StoryBrand - Framework to simplify messaging

I read this excellent book on communication and messaging framework called StoryBrand and will summarize the whole framework in this article. This framework's basic premise is how one can leverage the power of a story to make your communication more clear. If you confuse you lose is the core message. A well-crafted story can enhance the ability to communicate an idea clearly and convince more users to say yes to the product or service which is being marketed.

Structure of a story

Every memorable story has some elements and sequence, and if the story deviates from these elements, the audience loses interest. Following this structure makes a difference between a winning landing page versus an average one. I will explain this structure by describing how companies have used this to build landing pages. The basic structure of a story revolves around

• A Character
• Who Has a Problem
• And Meets a Guide
• Who Gives Them a Plan
• And Calls Them to Action
• That Ends in Success
• And Helps Them Avoid Failure

Character and His problem

The central premise of a great story is how the hero of a story solves a problem or challenge that he faces. The hero of a brand story has to be the customer and not the brand and we have to show how the customer overcomes his challenge. Often we get confused between the brand and the customer in the messaging and this leads to customers getting lost and confused. A good story represents the transformation of this character from facing the problem to successfully overcoming it. The landing page has to communicate and convince the customer (hero) that we understand his pain and have a solution. The communication only focuses on their needs and does not talk about the brand initially. The BestInterview website talks about the pain of cracking a job interview. Both the headline, subheadline, and the imaging are focused only on the customer's point of view and around the problem. The section below the headline shows how the brand can solve the problem of a custom who wants to excel in a job interview. Once we have made the connection with the user we can then introduce the brand.

Meets a Guide (Brand)

The hero often meets a guide who helps in the hero's transformation (think Kattapa in Bahuballi). The guide has the authority (expertise) to help and is empathetic to the hero's cause. The brand has to act as a guide in communication and showcase that they have the expertise and credibility to solve the customer's problem. In addition, the brand must be empathetic to the customer's situation. Both these have to be evident on the landing page to position the brand as the guide. GlucoStabilizer, an intravenous (IV) glucose management software, does this by empathizing with the user by showing how complex and error-prone the paper-based tracking glucose readings are. The landing page showcases that as many as 26000 patients are using the Glucostalizer software to manage their IV schedules. They also talk about how the usage of the software helps in reducing the incidence of hypoglycemic events in patients. This addresses both the credibility and customer empathy needs of the target customers.

The guide gives a plan with a CTA

In a story, the guide usually gives a plan to the hero to overcome the problem, and he also provides the hero with clear instructions on what the hero needs to do. The brand should give the same level of guidance on the landing pages. The step-by-step plan is an essential component of the landing pages in complex situations that involve multiple steps. It is the step that simplifies the decision of the customer to click on the call to action(CTA). As an example of how we can leverage the step-by-step plan to make it easy for the customer to decide, we should look at the landing page of LoveJoyNumbers a bookkeeping service for small businesses. Account and bookkeeping is a complex topic, so the small business owner may hesitate to try a new service. LoveJoyNumbers solves this by having a separate section on the landing page that showcases how to get quickly onboard to this service and test it out.

In addition to sharing a plan on how the customer can solve their problem with their service or product offered by the brand, we also need to make the CTAs (call to action) very clear. If we dont have a clear ask the user, they will often not take the required action. It would help if you had a Direct CTA and a Transitional CTA (also called a Lead Magnet). I like the "Marry me or date me" way of thinking about these two types of CTAs. If your visitor isn't ready to marry you (become a customer), maybe they want to go on a date and learn more about you. That's your lead magnet/transitional CTA so you can get a chance to start nurturing.

Ends in Success or Avoids Failure

At the end of a good story, the hero has to overcome the challenges or avoids failure. The stage is usually the story's climax, which shows that the hero will live happily ever after. In the same manner, the brand can showcase how their product or service can transform their customers' lives. On the landing page, this is often shown by having content that shows the customer's changed state after they have used the service. The content can be a testimonial or just text that shows how the customer will feel after using the product or service.

An excellent example of this is the content used by IndulgeRight. They are a service that provides flavor-first foods that don't compromise on health. They have a section which talks about how consumers will feel after eating the products from their service.

7 step Storybrand Framework

The Storybrand framework has steps to guide one to crystalize the messaging using seven stages. To simplify this article, I have reduced the seven elements into four sections above. If you are interested, I recommend reading - Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen to get a good handle on the framework. The brands mentioned in this article IndulgeRight, LoveJoyNumbers, GlucoStabilizer, and BestInterview.ca are great examples of using the StoryBrand framework to develop landing pages. So the next time you are looking to revamp your website or landing page, I suggest using the 7 stage story brand framework. I will try and cover some more good examples in future articles. If someone is looking to build a new website or landing page , I will be happy to collaborate and help build the content.