Creating content for your marketing strategy is good, but you can’t be sure it’s working to bring you patients and clients. You’ve seen a few comments, clicks and shares but nothing like the result you’d hoped for, and you’re wondering what is wrong.-Does this sound familiar? You could miss connecting with your readers, especially if your blog posts read like sales pitches. To achieve success with your content marketing, move away from branded content and embrace true storytelling.
The Soul of Storytelling
People have always loved telling and hearing stories. In the beginning, there were myths and legends, followed by parables, stories that encompassed some lesson. Gradually, this expanded into entertainment, which gave rise to theater and song. Recently, businesses began using storytelling to create awareness of services through the storylines of advertisements.
Commercialization of Content
When advertising became too commercial, marketers devised the advertorial, which combined the principle of promotion with a story to capture the reader’s imagination. As advertorial and printed magazine popularity paled, the Internet gave birth to content marketing, which seeks to tell a story. Today, content is branded, thanks to optimizing for specific keywords to make it searchable.
Coming Back to Stories
Now, we’ve reached the point where we realize that the most powerful stories happen in the minds of our audience. Stories matter because they relate to the human experience, and stories have always been the way we share cumulative wisdom, values, and beliefs. This is also true in professional services, where education and inspiration are equally interesting for readers.
Professional Practice Implementation
How do you implement storytelling in your marketing communications in a way that connects with your audience? Look for stories that resonate and build your message around them. Think about a post about the value of having annual physical examinations. You’ll reach more people opening with the story of Joe, still fishing at 78 because he caught his prostate cancer early through a routine physical, than you will by spouting ‘educational’ information and stats on a specific condition.
People love stories about estates and wills gone bad because someone didn’t talk to a lawyer about how to distribute the money after their death.
Why Do Stories Matter?
You’re probably wondering, “why bother with storytelling?” Clients evaluate people in the professions by much more than the services you provide. Not only does the brand value of your practice count, but the emotions it evokes count, too. The most powerful way to change lives is by uniting what you know with emotion through story.
If you’re creating content as part of your professional practice marketing strategy, make it count. Produce material that creates an emotional connection with clients and patients, and you’ll see results in the traffic and leads you receive.