How And Why A Complete Story Can Help Marketers Influence Their Readers

The power of narrative in marketing cannot be underestimated. To some, it can even be the sole predictive factor for a successful ads and/or sales.

Many successful marketing campaigns are based by marketers telling a story. A complete story can be an effective bridge that connects the gap between interest and action.

A story should not only be compelling and complete. But also tells a journey in which the readers can follow. It should has a beginning to articulate the importance of a thought, the middle part that moves, and an ending compels action.

The closer the marketing campaign is to a conventional dramatic arc, the more successful it can be.

To captivate the imagination of their audience, a story needs to have a sense of movement developed by a fully-developed arc. So not only a story needs to have a beginning, middle and an end, it also need some transitions in between.

The Beginning: The Start Of A Story

In their earliest form, stories are created to compel actions. They can be epic tales of heroes, the origin of a legend or a simple story of a young little boy. A story is a story, it tells something with a protagonist that plays the role to change something.

In the modern age of technology, storytelling is not at all different. Marketers can use stories to explain who they are and urge people to think about their products. They may use stories to satisfy their readers, or just tell them to do things the marketers want them to do.

Stories have persisted as a favored means of communication for years because they draw on empathy and emotion. This allows the audience to become the characters. This essentially makes stories engaging and relatable - reducing complicated ideas into a sense of movement into a higher state.

A good story should increase the likelihood of interest, comprehension and also retransmission.

For a beginning of a story, marketers should express the protagonist's ascent from a sub-optimal present towards a brighter future. The distance between the present and the future varies and depends on the length and/or complexity of the story, and the message that wants to be delivered.

Above all, a great story should have a goal that demonstrates its value and show how to achieve it. Needless to say, marketing stories should be fast and clear.

The Middle To Emphasize Movement

This is where things happen. The success of a story relies on this part which moves the lower part of the story to a higher state of being or thought. From poor to rich, or from foolish to wise. The middle part of the story should explain how the protagonist manages to achieve the change.

All too often, stories are left incomplete, missing either the beginning or the end. Some may even missed the worse part: the middle.

To make the story complete, it needs two movement: first, the beginning to the middle. This the the first transition. The second is the middle towards the end. This is the second transition.

The two movements and the middle of the story are critical to an effective story, because they permit the audience to draw a trajectory from the lower to the higher state. The "before" and "after" state is to motivate readers.

Usually, the middle of a story offers something that affects the movement. This is the transition between the beginning and the end that creates tension that must be resolved. There should be conflicts that the protagonist should stabilize.

To overcome the conflicts, marketers need to portray the protagonist as someone that wants to achieve a higher state, no matter what. The protagonist should unleash all of his/her might to achieve that higher state. If the change comes too easy, the story would turn dull and somehow boring.

Here, marketers can help the readers to solve some problems they may have. Typically featured by the protagonist, the product marketed is described as a solution to the challenge. Create the movement by inserting unrelated problems (like plot twist in stories) to keep readers engaged.

Do that with aiming positive value to the marketers' brand/product.

The Ending That Compels The Action

Give readers what they want; they deserve it. But make the choice theirs.

In telling a story to the prospect, the marketers are the narrator that holds the mirror to the readers, to show what is and what isn't. And the end of the story should clear any unsolved questions readers may have.

To complete the story, give readers the choice to choose between the past (the state before they read the story), and the present (the state after reading the story). If the marketer succeed, readers should have something to compare with.

The difference between which should compel the prospect to buy. And the end result should be the action they will give towards the brand/product.

Successful stories come from humans thousands of years ago. They should have a start that describes, the movements that move everyone involved, and an end to finish things up. It's the idea that result the action, and there is no better way to pull this out other than putting readers glued to your message.

Further reading: Getting Press Coverage For Your Small Business, And Own The Crowds