Content marketing tells the story of your brand. You’re building yourself up as an authority in your field, someone your customers can turn to when they are in search of solutions. The content marketing funnel itself is a story. A prospect becomes aware of a problem and seeks out a solution. Then they consider and evaluate all the options they have before them before choosing one and converting to a customer.
What drives good storytelling? What captivates your audience and drives them on through the content marketing funnel? How can the story you tell captivate them?
Of course, everyone loves a good story, and storytelling itself is the best and more effective means of communication. Using storytelling as your tool, you can establish your identity, build trust, share information, and influence opinions.
But what draws someone into the story? What excites them and causes them to delve deeper and deeper into the story that you crafting toward interest in your products and services?
Good storytelling hits the right emotional triggers, as does good marketing. The right emotional cues can attach someone to a story and make them invested in how it turns out. It might be your story, or you might even end up telling a customer their own story but with a happy ending due to how you can help them.
Emotion in B2C
B2C marketing relies heavily upon emotion. Many B2C transactions can occur at the spur of the moment, due to a person is feeling at that time. An updated version of your favorite video game as a youth? A dress that resembles the one you wore to or prom? Your fond memories might make you want to buy things that let you live in nostalgia.
You can’t always know what someone’s memories are, however. Still, does having a fine suit like everyone else downtown seem enticing? Would it make you feel more accepted? Does your gym offer a new kickboxing workout that will change your world? Does your store use paper bags and not plastic and has a stance on helping the environment? And, thus, does shopping there mean you’re playing a small role in helping the environment?
Making someone feel accepted, that they can become a better version of themselves, and contribute to and help save the world. These are all powerful emotional triggers that marketers might avail themselves of when designing their campaigns.
Emotion in B2B
Some might claim that emotion factors less into B2B, but that isn’t true. B2B is about building trust and confidence in your brand. It’s about building a relationship with customers. You are offering solutions to their problems and making their jobs and lives easier. There’s satisfaction in that, for both you and them. Both sides should have a sense of achievement at the end of the transaction. Joy and happiness are the two most powerful emotions. Solving a problem can lead to both.
So, when crafting content, remember that you are always in storytelling mode, and storytelling requires you to always put yourself in your customer’s shoes. What are they feeling? How can you help? And what emotions can you trigger?
Interested in the further possibilities B2B marketing offers? Find out more with “Do More with B2B Content Marketing.”