicated messages and learn how to use storytelling effectively so that your customers not only understand you but feel compelled to buy!

Why is telling a good story so important in marketing?

The term “storytelling” has become a buzzword in marketing and sales circles, but most marketers don’t understand what makes a good story and why stories are so powerful.

Our brains always seek information that can help us survive and thrive. At the same time, they are designed to quickly filter out information we cannot easily understand. For example, imagine you are in a stadium. You probably wouldn’t know how many chairs there are, but you would surely know where to find the exits.

The story you tell and how you tell it matters greatly in today’s environment. According to recent research, the average person receives between 3,000 and 5,000 commercial messages daily. And that’s just commercial messages, not including all the other information competing for our attention!

The right story, told in the right way, presents information in an interesting and memorable way that ultimately moves customers to action.

The 7 Key Elements of Effective Marketing Storytelling

At its simplest, there are seven elements to a good marketing story:

1. What your customer wants
2. The problem your customer is experiencing
3. How you position yourself as the guide
4. The plan you give them
5. The call to action
6. The successful outcome
7. The failure they avoid

These elements, based on the hero’s journey in classic storytelling, will help you tell a clear story about the hero (your customer) who wants something, encounters a problem, meets a guide (your company), receives a plan, is called to action, and experiences stakes in the form of either success or failure.

The beauty of this framework is its flexibility. This “problem, value, stakes, call to action” model can be reduced to fit in 30 seconds or expanded to fill 90 minutes. Regardless of the format, you maintain the same structure and adjust the time or space you devote to each element based on the medium.

How to Use Storytelling in Your Marketing Strategy

#1: Find Your Stages

The first step is identifying where you want to show up in front of new audiences of potential customers—what we call “stages.”

While these places can be literal stages, they also include:

• Podcasts
• Social media platforms
• Conferences
• Blogs
• Professional networks
• Email lists
• Webinars
• YouTube channels
• Sales pages or videos

Map out where you’ll put your efforts into showing up for the next 6 months.

#2: Clarify What Your Customer Wants

Don’t overcomplicate this stage. If you own a lawn care service, your ideal customer wants a nice-looking yard. If you own a software security company, your ideal customer wants to protect their digital assets.

Once you clarify what your ideal customer wants, you can identify the value you will deliver in each space. What they want from you in a reel will differ from what they want from you in an article, and both will differ from what they want from you in a webinar.

Pro Tip: Rank the value assets based on what will be most useful to your customers and what you can create most quickly.

Focus On Your Customer’s Need, Not Yours

One of the most common mistakes companies make is focusing on what they want (leads, sales, etc.) instead of what the customer wants.

When companies focus on telling their own story to achieve their objectives, they position themselves outside the narrative their customers are living. And customers can sense this. They instinctively know the company is simply trying to make a sale rather than helping them reach their goal.

When you focus on working with customers to help them get what they want rather than pushing your product—whether you have that product or not—they begin to trust you as a guide who is there to help them win.

#3: Tell Your Story

Follow this framework to tell marketing stories that position your customer as the hero…

Remember, you’re not actually trying to sell here. You’re trying to name and agitate a problem for which you have a solution. The idea is to give small pieces of the solution away that ultimately lead to a conversion, such as a sale, an email opt-in, etc.

Name the Customer’s External and Internal Problems to Hook Your Customer

If you’re watching a movie and the main character is having a great day, and then they continue to have a great day, that’s a very boring movie.

Stories don’t become interesting or memorable for us until a problem appears. What does that look like for a marketer?

Don’t start by talking about your product. Start by addressing the problems your audience faces to hook them into the story immediately.

There are two types of problems to address:

• External problems are your customers’ tangible challenges—for example, an overgrown lawn or a website that isn’t generating leads.
• Internal problems are the emotional consequences of those external problems—how they make your customers feel.

For example:

“My yard is overgrown” is an external problem. “I’m embarrassed by the state of my yard” is an internal problem.

“87% of businesses are prioritizing the internal implementation of AI over the next 5 years” is an external problem. “If I don’t learn to use AI, I’ll lose my job to someone who can use AI” is an internal problem.

This distinction between external and internal problems is crucial for marketers to understand.

Why? “People often go shopping to pay to solve an external problem, but they make buying decisions to solve an internal problem.”

By naming the external problem and then agitating with the internal problem before transitioning to your solution, you make a customer far more receptive to the value you bring in your message.

Returning to the lawn care service, your opening might be:

“We’re well into spring, and your yard is overgrown. Are you embarrassed by your yard’s lack of curb appeal? Does the thought of tackling those weedy flower beds week after week stress you out? We get it. Grass grows fast, and weeds grow faster. It’s overwhelming.”

Pro Tip: How long should you focus on the problems? Here are some content-specific guidelines:

• For a 30-60-second reel, the first 10 seconds
• For an hour-long keynote, the first 5-10 minutes
• For a half-hour webinar, the first 5 minutes
• For a blog post, the opening paragraphs

Position Your Brand as the Guide With Value to Offer

After establishing the problem, you position yourself as the guide. This section should make up the largest portion of your content. Whether you’re sharing specific tips or broader lessons you’ve learned, the key is to show how your knowledge can help your audience overcome their challenge or reach their goal.

Begin by demonstrating empathy and authority relevant to your customer’s situation.

If the problem is that someone needs to lose 30 pounds, empathy is, “I’ve been in your shoes, and I’ve struggled.” Empathy forges emotional connections. Authority is, “I learned how to lose 30 pounds safely, and I’ve not regained it. Here are three things I learned along the way.”

Present the Stakes

Close by addressing what’s at stake for your audience. In storytelling terms, this means outlining both the potential failure and success:

Failure: What happens if they don’t take your advice or use your solution? How will their problems persist or worsen?

Success: What positive outcomes will they experience if they follow your guidance?

Close With a Clear Call to Action

Finally, tell your audience exactly what to do next:

• Sign up for this
• Buy this
• Schedule a call

Being direct with your call to action isn’t pushy—it’s a service to your audience. They need to know what to do to have a successful ending to their story. “If you shrink in that moment as their guide, you actually are doing them no service.”

Are You Ready to Tell a Story That Connects?

Now that you know the key elements of effective storytelling in marketing, it’s time to apply them to your content strategy. Identify where you want to show up, clarify what your customer wants, name their problems, position yourself as the guide, and present a clear plan with a compelling call to action.

Your story will not only make your message clearer and more memorable, but it will also help establish an emotional connection with your potential customers, ultimately leading to more conversions.

If you need help implementing this storytelling strategy in your business, contact us. Our team of digital marketing experts is ready to help you tell your story in a way that resonates with your audience and drives real results for your business.

What elements of storytelling are you already using in your marketing strategy? Tell us in the comments!