A Novel Approach to Great Content

If I asked you what you thought most people would like to do with five hours of freedom, what would you say? Catch up on The Crown? Play a video game? Go shopping?

Surprisingly, WE’s Stories in Motion research found that in the UK, 36% of Generation Y/Z (people born between 1980s and early 2000s) – those often (wrongly) stereotyped as smartphone addicts who are unable to ‘switch off’ – would rather read a book than browse social media (33%) or play video games (27%).

So what has this offline preference got to do with online content marketing?

Although social media and online communities are important to millennials, offline activity remains a priority. Our research tests the widespread assumption that the younger generation are online-only and teaches marketers a lesson in the value of long-form storytelling.

A tale as old as time

Storytelling has existed for as long as humankind – it has always been our primary method of communication. Noisy, salesy, interruptive marketing in the form of pop-up ads, direct mail and spam on the other hand, has not.

Today, brands vie for consumers’ waning attention spans with bite-sized pieces of content that they hope will provoke a conversion. And yet when conversion is the predictable plot twist in a brand’s content strategy, it turns people off. Why do we read? For escapism. To experience other worlds through unfamiliar settings, storylines and characters that make us reflect on our own lives.

The beauty of books is that they expect nothing of us except to evoke some kind of lasting emotional response. This should be the main aim of content marketing – the business benefits of increased traffic, positive word-of-mouth marketing and improved brand perception will follow.

Audience First

When authors submit proposals, one way of hooking a literary agent is to contextualise their work using comparison: “Readers who loved About a Boy will love this because…” It’s important that early on, long before the manuscript becomes a book, the author knows its audience. This gives the literary agent a sense of its marketability.

So? Literary taste is unique – some people love chick lit, others prefer edge-of-the-seat thrillers. The advantage online content creators and marketers have over first-time authors is that they know exactly what kind of content their audience prefers. They have the social listening tools and traffic metrics to understand what is working and optimise for future success.

Certain brands have different audiences spread across a variety of platforms and channels. In this case, it’s essential to consider the mode of storytelling depending on where each ‘persona’ spends their time. Would a video, infographic, blog post or podcast resonate best?

Stick to your story

No matter how and where you tell your brand story, consistency is key. Authors build loyal followings because readers enjoy their style and this is an example marketers must follow.

Presenting the same tone and voice across all consumer touchpoints, online, offline and internally, is the best way to build brand identity and help audiences develop familiarity with a company.

Know your story inside and out and, most importantly, provide something of value.

Do you remember the last time you read a great book? What was it about it that left such a lasting impression?