The secret sauce for captivating stories
How can you get the best out of your messaging? Use narrative layers! Don’t know what that is? All will be clear by the time you finish reading this post.
Not all narratives are the same. Different stories serve different purposes. I call them Narrative Layers.
Ideate
A good story, much like an onion, has layers (anyone else remembering that scene from Shrek?).
When creating messages and stories for marketing and comms, we need to look at the bigger picture. Who is this serving? Why do they need this message? How would they communicate this to their friends? An easy way of doing this is using layers. These layers go from simple and direct marketing messages to case studies and research, people’s stories, and finally, a call to action.
“Stories have been told and utilised for centuries, giving people comfort in viewing other relatable stories. They are used in healthcare to tell patient stories because people connect through shared experiences, and communication is at the heart of who we are as human beings. It is our way of exchanging information; it also signifies our symbolic capability.”
- (Rimal, R. Lapinski, MK., 2009).
Simple - By simple, we mean short and to the point. Just a clear message. This could look like a one line piece of text, one emotive image or even the absence of text or imagery altogether, get creative with it!
Direct - Don’t use lots of words, get to your point without the fluff and flowery language. You’re a human conveying something important, quickly, to another human being. Did you know that if you’re trying to convey a message, you usually have less than 8 seconds to grab their attention? You can read more about that here!
Personal - This is where co-design is so important. To make this work, you need to show humanity, your ethics and why what you’re talking about matters. Co-design is a way of doing this to it’s best possible outcome!
Iterate
All of the above is well and good but how do you actually put this into practice? Below is my step-by-step decision / process guide -hope it helps! Think of a page of a website, or of any poster you might have seen. It should have the following elements:
Marketing messages - A clear message that is simple, to the point and gives you an idea of what is the purpose of the message. Maybe you’re trying to fix a problem or offer a solution? Maybe you’re sharing something emotive and important? Whatever you’re sharing, this is your headline.
Campaign message - This gives more depth to your simple marketing message. It’s direct but personal, it conveys importance and personality. It helps anyone viewing it to understand why they should care.
Brand - Ensure your logo, colours, font, imagery all match your brand! Keeping your brand consistent supports brand awareness and also helps people to recognise your messages apart from others.
Case studies and research - Share your story, how and why you’re giving a message. How did you get to your marketing message? This should convey that, video is an excellent way to do this and if you wanted to know how you can do that, check out this blog post I did telling you just that!
People’s stories - This needs to be personal, inclusive and representative of your target audience. Could you show people like those your messages are aimed at? Maybe it’s a picture, or video or even a testimonial.
Call to action - What is it that you want people to do after reading or viewing everything you’ve done above? Keep it simple and direct. You should have convinced them why they should already!
Implement
🧠 Do you know what narrative layers are?
🧠 Do you use narrative layers in your messaging?
🧠 Do you have a secret sauce to your storytelling?