The Power of Storytelling

Whether you are engaging a potential new customer on a sales call with hypothetical possibilities, gossiping around the kettle or telling an anecdote in the pub over a beer or two, you will be telling a story and bonding with people and, more often than not, you will be using the 3-act structure without even realising it. Stories tend to be formed in the 3-act structure and have been done for thousands of years. Simply because it works. Act One is the set-up, Act Two is the conflict and Act Three is the resolution.

A simple engaging linear plot. Introduce the characters and set the scene, throw obstacles and challenges their way and finally have them triumph, against the odds, for a positive future.

A good story will always sell.

Grab their attention

Remember that film from your childhood? The one that brings back so many warm memories. Perhaps you watched it on rainy afternoons in front of the fire. Perhaps you watched it with someone dear to you and it was a special moment that only you shared. Perhaps it was a book you read before bedtime. Whatever form it came in, it would have been a story designed to make you feel something and now, many years later, when it crosses your mind, I bet you get that same strong feeling all over again. It’s powerful.

For me, the film is Elf. It isn’t actually from my childhood but is a film that always manages to stir emotion. Connection can come in various ways and the beauty of art is in its subjective nature. Though typically an audience can be led to think or feel in a particular direction, usually in support of the protagonist (Buddy), sometimes we can see a part of ourselves in another character. I relate to Walter played by James Caan. The all-business, no time for family, not really into Christmas character that metamorphoses into the reason Christmas survives. This is the story of how he reconnects with his soul and puts materialism aside. What is inside us is where the power really lies. Also, watching Sonny Corleone singing ‘Santa Claus is coming to town’ is always going to be worth a look.

Imagine if you could stir such deep emotions in people every time your business posts online. If you think there is no place for a story in your direct business posts, then ask yourself why you have read this far into this blog. I haven’t given any pragmatic advice for templated content writing that will improve your Google rankings, but I have engaged you. And that is the important start.

In a story, this is known as the hook.

Why is my business struggling to rank on Google?

So, why are you reading this blog? Why are you visiting the page of an award-winning digital marketing agency? A safe assumption would be your online strategies aren’t going as well as you would like them to, and you are looking to employ the content writing services of professionals – a shrewd business move.

SEO is all about having the most prominent visibility in the marketplace. In the old days, this may have just been the biggest sign or best-dressed window, but in today’s modern online world of e-commerce, it is about being as high up the Google rankings as you can get. So, what is preventing your website from ranking higher?

• Poorly written content
  • A sentence without structure is just a line of words that have no meaning and say nothing. Good writing comes in the planning and layout. It is important to know what you want to say and how you intend to say it. Also, spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors can lead your audience to lose trust in your authority as it looks careless and demonstrates a lack of attention to detail. Read our blog on quality content to discover the benefits of having good material.
• Irrelevant content
  • When people visit Google, they typically have a question or problem they are seeking a solution for. What they type into the search bar are known as keywords (keywords can often be more than just words – sometimes even a sentence). If your content targets these keywords but doesn’t offer any information, guidance or resolution relevant to the problem search, then Google will penalise your site resulting in a lower ranking.
• The wrong audience
  • The key to writing anything is to know your audience. What this means is simply who you are writing for. This is where relevant content comes in. It is paramount that you determine the problem your audience has and address that with your service, skill or authority. For example, if you are targeting customers to buy your alcohol products, you may not want to target the health-conscious and certainly wouldn’t want to capture the attention of minors.
• Uninteresting and uninspiring
  • Put yourself in the position of your audience. You are looking for the answer to your problem and have found a site online that is exactly what you are looking for. The only problem is, it is painful to read. It is drab, lifeless and a challenge to hold your attention. Before you know it, you are at the bottom of the page and remember nothing that has been said. Give your audience something extra. Whether that is interesting facts, helpful tips or simply a piece that is laid out as a story.
• How does this affect your business growth as a whole?
  • By not using relevant, compelling and helpful content you will simply be penalised by Google which will result in much lower rankings, ultimately meaning you are invisible to all potential new customers. Relying on word of mouth will not cut it in the digital age.

How stories can help your SEO

Though you may not have realised quite how SEO works and the importance of quality content writing services, it is never too late. By valuing and understanding your online presence you have given your business a leg-up on the competition.

The most engaging writing will always be stories, and, as discussed, the 3-act structure is the simplest method to portray this form. This is why it should be used for great content writing too. To make it more relevant and understandable from a business perspective, whenever I write content, I like to break down the 3-act structure into engage, relate and resolve in place of set-up, conflict and resolution. (Though resolution stays the same).

• Engage
  • First, make it clear to the reader they are in the right place to resolve their problem, then hook them in with some interesting information, facts, history or universality we can all understand. Intrigue them and make them want to read on.
• Relate
  • Understand why the reader has come to this page. What are the problems they are looking for the answers to? How do these problems affect them? How do they make them feel? Empathise.
• Resolve
  • Finally offer the reader an idea, skill, service or product that can solve their problems. Keep it simple.

Let our writers tell your stories at Sherbet Donkey

Did you see what I did there? Of course, you did. You spotted straight away that I laid this article out in exactly the 3-act structure I spoke of. I engaged you by reminding you of warm memories from your childhood. I then related to you with an understanding of why you would be looking into a digital marketing agency and SEO services and now, as expected, I am going to offer you the resolution to your problems.

Sherbet Donkey is your resolution. We are your knight in shining armour. We are the professional SEO service that form the team in Act 3 to defeat the big baddie. We can create a dedicated SEO strategy tailored for your specific company, industry and market to improve your visibility on Google, resulting in higher organic results, more enquiries and improved business. This is not something that happens overnight and must be maintained and nurtured. Allowing our team to get on with their work will bring the greatest rewards. This is where quality content writing services will keep you performing well in the eyes of Google and climbing the ranks. Get in touch with our expert team to discover exactly what we can do to help you find your positive future.

Do you know why I am sure you will get in contact? Simply because you have read this whole blog and have realised it has been written to ultimately achieve one thing… you contacting us. If our quality content writing services can lead you here, then imagine how many potential new customers we can lead to you.