We rely on stories to entertain, but too few businesses weave storytelling into their digital content strategy.
That blind spot is your advantage.
Storytelling Creates Conversation Opportunities
Perhaps you manufacture widgets and it’s hard to get clients to see you as a business partner. You’re just the supplier.
But then you gather a couple of testimonials
One shares the story about how one of your clients saved $5,000/month because your less expensive, more durable widgets increased efficiency and decreased costs.
The client funneled the savings into R&D and developed a new, better product for their customers that increased their client base 30% in the first month.
It’s compelling marketing content that facilitates sales
The story overcomes objections (Do your widgets cost less because they don’t perform as well?) while building trust by sharing real client results.
The reader automatically becomes curious about your widgets and start thinking about how they can create similar opportunities for success at their business.
How to Write Content for a Website Using a Story-Based Strategy in 7 Steps
Follow this 7-step framework for writing content for your website and tap into the power of storytelling to capture people at every stage of the buy cycle.
1. Cast your prospects in the starring role
No one wants to be Robin. They want to be Batman.
Give your prospects the lead role. Turn them into the protagonist and keep the focus on them as you create videos, blog posts, solution pages, and guides.
Increase your impact by writing for every phase of the Buyer’s Journey
Where a prospect is in their Buyer’s Journey changes how they interact with the content on your website.
- Someone at the top of the funnel wants to explore all their options.
- At the bottom of the funnel, they’re ready to act.
They have the same problem, and your solution is the answer. What differs is how you present the problem and keep them engaged. Switch up your content and calls to action accordingly.
2. Embrace conflicts
A protagonist trying to overcome a problem drives every plot because a story without conflict is a dull tale that no one reads.
Your target market’s problems are what cause them to seek your solutions. Confront these head on in a way that highlights their issues while making it clear each one is solvable – if they have the right guidance.
3. Enter their lives as a coach and mentor
That “right guidance” comes from you, but there’s a catch.
When you enter the story, you cannot steal the spotlight
Frankly, your prospects aren’t all that interested in you. Yes, your products can help them. But that doesn’t mean they want to read about you. They want to read about themselves.
Your role in the story is to be the coach or mentor figure to your protagonist.
Convey that you understand their aspirations and problems in your content.
4. Paint positive and negative pictures of the future
In your role, you’ll present the potential positive and negative outcomes.
On the positive side, you cover all the benefits of working with you – like the example of the widget maker using a testimonial to craft a story.
Negative consequences occur if they ignore your advice, choose a competitor, or fail to act. Maybe they lose business to an innovative competitor or hire the wrong candidate.
Overhyping success or prophesizing doomsday scenarios damages your credibility
Prospects won’t want to work with you because the content on your site is not believable.
5. Show them the path forward
You’ve told a balanced story of how a person can succeed and what happens when they don’t work with you.
They can visualize themselves in a position of success and know the pitfalls they must avoid.
Now tell them how to get to that promised land with a quick action plan.
Condense down to a few easy steps
3 to 5 steps are the sweet spot because it feels easy and digestible. Here’s how we do it:
6. Make an offer they can’t refuse
No, you’re not giving them a deal or discounting services.
You’re crafting calls to action that are so compelling, your prospects cannot refuse the temptation to click and convert.
Tailor calls to action to the stages of the buyer’s journey
- Point them to related blogs
- Invite them to join you for events and webinars
- Tell them to watch videos
- Create guides, checklists, ebooks, and infographics they can download
- Offer free assessments and consultations
- Share a link where prospects can schedule time with you directly
Do not be generic
You only capture a sliver of interested prospects when your site is filled with easy-to-ignore “Contact Us” or “Download Now” buttons.
Bold, memorable calls to action give people a reason to click.
7. Follow SEO best practices digital content strategy framework
You’re investing in rich web content that addresses every stage of the Buyer’s Journey. It deserves to be discovered by people searching for your services and solutions. That’s only possible if you follow SEO best practices as you develop your pages, articles, guides, infographics, and videos.
Use storytelling elements on every webpage
SEO optimized websites appear more frequently in searches. A prospect who comes to your site from Google can land on any page, so every page must be compelling.
If someone lands on a page that doesn’t include opportunities to engage further, they’ll leave without giving up their contact information or reaching out to you directly.
To maximize the lead generating potential of your website, build storytelling into every page.
Connect Storytelling to Your Digital Content Strategy
Story-based content development is a strategic process. You can’t just fire off anecdotes about clients or fill your site with testimonials and case studies (but both are important!).
A comprehensive digital content strategy connects all the dots
Internal links and calls to action logically move people around your website and through the Buyer’s Journey. All other sales and marketing materials align with the messing you use on webpages. You use different types of content and blog formats to maintain reader interest.
It’s time-consuming and we will do it for you
Talk to us today about how our custom content services keep readers on your site and capture their information so sales can follow up.
