Marketing Trends for 2022 (and how last year’s predictions have held up)

For the past 5 years, we have published a marketing trend report each January to see what is coming up. But not only that, we also look back on the past year’s predictions and see how those have held up. We rely on reports, analysis, and stats issued by market research and large marketing companies, and the experience we and our peers have had. Influencer marketing, AV, VR, email markeitng, video, audio content, events, and many other trends discussed below.

Reading time: as long as you read 2,267 words

Full disclosure: I’m not God, nor a magician, so I can’t see the future. But it’s a good idea to see how people behave and try to make some intelligent guesses.

Last year prediction: The rise of on-demand content

✅ Confirmed: Customers are used to being in control

During the pandemic, academic and business education institutions switched to online or blended learning, which resulted in a massive quantity of on-demand content. This, combined with the rise of streaming services, Youtube, and podcasts, led to people being used to being in control: use content when they want, and skip ads if they want.

The huge supply goes along with an increased overwhelm (have you ever stared at Netflix not knowing what to choose?).

It’s a good idea to guide users with recommendations on what to do next based on their previous behaviour and/or what is trending and viewed by others.

Gamification elements like quizzes and rewards when completing certain stages in education-led content – like Duolingo or LinkedIn Learning – help users keep focused, motivated, and follow a trail. Even better if we incentivize them to share their achievements.

On-demand content usage gives a very wide variety of data to providers about what, how, and when people view, opening the door to more personalised content with higher engagement.

Kantar predicts that ‘transparency in video on-demand viewership will transform media’s most dynamic market, as more actual video on-demand watching data at a program level are available.’

Video is an even bigger king than before

Video will continue to be the leading content marketing format. It was the most effective marketing format in HubSpot’s 2021 Not Another State of Marketing Report. That hasn’t changed this year, according to their poll, where it ranks first among the most effective content techniques, ahead of blogging and even email marketing.

As Tik Tok overtakes Google as the most visited site, and Instagram puts more focus on reel videos, short-form video format is going to stay an increasing trend this year (while long-form content continues to be trending). According to the HubSpot survey, ‘more than 31% of global marketers currently invest in short-form video content, 46% of them consider the strategy effective when it comes to performance and engagement. And, in 2022, 89% of global marketers plan to continue investing in it or increase their investment.’

Last year prediction: Storytelling will be increasingly used in social media

✅ Confirmed: LinkedIn gives priority to story-led content

We analysed 1,000 posts over the past six months, and when ranking them, the ones with the highest number of likes and comments include storytelling (Many of them not even business-related, like being free of drug or alcohol for a while or recovering from a lethal illness.)

We also tested it over 12 months by publishing a strongly story-led post each month (with business relevance), posting it in the least favourable time. Each time we noticed that LinkedIn distributes it massively: views increased rapidly even when the post was liked only by a few people, and we always got many 2nd and 3rd-grade connections commenting.

While there’s an increasing concern that ‘LinkedIn becomes Facebook’, with all the personal content, it’s a great opportunity to connect with the audience publishing story-led content with business relevance.

Case studies rock

One specific form of storytelling, case studies are still underused, while these are proven to generate leads and increase credibility. This is the story of the client who faces a problem, which is solved by the provider and results in a happy ending, a great outcome for the client. This is the number one demonstration tool over any description when selling solutions in both B2C and B2B marketing.

Case studies can take the form of a video, text, photos, pdf, ebook, and can be advertised in PPC, this way when a potential client is looking for a solution will find a story about somebody who was in their shoes and can see how their problem was solved.

According to the HubSpot poll, 64% of marketers who used case studies found them to be effective, and 15% claimed they provided the best return on investment of all the content types they used.

Last year prediction: Clubhouse is rocketing

❌ Failed: Clubhouse is dying

You probably remember the Clubhouse hype a year ago. The app was downloaded 9.2 million times in February, huge groups grew out of nothing, even Elon Musk appeared, and it seemed to be fun.

We had an 8-week experiment with Joyce Ong, called Clubhouse Marketing Mondays, which was really fun. But then the world opened up, and Clubhouse downloads fall by cc 90% (900.000 in June, which, considering the enormous investment in it was not fun to hear.)

The reason for the plunge could have been the fact that social media platforms like Facebook, Spotify, Twitter launched their own audio-based platforms, and Clubhouse was not very inclusive, neither transparent, very frequently changing the rules.

Audio-based content, however, keeps striving in 2022. Over the past decade, podcasts have become one of the most popular forms of (audio) entertainment in the UK. While podcast reach and consumption are as high as ever. According to a report by Statista, as of 2020, there were over 15 million podcast listeners in the United Kingdom (UK). The audience is growing steadily as the popularity of podcasts increases, with forecasts predicting close to 20 million listeners by 2024.

We launched our podcast called ConvertX radio in September 2021, and have great plans for 2022, including an interview series on what business leaders read.

Last year prediction: influencers are becoming an important part of the marketing mix

✅ Confirmed: 34% of global marketing professionals put influencer marketing at the top of their list

Influencer marketing is more settled now than a few years ago, and both influencers and marketers understand its principles. It’s a very easy-to-measure tool with a great ROI. Brands can save time on building and nurturing a committed audience and this is why they are ready to pay its price.

Influencers can grow very fast if they do it well, 16-year-old Ishaan Bhimjiyani grew a follower base of over 150,000 in 6 months on TikTok with his tips on exam revisions and could even build a business around that.

According to the HubSpot survey, 34% of global marketing professionals who answered said that they invest in influencer marketing in 2022, putting it at the top of the list – above other trends like mobile web design and short-form video marketing.

‘While 57% of marketing professionals that currently leverage influencer marketing say it’s effective, 46% of them plan to increase their investments in 2022. Additionally, 11% say it’s the top ROI-generating trend they’ve tested.’ – says the report.

Last year prediction: Email marketing will live forever

✅ Confirmed: Email marketing will live forever

Email marketing is 40x more effective in terms of return than social media. Paid ads have a much higher return combined with email marketing (when you advertise the lead magnet and give a signup option for a discount coupon in eCommerce.)

Even LinkedIn rolled out their ‘Newsletter’ feature, which is not technically a newsletter, only an article your audience is notified about. It’s still a good idea to use it, but remember to build your own audience and email marketing.

We have been sending our Marketing Love Letters almost every week in 2021 with a very minimal number of unsubscribers (1-2 per email), and over 60% opening rates. This is our second most profitable source of new business after networking.

Last year prediction: hybrid events will repace online only or offline only events

❓Mixed: Marketers invest less in online or hybrid events

It really depends on where you stand. Obviously, hybrid event platforms say it’s blooming, but frankly, after the initial buzz, I haven’t seen any memorable solutions for a hybrid event in practice.

What I experienced was a huge hunger for in-person events, people were happy to go back to these.

When it’s purely about education, it can work, but even my students at London Markeitng Club and Northumbria University reported that in-person learning is so much more effective.

The HubSpot survey seems to reinforce the above: in 2021, 51% of marketers planned to invest in virtual events. However, 17% of these marketers expect to cut back on their spending in 2022.

In spite of the ongoing uncertainty around in-person events due to the ever-changing Covid restrictions, the importance of perfectly niched events will increase. A niche could be the industry, like Hexagon (mainly lawyers), or LPNE (language professionals), area (like Westminster Business Council), or core values like Business Leaders’ Family, or London Marketing Club (sharing knowledge, helping first.)

With London Marketing Club we have a plan to bring together highly recognised people at unique venues to make memorable introductions.

Especially that ABM (account-based marketing) is becoming more of the focus of B2B companies, tailoring marketing materials on each prospect rather than mass-promoting them.

‘In 2022, 33% of marketers who haven’t used it before aim to do so for the first time.’ – says the HubSpot survey reports, which makes it a good idea for marketing agencies to offer as a service.

Last year prediction: 2021 might be the last full year of third-party cookies

❌ Failed: the death of cookies was postponed to mid-2023 at the earliest.

It seems like companies are too comfortable to act before it’s necessary. It is crucial, however, as ‘the search for high-quality data will be the fastest-growing challenge for marketers in 2022, resulting in a renewed sense of value and urgency.

Those who have bold data plans will be ahead of the game. To make the most of and experiment with their own ‘first-party’ data, brands will focus on direct customer relationships.’ – says the Kantar report.

This will require expertise beyond marketing, and successful companies have to hire or consult a Chief Data Officer or data expert.

Companies will also spend more on brand awareness and customer relationships apart from performance marketing.

Always on the menu: AR and VR

AR (augmented reality) and VR (virtual reality) are constant members of the past years’ trend reports. Some companies have implemented these successfully, with Zellebrate among them. The app, developed by Adamapp, displays relevant options based on the product a user wants and the best possible options available in the market to address that requirement without the biases of paid rankings.

I’m still waiting for the big breakthrough though: ‘in 2021, only 35% of marketers planned to use augmented reality or virtual reality in their campaigns. In 2022, 9 percent of marketers who didn’t use AR or VR before will do so for the first time in 2022.’ – according to the HubSpot survey.

Metaverse could be the key to that breakthrough. It is a digitized version of the physical world that revolves around the idea of being virtually presented in a digital representation. Metaverse has recently been adopted by the gaming industry and has brought revolutionary changes when it comes to marketing through the metaverse as the younger generation is more familiar and thus, comfortable with the concept they have experienced in virtual life.

Author: Timea Kadar, marketing strategist, research done by Faisal Hafiz.

References:

Kantar, n.d. About Kantar.

Raj, R., 2021. The Media Trends and Predictions 2022 by Kantar.

TheBrandBerries, 2021. Kantar’s Media Trends And Predictions 2022.

Yahoo Finance, 2022. Kantar’s five media trends & predictions that will shape 2022: content will be king.

Bump, P., 2021. The Marketing Trends of 2022 [The Ultimate Guide].

MarketScreener, 2021. HubSpot : The Marketing Trends of 2022.

Iskiev, M., 2021. The HubSpot Blog’s 2022 Marketing Industry Trends Report: Data from 1,000+ Global Marketer.

Mintel News, 2021. [PODCAST] SEASON FINALE: A FESTIVE LOOK BACK AND LOOK AHEAD. [

Mintel Blog, 2022. About Mintel. Available at: <https://www.mintel.com/about-mintel> [Accessed 10 January 2022].

Mintel Reports, 2021. Mintel Premium.

Mintel, 2022. 2022 Global Consumer Trends.

Statista Research Department, 3 May 2021

P as Placement of Marketing Mix: how your clients access your product

Placement is often underrated in the Marketing Mix, and still, it’s a very important one. It describes the process of how your clients access your products and services. Finding out the right placements, and experimenting with new ones can help you reach out to new audiences, and maximise profits.

We’ll cover the below placement structures:

Manufacturer (product or service)
Distributor
Aggregator
Franchise
Bricks and mortar
Bricks and clicks
Nickel and dime
MLM
Consultant, trainer
Software as a Service (SaaS)
Membership
Affiliate

Listen to the episode below:

Writing for social media

Writing for social media: everyone does it, right? But when you do it as a business, it’s a little bit more complicated than just posting something that I like. In the business world, writing for social media doesn’t only mean sharing stuff, but also networking with clients, potential clients, partners, and potential partners, with the purpose of eventually making business. (You can find the video version os the article at the bottom of the page.)

This may take talent, creativity, focus and a deep understanding of your audience. Every social post you publish reflects on your brand and that’s why it’s important to write well on social media. You need to be able to cram as much value into as few words as possible. You also have to be consistent and engaging at all times.

So, the question is, how to do that?

In this blog post, I will deal with some concepts to keep in mind when you write on social media. I will talk about

the types of reader personas,
the variety of posts,
which type of leader you could be,
the structure of a post, and, finally,
I will show you what a content cube is.

No worries if it sounds harder than you thought, with a little practice and paying attention to the right stuff you will be great! Reading these clarifications and tips, you will be amazed at how much more confident you will be and how clearer and more effective you’ll write.

Let’s get started!

Obviously to your buyer personas; to the ideal person, you would like to read your post. In this case I am referring to a reader avatar and what you have to do is to imagine what that reader thinks while they are reading your posts.

Nevertheless, I would like to share with you four specific categories who you should talk to when you are writing on social media:

Clients: those with whom you have already built a relationship. You should help them understand your services better, suggest which product suits them better, share insights and make them feel good for having chosen your company. 9This also helps them bring you referrals.)

Prospective clients: people who are interested in your service. Prospective clients really want something that you offer, but they are on the fence. That’s why, in this case, you should help them make their decision through your posts. But what can you write about? Talk about your background and philosophy, post about what to consider, what mistakes they could make, and about the processes in the industry. These posts help a lot because if your customers see that you are open, trustworthy, and honest they will be more likely to choose you.

People who are not aware of the problem: those who could be great prospective clients. Through your article they will find out exactly what they need, so you have to help them recognise the problem. In this case you can use different tools like listicles or case studies in which you show what the original problem was, how you solved it and what the transformation/result was.

People who are resistant to what you offer, but they would need it. They might have had a bad experience with a competitor of yours and lost trust. In this case, help them understand better because they might have misbeliefs. Moreover through the stories of your company, people can see how you manage problems, mistakes and bad experiences.

Smart tip: have a really balanced content writing strategy! The beauty is that whatever you write to any of the categories it will be well received also by the others.

The next step is to use a variety of content categories:

Educative content pieces are always a good choice because this is how people will see your expertise after reading your posts.

Entertainment really works! Enrich your posts using interesting quotes, curiosities and news. Don’t forget to have fun; if you work with passion it will be noticed and results will arrive!

Mission-based posts Stories, interviews, and “behind the scenes” content pieces are powerful weapons. Exciting facts about your company, but also about clients, your team, your products, partners, and so on, are really appreciated by your readers because these make you unique.

Customers’ stories: Remember that it is not about your previous customers or about your company, but prospective clients have to see themselves there. How? Using case studies and, above all, testimonials.

Or, better, what readers want to read about?

In order to discover that you can choose one of these two solutions: you can simply ask them or you can use a couple of platforms. Personally, I recommend tools like Buzzsumo; useful to identify what people read about a specific topic or keyword, Quora; which allows you to find out which are the most asked questions about a specific agent, and AnswerThePublic.

Since I am talking about questions: How can I become a thought leader?

Daredevil , mentor, guru, geek and helper are all different profiles of leaders; but each of them have the same goal: to be unique and to have their voice. Writing information that everybody says doesn’t work. You have always to formulate your own opinion and thoughts talking about, for example, dishonest competitors, clients’ misbehaviours and misunderstanding, anomalies, frauds and frustrations in the industry.

Let’s understand better which leader’s type you can be:

The Daredevil is always there; it is a very outspoken person with a very strong opinion.
The Mentor helps you doing something by supporting you as much as possible
The Guru is very popular and gives you a lot of motivation
The Geek focuses on processes, theory, tools and rules
The Helper, finally, helps you do your stuff or solve a problem

Choosing the right leader’s type comes, obviously, from your personality, don’t try to be someone you are not.

Smart tip: You can also have a combination of those

Again, excitement is essential. So, don’t worry about the length, but rather about the excitement.

I really recommend you to start with titles, headlines or first sentences just because people use to scroll pages and having reference points allows your readers not to get lost among information and posts. You can also use subheadlines and very short blocks; this will really facilitate the reading.

Remember to put things into context: what you are talking about and why has always to be clear.

Here too emotions are really important. They could be positive or negative, it doesn’t matter, what counts is that you don’t have to be afraid of evoking some strong emotion in your readers; they will be very impressed!

Finally, don’t forget to close your post with a call-to-action or a question. This will help your reader to get involved by doing something, reading more, answering or getting in touch with you.

Scheduling: use a Content cube!

This method is really useful to plan your content strategies and calendar. In this cube, you will put different types of content (education, story, offer, testimonial) and tools like texts, photos, videos, or slides. By using this technique it will be easier to avoid repetitive posts and to decide which tools will suit better with a specific content and platform.

Smart tip: Reusing contents is not forbidden, do it!

And that’s it! I am completely aware of the fact that the world of social media is massive and looks like it requires a range of skills. Becoming a great and successful social media content writer may take time, but I am really confident that with a little practice you will surely achieve your goals.

The article is based on the below video, you can watch it now.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

This article was written by the Francis Cooper team based on 21 years of experience in marketing and copywriting. If you’d like to practice the above at a copywriting workshop, and write your own high-converting landing pages, email tk@franciscooper.com.

How to convert more clients at the first consultation? The magic staircase

Convert more clients

Build a brilliant product staircase for your business

Does it ever happen to you that you had a nice consultation with a client, you spent some time with them but they didn’t sign up for your services or products? There could have been several reasons why they didn’t sign up. They might have not been ready to buy your full service or product yet. They might have not been aware of the problem that you’re solving. They might have not been at the same stage as you are. At this point, a product staircase could come into the picture.

In this blog post, I’ll show you the product staircase. What it is and how to build one for your business. (See my video about the topic below the article).

Basically what you do in business or in marketing is that you take the prospective client by the hand, at the bottom of the staircase and you walk them up, step by step to the top which is the point you are making the profit, making them a happy customer. There is not just one grade in the stairs but there are several. You have to take every single one of them seriously.

So we are starting from the bottom of the stairs;

Awareness

This is the stage where you have to make them aware of the fact that you are actually. If you tell them to buy something at this stage, the response will probably be “No thanks.” You usually need a cheaper entry-level product or even better, something for free. This is the stage that those products will be webinars, PDFs, events on one niche area. A service which will give them a taste of what you do. But be careful, this is not a simplified or poorer version of what you do. This should give them a high value. They should see this: Even for the free product, you are giving them something valuable. What is good with webinars and publishing a book, is that you can talk to groups easily. It’s very easy for them to step up at this stage. If they don’t sign up, and this may happen, it means that they don’t really need it, so no worries.

Consideration

Now, they have seen what you can do, they have seen the problems and their solving, your service. This is the stage where they are not fully committed to buying your service but getting familiar with it. If you offer them something that would be so easy to buy, like free trials, you can give them something to say “Yes” easily. At this stage, your product is an entry product so make sure to keep the price low. Also, keep this in mind, they can easily refer you at this stage. Which is a perfect advantage for your business.

Purchase

By this stage they will understand what you do, understand how you are different so they won’t ask you the price-related questions because they already know the answer. They can see the value you are offering to them. It means that it is time for the core product. Complex and profitable.

Advocacy

Ok, they are now clients. Many clients will want to buy more from you, be a VIP or premium version of what you do. Create a product just for them. We would like to call this a premium product, with the highest profit. Around 20-30% of your clients will be ready to step up. You can give them even better service or something extra and they will pay you more.

What are the common mistakes?

So the fact is, many businesses make the mistake of not having Awareness and Consideration stage, which means the clients are not ready to jump up to the Purchase stage. They will lose clients and generally, the lost-clients will directly go to the competitor. Skipping the Advocacy stage is also a common mistake. Many of the businesses don’t have premium products. Therefore, make sure to have all these stages. One step further is a membership. One step further is a client. One step further is the highest profit. Never think you don’t need it. You need all these steps.

Pricing?

Once you are ready with these stages then you think of the pricing and products. Marketing doesn’t start with communication. It starts with the right product staircase, then communication. So it’s time for organic and paid commercials. Don’t be mislead, even if your product is a service you should be able to productise what you offer. Think of your product staircase, how you can meet your prospective client at where they are at not where you are. Think with their heads and you will get this done!

This article was written by Timea Kadar, Chief Marketing Strategist of Francis Cooper based on the thoughts of other professionals duly quoted. Timea has 21 years of experience in marketing working as a marketing lead at large corporations and a marketing mentor at smaller ventures and start-ups. If you’d like to know the marketing strategies for your business, contact her at tk@franciscooper.com

Four steps on how to book high-profile people to be your clients, speakers, partners

Book high-profile people

To be your clients, speakers, partners

In this blog post, we are going to touch these points:

What you can achieve by booking high-profile people
The method I used to get in touch with Apple, Tesla, Forbes, Economist
The four steps of the process

Watch my 40-min talk on the subject here. (You can read an extract below the video.)

What can you achieve?

Clients

You can have clients; big clients at big companies. London Marketing Academy is an example for them. I reached out to them, I didn’t sit and wait for them to reach out to me.

Partnerships

I had events with the London Marketing Club at Apple, Tesla and Hay Hills. I didn’t pay for these events it was a partnership and it was a perfect experience.

Speakers

I had fantastic speakers from Adidas, Google, Uber.

Press

Yes, you can also get into the press even if you don’t pay them or if you don’t have a PR. If you have a good story it means you can be published in the press. I or my clients were published in Forbes and Economist.

The four steps of the process

Mindset
Preparation
Contact
Follow up

Mindset

Without the right mindset, it won’t happen. Never forget this: as human beings we are equal. Some of the people have a higher reputation but they are still human. So it doesn’t mean you can’t reach out to the directors or people who have achieved something good. You have to believe in your proposal. You have to believe that you are at the same level as human beings. Also remember, never apologise for reaching out. Be confident. Don’t miss the opportunities while you’re thinking they won’t get back to you. Because they will. When you have a big name it’s easier to reach out to others.

Preparation

Simply, copy-paste emails won’t work. You should know these people’s perspective. Imagine how many emails they receive and try to fit in there. Try to see their needs, their wants. Also, buy from them. In some cases, it can really help that you can approach them based on something that you have already tried. If you can’t, then at least read, watch, listen from them. The most dishonest thing is when somebody is telling you they love everything you share but never engage with it. It should be visible that you are supporting them. A fantastic way is to attend conferences. Always easier to reach out with this opportunity, highlighting something from the conference and complimenting on that.

Contact

Cold E-mail

Don’t start it like everybody else. When you want to grab attention, cliches won’t work. Don’t be too formal, not too chatty. Write as you speak. Start with telling them briefly who you are and why you want them. Be honest. Make a value-led proposal. Don’t forget these are all companies and they all want clients. If you find out how they get clients, how they get business and how you can help them with that it will help you with this process. Keep this in mind: High profile people want to be in front of people and you are offering them this. You can add an optional CTA at the end of your e-mail. In some cases, it would be pushy but offering some options may also be good.

The Trojan Horse

I’d like to call this a Trojan Horse but of course, we are not being the enemy here. You can always invite those people to an interview. Tell them who is listening, what are topics, why you want them. You can ask them to speak or contribute to a book. If you want to approach specific job title like HR directors you can ask them for research or ask them for their insights to validate your product. Always think with their head.

Follow up

You have to follow up several times. People are busy. Lots of emails got forgotten. You can reach out to them again and it won’t hurt anyone. Refer to potential bad timing, ask them to confirm what they think about your invitation. You can also tell them how you proceed. Ask for contact or tell them to refer you the right direction.

You shouldn’t invite people just for the brand. The audience is always first.

This article was written by Timea Kadar, Chief Marketing Strategist of Francis Cooper based on the thoughts of other professionals duly quoted. Timea has 21 years of experience in marketing working as a marketing lead at large corporations and a marketing mentor at smaller ventures and start-ups. If you’d like to know more ways to find high-profile people and invite them for your business, contact her at tk@franciscooper.com

Five Hollywood plots every story can be boiled down to

Storytelling ideas with real-life examples

No marketing conference is complete without at least one (but usually more) speaker pointing out how important storytelling is in your marketing toolkit. But as we go back to work to start to write a story, the question comes up: ok, but how to craft a story that sells? Just copy the techniques of Hollywood blockbusters.

The power of story in marketing is obvious and the reasons are discussed intensively elsewhere so I won’t go into that. Instead, I will show you a list of easy-to-adapt templates which – apart from above the average email campaigns – brought me a one-page article in Forbes, a TEDx talk, speaking at the Digital Marketing Innovation Summit in London – just to mention a few.

At first sight, storytelling doesn’t seem to be difficult, we tell stories and listen to stories every day, multiple times. But our customer (and by customer I also mean editor/potential partner/investor) doesn’t have to be polite to listen to us, nor did they pay for listening to us as we pay to watch a film. So they will abandon us as soon as it is of no interest to them.

Therefore, at the end of the day, the story should be about the reader: to teach, inform, and convince them in an entertaining way. To build powerful stories let’s follow examples that worked already: the blockbuster Hollywood films. Your stories don’t have to be long though, you can do it in a few sentences.

Pretty woman

Use this: if you want to show progress, results, achievement, credibility.

Where: About section of your homepage, presentation about your company, showing results your clients achieved

Plot: hero with high potential and limited financial circumstances has a big dream and makes it come true.

How you can use it: show a goal – which should be challenging enough – you or your client wanted to achieve, even better if nobody believed in it. Then present how they succeeded.

Real-life example: ‘When speaking at a conference I made a promise to the audience that I will get published in Forbes magazine within a year and will document the steps I take. I sent the first email the next day and I was published in the next issue.’

Armageddon

Use this: if you want to show how your company and services are different from the rest, show USP or if you want to emphasise the problem your service solves.

Where: in eDM, about section, social media post

Plot: devastating danger approaches but superhero Bruce Willis steps in to save the world

How you can use it: talk about the weaknesses of most competitors in your industry – you don’t have to name the companies – and how you do it differently. Another option to show the big problem of your customers and how you, the superhero solve it.

Real-life example: ‘I am so upset to have just heard from a friend who booked an amazing hotel room for their wedding anniversary, to find out on the plot that they have to sleep in a musty basement. This is why I started my travel consultancy to make sure my clients have a more amazing stay than in their dreams.’

Hitch

Use this: if you want to show concerns about your service or industry and want to demonstrate it’s not true in your case. You can also present a testimonial where your client says how much they didn’t believe in your service and finally how much it helped them.

Where: eDM, FAQ section, video

Plot: beautiful woman and handsome man hate each other but then they fall in love.

Real-life example: ‘I hear people saying that insurance is expensive and insurance companies eventually never pay you. Just last year we paid xxxx to our xx clients to compensate for their damages.’

Back to the Future

Use this: if you want your audience to imagine their future, to have a dream you can help them achieve

Where: company brochure, email, website, PPC

Plot: it shows the future and makes you think about the future. Even if it seems impossible at present, show the customer how you will make it real. Or you can tell them step by step what happens when they sign the contract with you, how their life will change for the better.

Real-life example: ‘Your next birthday you keep receiving birthday wishes telling you how younger you look than your age. Suddenly Facebook pops up a photo from 3 years before and you are shocked to see how much younger you indeed look. You thank yourself for having used xxxx face treatment.’

Saving Private Ryan

Use this; if you want to show people what happens if they don’t use your service or product. You can showcase examples when clients turned to you after suffering a lot with other solutions – and what a relief it was.

Where: email, landing, FB ad

Plot: hero suffering, struggling and suffering but finally finds peace.

Real-life example: ‘You can go on the net and try to decide on your own which of the hundreds of tips will work in your case. You think it is free, but in fact, Mr x spent exactly xxx and lost the trust of all of his clients before turning to me. Now he hosts 1,000-member conferences and earns millions of dollars.’

The article was written by Timea Kadar, the lead of the Your Story™ Storytelling Program which helps business owners share their stories and engage with their clients. The program is launching on 28 January, be among the first ones to be notified about it, and get the best deal offer. Sign up here.

« Older Entries