I’ve always been a storyteller, so when I started working in digital marketing it seemed natural to connect that way.

After a few years in the industry, I was managing a launch for Gina DeVee’s Coaching Certification Program, The Academy.

Gina asked me to run her Facebook Ads, and while I didn’t know anything about the technical side of ad creation, I said yes. I saw ads on Facebook that were longer than traditional direct response ads, telling stories to drive engagement. I decided to model this style of advertising. It felt more authentic to me than the “click here,” “do this” approach.

For years, Gina had been teaching workshops called “The Esther Experience,” based on Queen Esther from The Bible. Queen Esther was a very unlikely Queen—an ordinary girl of Jewish descent that through a twist of fate became the Queen of Persia.

The story of the “Unlikely Queen” became the brand story I shared over and over again, in different ways, through the copy I wrote into Facebook ads. Each ad led to a congruent story-based video series on the backend.

We sold 150 year-long coaching certification programs to cold traffic (with no sales calls) from these ads. We increased these results again six months later.

I intuitively felt the story did the selling, but I wanted to be sure, so I asked the women who had purchased the program what had made their decision. 90% of the women told me, “I bought the program because I saw myself in the stories on Facebook and in the videos and wanted to be part of it.”

I spent the next two years reverse engineering what that effect so I could teach it to others.

Many of the clients who I have taught what I now call “The Story Funnel” have gotten better results than with other marketing strategies they’ve tried. All of them feel more aligned with their marketing because stories have universal appeal and they are not only non-intrusive, they are inspiring!

If you want deeper connection with your audience, and an increase in ROI, here’s how you can start extracting “story gold” from your brand message to write into your ad copy.

Define your storytelling voice by writing about your core values, your personal why (and global why if it applies) and also the top two or three archetypes you believe best represent your brand.

I use Carl Jung’s system of archetypes for this with all my story clients but you can use any system, there are many! Values, Why and Archetypes work together to create a powerful brand “voice.” Knowing your voice will allow you to be consistent in your storytelling style, which creates trust. An example of a brand voice is “challenging and mavericky with LOVE” or “power tempered with wisdom and clarity.” In Jung’s system, I relate to the Creator archetype, who brings impossible dreams into reality. My clients relate to the Alchemist. They have amazing visions but often struggle to bring them into reality. Do you see the natural need or exchange here?

Once you have taken some time to define who you are as a storyteller, it’s time to look at who your audience is. What are their top three desires? What is the desire under the desire? If they say they want money, they probably want something else, like freedom, or security. Identify those core emotional needs. Also, look at what archetypes most closely represent them.

Now that you have taken time to get clear on your narrative voice, who your clients are are and what they need, you can find the stories that will serve them, empower them and inspire them into action around your brand. I tell my clients stories that illustrate the power of doing, moving through obstacles, discipline and structure. I inspire them through story to do the work it takes to make their vision concrete, so their ideas are relatable and consumable.

This is a very repeatable process that you can use in story based advertising to establish deep connection from the very first point of contact!

Try it and see how it works for you. I believe your engagement will go up and you will see a positive return for your efforts.

http://www.kylieslavik.com

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