There are different types of players in a game with different motivation: <ul><li>The Achiever - the objective is to collect accomplishments among the way and showcase status (10% of people)</li><li>The Explorer - he/she wants to discover and learn new things (10% of people). Likes to gradually discover new areas and skills</li><li>The Socializer - wants to collaborate with others, the objective is to achieve things but not on their own, rather in teams (70-80% of people)</li><li>The Killer - want to see other people lose and he/she winning compared to them (1% of people)</li></ul>

Player-Centered Design

Gamification can boost engagement in a product if tied to the right motivation

What You’ll Learn: The power of gamification and how it can increase user engagement and fulfilment . Why and how gamification is not the same as game design. H...

problemsolving

Problem Solving

business

Business

creativity

Creativity

product

Product & Design

Gamification - How to Create Engaging User Experiences

Dave proposes a 3 stop process to market a company through its founder:<ol><li>Craft a simple authentic & compelling story</li><li>Publish consistently using social media & podcasting</li><li>Creating a feedback loop with other thought leaders</li></ol>The founders are usually lacking the time, but startups who are movements need a leader. So:<ul><li>The founders need to make time</li><li>The marketing team can rally around the founder & do the heavy lifting: planning, editing, publishing, measurement. </li></ul>

3 Steps to begin Founder Led Marketing

In the early days, nobody will be interested in telling your story for you. You, the founder, have to take the lead. You have to think of your company as a media company and become a publisher:<ol><li>Engage on Twitter & LinkedIN</li><li>Start a podcast.</li><li>Be on a constant press tour, by engaging with other thought leaders.</li></ol>Consistency is key: Stick to the niche. Stick to the schedule. You need to do it for at least 6mo before seeing any tangible results.

Become a Publisher

A niche is a specialized segment of the market for a particular kind of product or service. When you have a niche, it means that you have a clear focus on your intended, targeted customer for today. Not the vision of the product you are selling, the product you are selling right now. The niche works best when you create a villain. It gives you a conflict, and allows for conflict resolution. You want your brand’s product or service to be seen as the resolution to that struggle - a hero to save the day.ex: Drift's enemy were website forms.

Focus on a niche & an enemy

Elevator Pitches are too abstract. Try an explainer instead. The goal of the explainer is to get the attention of your potential audience. The format is like this: <ol><li>You know how __________________ (insert the problem or old way of doing things that you aim to change)? </li><li>Instead of __________________ (problem/old way), we have a __________________ (solution/new way). </li><li>We call it __________________ (name of the product or category). </li></ol>Ex: “You know when you go to a website u have to fill out forms to do anything? “Instead of making people jump through hoops, Drift is like having a 24/7 assistant..."

The Explainer

<ul><li>There are two ways to get followers: education & entertainment. Most will try too hard to be entertaining—not a good fit. Instead, focus on education. Any founder can educate. </li><li>Show consistent clarity of thought. </li><li>Compress ideas down. Present in a quick and readable way; remember that everyone is scanning, and you want them to read your material. </li><li>Be a contrarian. Be different. The feed is noisy. Strong opinions stand out. </li><li>Participate in conversations. Comment, ask questions etc</li></ul>

Tips for being a valuable though-leader as a founder

<ul><li>Nothing is more authentic than the voice (and face) of a person. </li><li>The podcast can be the foundation for short form content. One podcast can generate audio snippets, posts or slideshows.</li><li>Can help connect with influencers that will amplify your message</li><li>It can serve as a way to engage the early adopters of your product</li><li>The production of a podcast can be automated so that it scales in terms of production and distribution.</li></ul>

The Power of Podcasts

If you are the founder of a tech startup stop thinking of yourself as the CEO.
Become the CSO, Chief Storytelling Officer.

Getting a startup noticed is hard, as Dave Gerhardt, a marketing specialist who worked at various tech companies, noticed. Nobody wants to hear from yet another company, but the founder could act as the spoke-person, bringing:Trust : People want to buy from people, not faceless companiesExpertise & Content: We all wanna hear from the expertsAuthentic Leadership: The founder should be authentic & interesting individuals.

Founder Led Marketing

The first step is framing the founder’s story. The founder is the leader of this movement, but the story must tie back to the company. Dave recommends answering these stories: <ol><li>What is the founder’s (company's) backstory? </li><li>What’s the problem your business exists to solve?</li><li> Who’s the villain your customers are facing? </li><li>What’s the solution that you offer? </li><li>What are the benefits of using your product? </li><li>What’s life like before and after using your product?</li></ol>

The Founder's Story Kernel

Dave was the CMO for Drift, where he struggled getting attention. He turned to the founder to break through the noise ... 

You're part of an elite group of builders, creators, and innovators who have accomplished something few can claim: you've founded a company. Now the challenge of standing out in the crowd begins-and how you differentiate yourself counts. Building a brand and growing a business can be expensive and time-consuming. But you have a key advantage and secret strategy, one that will set you apart no matter your industry, product, or company size. You have a story, and it's one of your most valuable assets. In Founder Brand, marketing expert Dave Gerhardt reveals how to build your brand by positioning yourself as the story, heart, and soul of your business. This is a tactical guidebook that first shows you how to tell your story, then how to put your story to use as a marketing strategy. You'll learn how social media provides a bridge between you and your customers, the platforms that are appropriate for your business, and how to measure results to truly determine value. This book is the ultimate resource for founders, CEOs, and marketing teams trying to find their company's niche, strategize for the future, and create brand awareness that establishes the credibility and trust your products deserve.

marketingandsales

Marketing & Sales

startup

Startups

books

Books

podcasts

Podcasts

You're part of an elite group of builders, creators, and innovators who have accomplished something few can claim: you've founded a company. Now the challenge of standing out in the crowd begins-and how you differentiate yourself counts. Building a brand and growing a business can be expensive and time-consuming. But you have a key advantage and secret strategy, one that will set you apart no matter your industry, product, or company size. You have a story, and it's one of your most valuable assets. In Founder Brand, marketing expert Dave Gerhardt reveals how to build your brand by positioning yourself as the story, heart, and soul of your business. This is a tactical guidebook that first shows you how to tell your story, then how to put your story to use as a marketing strategy. You'll learn how social media provides a bridge between you and your customers, the platforms that are appropriate for your business, and how to measure results to truly determine value. This book is the ultimate resource for founders, CEOs, and marketing teams trying to find their company's niche, strategize for the future, and create brand awareness that establishes the credibility and trust your products deserve.

Dave Gerhardt

Founder Brand

Most of us are in the business of solving external problems. We provide insurance or clothes or soccer balls. If we own a restaurant, the external problem we solve is hunger. The external problem a plumber fixes might be a leaky pipe, just like a pest-control guy might solve the external problem of termites in the attic.

External Problems

Successful brands, like successful leaders, make it clear what life will look like if somebody engages in their products or services. <ul><li>Nike promised to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete.</li><li>Starbucks offered to inspire and nurture their customers, one cup at a time. </li><li>Men’s Wearhouse promised, “You’ll like the way you look,” and they even guaranteed it.</li></ul>

StoryBrand Principle 7: Articulate Your Benefits

The more simple and predictable the communication, the easier it is for the brain to digest. A story helps because it is a sense-making mechanism.
Essentially, story formulas put everything in order so the brain doesn’t have to work to understand what’s going on.
<ul>
<li>The first mistake brands make is they fail to focus on the aspects of their offer that will help people survive and thrive.</li>
<li>The second mistake brands make is they cause their customers to burn too many calories in an effort to understand their offer.</li>
</ul>

Being Seen, Heard and Understood

A large problem most of our clients face is they want to include three villains and seven external problems and four internal problems, and so on. <ul><li>Stories are best when they are simple and clear. </li><li>We are going to have to make choices.</li></ul>

Too Many Cooks

Starbucks was delivering more value than just coffee; they were delivering a sense of sophistication and enthusiasm about life. They were also offering a place for people to meet in which they could experience affiliation and belonging. Starbucks changed American culture from hanging out in diners and bars to hanging out in a local, Italian-style coffee shop.

The Starbucks Story

Customers should be able to answer these questions within five seconds of looking at our website or marketing material:<ul><li>What do you offer?        </li><li>How will it make my life better?        </li><li>What do I need to do to buy it?</li></ul>

Your Brand Story

Making a purchase is a huge step, especially if our products or services are expensive. What customers are looking for, then, is a clear path we’ve laid out that takes away any confusion they might have about how to do business with us. The StoryBrand tool we will use to create this path is called the plan.

SB7 Framework: The Plan

If we really want our business to grow, we should position our products as the resolution to an external, internal, and philosophical problem and frame the “Buy Now” button as the action a customer must take to create closure in their story.How Tesla Does It:       <ul><li>Villain: Gas guzzling, inferior technology        </li><li>External: I need a car.        </li><li>Internal: I want to be an early adopter of new technology.        </li><li>Philosophical: My choice of car ought to help save the environment.</li></ul>

Identifying The Problems

There are four easy ways to add just the right amount of authority to our marketing:
<ul>
<li>Testimonials</li>
<li>Statistics</li>
<li>Awards</li>
<li>Logos.</li>
</ul>

Brand Authority

What is the chief source of conflict that your products and services defeat? Talk about this villain. The more you talk about the villain, the more people will want a tool to help them defeat the villain.The three levels of problems heroes (and customers) face are: <ul><li>External Problems</li><li>Internal Problems</li><li>Philosophical Problems</li></ul>

The Villain In The Customer Story

The problem is the “hook” of a story, and if we don’t identify our customers’ problems, the story we are telling will fall flat. As soon as the conflict in a story is resolved, audiences stop paying attention.The villain is the number one device storytellers use to give conflict a clear point of focus.The villain doesn’t have to be a person, but without question, it should have personified characteristics.

StoryBrand Principle 2: Solve Internal Problems

<ul><li>Financial Advisor: “A Plan for Your Retirement”         </li><li>College Alumni Association: “Leave a Meaningful Legacy”         </li><li>Fine-Dining Restaurant: “A Meal Everybody Will Remember”         </li><li>Real Estate Agent: “The Home You’ve Dreamed About”         </li><li>Bookstore: “A Story to Get Lost In”         </li><li>Breakfast Bars: “A Healthy Start to Your Day”</li></ul>When you define something your customer wants, the customer is invited to alter their story in your direction. If they see your brand as a trustworthy and reliable guide, they will likely engage.

Storybrand Principle 1: The customer is the hero, not your brand

<ul><li>Inspiration: If an aspect of your brand can offer or be associated with an inspirational feat, open the floodgates. Brands like Red Bull, Harvard Business Review, Under Armour,</li><li>Acceptance: Helping people accept themselves as they are isn’t just a thoughtful thing to do; it’s good marketing. Not unlike the Dove campaign, American Eagle turned heads when they launched their Aerie campaign.</li><li>Transcendence: Brands that invite customers to participate in a larger movement offer a greater, more impactful life along with their products and services.</li></ul>

The Need to Reach Our Potential

<ul><li>The villain should be a root source. Frustration, for example, is not a villain; frustration is what a villain makes us feel. High taxes, rather, are a good example of a villain.        </li><li>The villain should be relatable. When people hear us talk about the villain, they should immediately recognize it as something they disdain.        </li><li>The villain should be singular. One villain is enough. A story with too many villains falls apart for lack of clarity.        </li><li>The villain should be real. Never go down the path of being a fearmonger. There are plenty of actual villains out there to fight. </li></ul>

Four Characteristics of a Good Villain

By limiting our marketing messages to only external problems, we neglect a principle that is costing us thousands and potentially millions of dollars. That principle is this: Companies tend to sell solutions to external problems, but people buy solutions to internal problems.The purpose of an external problem in a story is to manifest an internal problem.

The Market Is In Internal Problems

Direct Calls to Action<ul><li>Order now        </li><li>Call today        </li><li>Schedule an appointment        </li><li>Register today        </li><li>Buy now</li></ul>Transitional Calls to Action<ul><li>Free information</li><li>Create a white paper or free PDF educating customers about your field of expertise.</li><li>Testimonials</li><li>Samples</li><li>Free trial</li></ul>

Direct And Transactional Calls To Action

Brands that position themselves as heroes unknowingly compete with their potential customers.Their subconscious thought pattern goes like this: Oh, this is another hero, like me. I wish I had more time to hear their story, but right now I’m busy looking for a guide.

SB7 Framework: The Guide

Your brand is helping people become better versions of themselves, which is a beautiful thing. You are helping them become wiser, more equipped, more physically fit, more accepted, and more at peace. Like it or not (and we hope you like it), we are all participating in our customers’ transformation, which is exactly what they want us to do.

The Brand Is A Catalyst

The whole point of creating a plan is to alleviate customers’ confusion. Having more than four steps may actually add to, rather than reduce, confusion. The key is to simplify their journey so they are more likely to do business with you.An agreement plan is best understood as a list of agreements you make with your customers to help them overcome their fear of doing business with you.

StoryBrand Principle 4: The Brand With The Plan

<ul><li>Reduced anxiety: For years, brands that sell basic items like dish detergent and glass cleaner have almost comically positioned their products as anti-anxiety medication.</li><li>Reduced workload: Customers who don’t have the right tools must work harder because they are, well, incomplete.</li><li>More time: For many customers, time is the enemy, and if our product can expand time, we’re offering to solve an external problem that is causing internal frustration.</li></ul>

The Need for Something External to Create Completeness

Your customers are bombarded with more than three thousand commercial messages per day, and unless we are bold in our calls to action, we will be ignored. If our calls to action are soft, they will not be noticed.The reality is when we try to sell passively, we communicate a lack of belief in our product. When we don’t ask clearly for the sale, the customer senses weakness. They sense we’re asking for charity rather than to change their lives. Customers aren’t looking for brands that are filled with doubt and want affirmation; they’re looking for brands that have solutions to their problems.

StoryBrand Principle 5: Making Customers Take Action

Place a gap between a character and what they want. Moviegoers pay attention when there’s a story gap because they wonder if and how that gap is going to be closed.When we fail to define something our customer wants, we fail to open a story gap. When we don’t open a story gap in our customers’ mind, they have no motivation to engage us, because there is no question that demands resolution.Once a brand defines what their customer wants, they are often guilty of making the second mistake—what they’ve defined isn’t related to the customer’s sense of survival.

The Story Gap

Once we identify who our customer is, we have to ask ourselves what they want as it relates to our brand. The catalyst for any story is that the hero wants something. The rest of the story is a journey about discovering whether the hero will get what they want.

SB7 Framework: The Character

A one-liner is a new and improved way to answer the question “What do you do?” It’s more than a slogan or tagline; it’s a single statement that helps people realize why they need your products or services.If you use the following four components, you’ll craft a powerful one-liner:        <ul><li>The Character        </li><li>The Problem        </li><li>The Plan        </li><li>The Success</li></ul>

The One Liner For Your Brand

Brands that help customers avoid some kind of negativity in life (and let their customers know what that negativity is) engage customers for the same reason good stories captivate an audience: they define what’s at stake.Everybody wants to be taken somewhere. If we don’t tell people where we’re taking them, they’ll engage another brand.

SB7 Framework: From Failure To Success

If we sell lawn-care products, they’re coming to us because they’re embarrassed about their lawn or they simply don’t have time to do the work. If we sell financial advice, they’re coming to us because they’re worried about their retirement plan. It may not be dramatic like in the movies, but the premise is the same: our customers are in trouble and they need help.Almost all companies try to sell solutions to external problems, but as we unfold the StoryBrand Framework, you’ll see why customers are much more motivated to resolve their inner frustrations.

SB7 Framework: The Problem

<ul><li>Offer access: My wife loves using her Starbucks membership card because it gains her points, which gains her status and the occasional free latte.</li><li>Create scarcity: Offering a limited number of a specific item creates scarcity, and owning something that is scarce is often seen as a status symbol.</li><li>Offer a premium: Most companies earn 70 percent or more of their revenue from a small percentage of their clients.</li><li>Offer identity association: Premium brands like Mercedes and Rolex sell status as much as they do luxury.</li></ul>

Winning Power and Position (The Need for Status)

Brands that don’t warn their customers about what could happen if they don’t buy their products fail to answer the “so what” question every customer is secretly asking.What will the customer lose if they don’t buy our products?What negative consequences are you helping customers avoid? Could customers lose money? Are there health risks if they avoid your services? What about opportunity costs?

StoryBrand Principle 6: Avoiding Failure

The key is to make your company’s message about something that helps the customer survive and to do so in such a way that they can understand it without burning too many calories.What we often call marketing is really just clutter and confusion sprayed all over our websites, e-mails, and commercials. And it’s costing us millions.

Clutter And Confusion Vs Clarity

Here is nearly every story you see or hear in a nutshell: A CHARACTER who wants something encounters a PROBLEM before they can get it. At the peak of their despair, a GUIDE steps into their lives, gives them a PLAN and CALLS THEM TO ACTION. That action helps them avoid FAILURE and ends in a SUCCESS.

The Secret Weapon: The Hero's Story

<ul><li>Either alone or with a team, brainstorm all of the literal and metaphorical villains your brand takes a stand against.        </li><li>Brainstorm the external problems your brand resolves. Is there one that seems to represent the widest swath of products?        </li><li>Brainstorm the internal problem (frustration or doubt) your customers are feeling as it relates to your brand. Is there one that stands out as a universal experience for your customers</li><li>Is your brand part of a larger, more important story? Is there a philosophical wrong your brand stands against?</li></ul>

Making Customers Listen

Remember, the greatest enemy our business faces is the same enemy that good stories face: noise. At no point should we be able to pause a movie and be unable to answer three questions:        <ul><li>What does the hero want?        </li><li>Who or what is opposing the hero getting what she wants?        </li><li>What will the hero’s life look like if she does (or does not) get what she wants?</li></ul>If these three questions can’t be answered within the first fifteen to twenty minutes, the story has already descended into noise and will almost certainly fail at the box office.

The Blockbuster Movie

The fatal mistake some brands make, especially young brands who believe they need to prove themselves, is they position themselves as the hero in the story instead of the guide. A brand that positions itself as the hero is destined to lose.Once we’ve identified our customers’ internal problems, we simply need to let them know we understand and would like to help them find a resolution. Scan your marketing material and make sure you’ve told your customers that you care. Customers won’t know you care until you tell them.

StoryBrand Principle 3: The Guide

A call to action involves communicating a clear and direct step our customer can take to overcome their challenge and return to a peaceful life. Without clear calls to action, people will not engage our brand.

SB7 Framework: The Call To Action

Your customer should be the hero of the story, not your brand. This is the secret every phenomenally successful business understands.

New York Times bestselling author Donald Miller uses the seven universal elements of powerful stories to teach readers how to dramatically improve how they connect with customers and grow their businesses. Donald Miller’s StoryBrand process is a proven solution to the struggle business leaders face when talking about their businesses. This revolutionary method for connecting with customers provides readers with the ultimate competitive advantage, revealing the secret for helping their customers understand the compelling benefits of using their products, ideas, or services. Building a StoryBrand does this by teaching readers the seven universal story points all humans respond to; the real reason customers make purchases; how to simplify a brand message so people understand it; and how to create the most effective messaging for websites, brochures, and social media. Whether you are the marketing director of a multibillion dollar company, the owner of a small business, a politician running for office, or the lead singer of a rock band, Building a StoryBrand will forever transform the way you talk about who you are, what you do, and the unique value you bring to your customers.

Discover the world of business and economics.

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Economics

More than half-a-million business leaders have discovered the power of the StoryBrand Framework, created by New York Times best-selling author and marketing expert Donald Miller. And they are making millions.If you use the wrong words to talk about your product, nobody will buy it. Marketers and business owners struggle to effectively connect with their customers, costing them and their companies millions in lost revenue.In a world filled with constant, on-demand distractions, it has become near-impossible for business owners to effectively cut through the noise to reach their customers, something Donald Miller knows first-hand. In this book, he shares the proven system he has created to help you engage and truly influence customers.The StoryBrand process is a proven solution to the struggle business leaders face when talking about their companies. Without a clear, distinct message, customers will not understand what you can do for them and are unwilling to engage, causing you to lose potential sales, opportunities for customer engagement, and much more.In Building a StoryBrand, Donald Miller teaches marketers and business owners to use the seven universal elements of powerful stories to dramatically improve how they connect with customers and grow their businesses.His proven process has helped thousands of companies engage with their existing customers, giving them the ultimate competitive advantage. Building a StoryBrand does this by teaching you:<ul><li>The seven universal story points all humans respond to;</li><li>The real reason customers make purchases;</li><li>How to simplify a brand message so people understand it; and</li><li>How to create the most effective messaging for websites, brochures, and social media.</li></ul>Whether you are the marketing director of a multibillion-dollar company, the owner of a small business, a politician running for office, or the lead singer of a rock band, Building a StoryBrand will forever transform the way you talk about who you are, what you do, and the unique value you bring to your customers.

Donald "Don" Miller is an American author, public speaker, and business owner. He is the CEO of StoryBrand, a marketing company. He is also an author of personal essays and reflections about faith, God, and self-discovery.

Donald Miller

Building a StoryBrand

To get ideas for gamification you could play some games, be curious how games retain people and what game mechanics were used.At Duolingo, PMs regulary play games just to come up with ideas

Ideas For Gamification

There are 3 leagues: (like in football)<ol><li>Bronze League</li><li>Silver League</li><li>Gold League</li></ol>Users are promoting from lower leagues, this games improved average time spent by ~20%.Some people likes this feature so much that they are trying to cheat.

Game Idea: Leagues

<ol><li>Leaderboards</li><li>Progress bars</li></ol>We have in our nature to complete progress bars or to wish to be ahead of our friends in a game leaderboard.These game dynamics help people stay motivated if the task is too hard (eg. learning).

Best Game Dynamics

At Duolingo, Gamification was the most important engine for growth. People don’t want to learn a language, instead they just want to know it. So Duolingo figured out that with game mechanics on top of basic functionality people are more likely to stay motivated

Crowdsourcing is more than a group of people interested in the same cause, it’s a way to tap skills – and scale – that you don’t have. And when it works, it can be the rocket fuel that launches you to scale further than you could have ever imagined. No one knows this better than Luis von Ahn, founder and CEO of Duolingo. Duolingo is a language app with over 300 million users worldwide, who complete over 7 billion exercises a month. It’s their passion for learning that drives them to create even more content for the app – igniting the rocket fuel that Duolingo needs. Cameo appearance by Elizabeth Sampat (game designer and author). Read a transcript of this interview at: https://mastersofscale.com/luis-von-ahn/Subscribe to the Masters of Scale weekly newsletter at http://eepurl.com/dlirtXSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Crowdsourcing is more than a group of people interested in the same cause, it’s a way to tap skills – and scale – that you don’t have. And when it works, it can be the rocket fuel that launches you to scale further than you could have ever imagined. No one knows this better than Luis von Ahn, founder and CEO of Duolingo. Duolingo is a language app with over 300 million users worldwide, who complete over 7 billion exercises a month. It’s their passion for learning that drives them to create even more content for the app – igniting the rocket fuel that Duolingo needs. Cameo appearance by Elizabeth Sampat (game designer and author). Read a transcript of this interview at: https://mastersofscale.com/luis-von-ahn/Subscribe to the Masters of Scale weekly newsletter: https://mastersofscale.com/subscribeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Award-winning business advice from Silicon Valley and beyond. Iconic CEOs, from Nike to Netflix, Starbucks to Slack, share the strategies that helped them grow from startups into global brands — and to weather crisis when it strikes. Our two formats help tell the complete story of how a business grows, survives and thrives, and the mindsets of growth that keep leaders in the game.On each episode of our classic format, host Reid Hoffman — LinkedIn cofounder, Greylock partner and legendary Silicon Valley investor — proves an unconventional theory about how businesses scale, asking his guests to share their stories of entrepreneurship, leadership, strategy, management, fundraising. You’ll hear the human journey too — failures, setbacks, learnings. From our Rapid Response format, you can expect real-time wisdom from business leaders in fast-changing situations. Hosted by Bob Safian, past editor in chief of Fast Company, these episodes tackle crisis response, rebuilding, diversity & inclusion, leadership change and much more. 

Masters of Scale

62. A masterclass in crowdsourcing, w/Duolingo's Luis von Ahn

Don’t get lost on the details. Too many details and you lose your audience's attention.just remember: <ul><li>You may use the structure of your visuals to tell the viewer what the most important elements of your image or story are </li><li>If you can tell something in ten seconds, don’t use a minute. If you can tell something in 5 seconds, don’t use ten. </li><li>KISSS (Keep It Short and Sweet, Stupid ).</li></ul>

Focus

Share something personal, unique. Share your true story and you’ll be setting yourself apart from all the other brands out there. They can’t share that same story, because they are not you.As a general rule, true stories are powerful, because they’re human; they happened to someone like you and me.

Be personal, be true

If we’re going to use just a few words, we will need to use some shortcuts to better communicate with our audience. Those shortcuts are our context.When it comes to brands, context can be the colors you choose, the Fonts you use, your Instagram filters, or the very types of content you share with your followers. Your context will have to be different if you cater to people in the U.S. versus people in China.

Context Is Everything

We certainly relate better to people than to a brand or business.So don’t tell the story of your business, but the story of the people behind it. You, your employees, your customers.

Show People

Conflict is the force that drives a story. No conflict, no story. Conflict sparks interest.Conflict happens whenever someone wants or needs something and must fight for it. This ‘something’ can be a lot of things: an object, love, survival, etc. If we take this to brand storytelling, customers won’t be interested in your story, if it isn’t relevant to a ‘conflict’ or problem they are struggling with.

Show conflict

Carry a message. Give a lesson. Show or share a stance. Don’t be bland. Every marketing effort carries a message, that of your brand or business.Stories are the same. In fact, when humans started putting together stories, they did it to teach some important life lessons. Entertaining was just a means of teaching that lesson, not the ultimate goal of the story.

Teach something

Talking a lot is boring, but talking a lot about yourself is even more boring.So let the visuals do the talking. Show the benefits of your product, don’t tell people about them. If you can feature someone using your product and service, and having an easier life for it, that will do wonders for your marketing.

Show, don’t tell

Stories flow. Your images need to move. But that doesn’t mean that your image needs to be in fact a video or an animated GIF.There are very boring videos that show no movement at all. Just think of the way a conference talk video used to be, before TED came along. There was no movement, just a still frame of a guy talking. TED changed this and took the world by storm.

Keep Moving!

Be the one brand that always surprises its followers or customers. Use visuals, and storytelling, in a way no one else is doing. Your story, and your name, will stick.

Don’t be obvious

One of the rules of a good story is to take the audience to a hidden place that they don’t get to see everyday.Go behind the scenes, show your customers what they don’t normally see, but let those things be seen through your or your employees’ eyes (which takes us back to the #3 rule: put people at the front).

Reveal hidden things

Last week I told you about the biggest trends in web & graphic design for 2017. I feel that one in particular demands further discussion: Visual Storytelling. Visual storytelling is simply the way…

Gamification - How to Create Engaging User Experiences

Founder Brand

Building a StoryBrand

It's time to
Read like a Pro.

62. A masterclass in crowdsourcing, w/Duolingo's Luis von Ahn

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Gamification - How to Create Engaging User Experiences

Founder Brand

Building a StoryBrand

It's time to Read like a Pro.

62. A masterclass in crowdsourcing, w/Duolingo's Luis von Ahn

CURATED BY

It's time to
Read like a Pro.