brand

storytelling
guide
what’s your story?
storytelling —
a big opportunity for
content creators
The power of story is measured by its ability to

capture the attention of its audience. Our brains

are hardwired to appreciate compelling narrative.

We desire close, personal bonds and information

about the things that matter to us so we can forge

lasting connections in an ever-changing world.

As a content creator, this superpower can be

leveraged inside of your content marketing efforts.

 build a brand
with storytelling

We as humans crave story, our brains are wired

to collect a series of stories that make up our

memories. Stories are relatable, they are effective,

and they bring people together.

Now add a brand into the mix and that is where

sharing your story can get tricky. Brands are not

human, but they have to connect with humans—

and as marketers, it’s becoming our job to pull the

story out and make brands relatable, authentic,

and more human. And as marketers, it’s our job to

be the storytellers.
 every brand has a story, the
problem is, not every marketer
is a great storyteller. (not yet)

To be a great storyteller you’ll need to clarify the

brand’s message in a way that connects with the

audience. Have you ever watched a commercial

that seemed to be very good, but by the end you

had no clue what they’re selling or how it could

help you? That’s a missed opportunity, which

could have been solved with a crystal clear

message—clear messaging doesn’t confuse.

PRO TIP

When brands simplify their

message, it keeps them focused
on what they do best.
 Captivation
Picture yourself in front of the TV watching your favorite

movie. Your eyes are locked and never leave the screen,

and at times you may not even blink. Why? Because

the art of you’re captivated by the story. Captivating stories

present a problem, solution, and a resolution in a way

storytelling
that captivates its audience. With all the noise and

chatter in the world, everyone is on cognitive overload,

challenging brands and marketers to get creative if they

want to capture the attention of their target audience.

Connection
People are drawn to relatable experiences, either by a personal or close connection to feel what another

person is feeling. Story is a powerful way to connect humans on a deeper level. Especially if you can connect

to an experience, memory or an emotion. One of the most powerful ways to bring people together is if

they’re fighting for the same resolution and invested in the journey. Brands today are connecting with their

audiences on a much deeper level because they are communicating what is important to them, they are
not afraid of standing for what they believe in and it is creating not only a message that resonates but a

bond that connects. Bottom line—humans want to connect with other humans.
tools for effective
storytelling
The type of content shared, how it’s shared,

who receives it, and how it’s received, can

all be properly managed with an effective

content strategy.
Buyer Personas
Understanding who you are talking to, what they care about and the best channel to engage

them are all essential to mapping out the right content strategy. The buyer persona tells the

story of your target audience—who are they? What position do they hold? What are their

goals, challenges, and growth opportunities? How do they consume content? Having these

pre-identified will help you with the direction and flow of your content. Creating content

without a buyer persona is like baking a cake without flour.

Content Creation
Most companies are surprised by how much content they have,

that can be repurposed for marketing. We always start with the

sales team—what questions do they get? Are they answering

via email? If so, you’ve got a great start to your content creation PRO TIP
process. From blog posts, to videos, to e-books—all content
Ask your team to write down
should be geared towards answering questions. Your prospects the top 10 questions they get

are on a journey, this journey includes tasks, and these tasks asked, and how they answer.
This is a quick way to generate
are typically centered around gathering more information to
content that will be helpful to
educate them on what to do next. your prospects and customers.
Content Promotion
Content promotion needs to be organized and planned. Refer

back to your buyer personas and determine what is the best PRO TIP

format to reach them. A good strategy starts with knowing how A content calendar helps track
and where your audience consumes content whether it’s on a organization and provides a
great aerial view of all content
website, social media, radio ads, or TV commercials and provide
assets and channels for the
the content in the best format. week/month/quarter.

Measuring Success
PRO TIP
Content should be evergreen, engaging and updated
A good metric to watch is the
regularly; there’s always room for improvement. Measuring
time a visitor spends on the
page, as it is a good indicator
content effectiveness means you’re checking on your web
if your content is being read. If traffic, engagement, bounce rates, and conversions. You can
your bounce rate is high, take
determine what is working well by talking to your sales team
another look at your page
and make small incremental
about the quality of your leads. With this information, you’ll be
changes until your bounce able to adjust your content strategy effectively.
rate decreases.
Content Strategy
+ Storytelling
We can all agree that a good content strategy

starts with being data-informed. From there, a

plan is crafted that includes choosing consistently

published, relevant content. However, very few

marketers do. When they do, it’s magical.

When people read engaging content that uses

storytelling, it sticks with them and they start to see

themselves within that story—they become invested

in the outcome, and they connect. Compelling,

relevant content will always win because it engages

people and drives them to action.

PRO TIP

Remember when you’re writing

that you are speaking to
humans—not search engines.
Finding a Framework for
Content Strategy + Storytelling
As marketers, we are always looking for ways to push

through the noise and rise above the competition;

competing for the spotlight in a noisy world has become

a real challenge. So, in 2016 we at Media Junction set out

to find a solution to help our clients. As a HubSpot partner

since 2011, we were invested in the Inbound Marketing

methodology; but that only solved half of the equation.

Our quest began after attending WistiaFest 2016 and

hearing Kindra Hall speak about The Irresistible Power of

Strategic Storytelling, the only problem was, we weren’t

great storytellers. In 2019 we were introduced to “Building

a Storybrand”, a book by Donald Miller. After reading

the book, we knew he was on to something. In 2019, 20

individuals from our team attended a two day workshop

and learned the 7 part framework for implementing

effective storytelling into our brand messaging.
what is
storybrand?
StoryBrand, a 7-part framework that is used

by thousands of companies worldwide, helps

companies clarify their messaging; making it

fresh, and easy to understand.

The idea came from an industry expert—Donald

Miller, author of Building a StoryBrand who

developed a framework to share his ideas with

businesses to help them grow. His theory is that

storytelling is effective when the messaging is

clear—in short, simplicity sells.

 Survive + Thrive
As humans, our brains are wired to constantly evaluate

what can help us survive and thrive. If we can’t quickly

determine if something will help us survive and thrive,

the storybrand we throw it aside so we can conserve brain calories.

People don’t buy the best brands and products, they

methodology buy from brands that cut out the clutter, are easy to

understand, and have clear messaging.

Customer-Centric Messaging
StoryBrand invites the customer into the story as the hero. It is better to place your customers into their

success story, instead of being the sole reason for their success story. As a brand you want to share your

story with everyone. Customers fail to see the connection to your brand when we over-communicate.

Instead of over communicating your position, you must position them as the hero in the center.
 storybrand guide vs
storybrand certified agency

A StoryBrand Guide is a person who has become

certified on his or her own, individually. If they

work at an agency, they are typically the only

one who is certified. Soloprenuers, freelancers

or moonlighters are typically best fits for smaller

businesses who have more time than money.

A StoryBrand Certified Agency is typically a larger full-service agency with a well rounded team

of professionals who can support sales & marketing efforts—and most everyone in the agency

should have gone through the same guide certification training. One of the benefits is having a

sales team, a design team, and a marketing team working together to achieve results.
 Combining Inbound Marketing +
Storybrand Frameworks

HubSpot is an all-on-one, inbound marketing, sales, and service tool

focused on helping businesses grow. HubSpot’s software enables

marketers to communicate with their audience in a more human way.

With personalization tools focused on contextual marketing, sales

enablement, and websites that deliver exceptional user experiences, it is

by far the strongest tech stack today for savvy marketers.

software should solve

problems, not create them.

That is why we have partnered with HubSpot to offer our clients best-in-class software to power their

businesses. As a Diamond Partner, we know and all things HubSpot—but we admire them the most for

how flexible the platform is. We were inspired. Introducing flexible agency services—you will love.
 what is
®
hubspot ?
HubSpot is the premiere all-on-one marketing software platform that puts your

customers at center stage. At its core, it features a robust content management system

(CMS) and streamlined customer relationship management (CRM) software. In addition

to the CMS and CRM software, the platform features three Hubs—

The three Hubs combined are called the

Growth Stack. Within each Hub, there are 1. Marketing Hub

m
ar
ice

ke
also three different levels of service you can 2. Sales Hub

rv

tin
se
CMS

g
choose: Free, Professional, or Enterprise. 3. Service Hub

sales
4. CMS Hub

Request a Free Trial at www.freehubspottrial.com

 the agency team
you’ll love

LET US WRITE
YOUR STORYBRAND

Have more questions?

We offer a combination of inbound marketing + storybrand

frameworks, sales enablement, and websites that deliver
exceptional user experiences.

Grab a time on our calendar that works best for you! let’s talk
 1021 Bandana Blvd E. STE 214

St Paul. MN 55108-5111

651.426.8669

www.mediajunction.com

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