Content Marketing for Lead Nurturing: Engaging Stories That Drive Customer Engagement

Tapping into the Innate Appeal of Storytelling

Human interest blooms from an early age for impactful stories that educate or excite. Savvy marketers tap into this innately shared appeal for storytelling by developing campaigns featuring intriguing narratives. Well-framed content marketing in vessels like blogs, videos, and podcasts engage interest while conveying information in memorable ways for more effective nurturing.  

Casting Prospects as the Lead Character 

Aim to make every piece of nurturing content resonate deeply by casting targeted prospects as protagonists framing the narrative arc. Tailor storylines to follow a common buyer’s journey to solutions discovery, spotlighting pain points as challenges to overcome. Feature peers who transformed operations as examples to emulate. This hero’s journey format directs the spotlight on prospects as lead characters pursuing success.  

Turning Customers into Storytellers

Buyers increasingly trust earned voices over polished marketing speak. Capitalize on this effect by recruiting customers as brand storytellers. Interview clients about pain points and performance improvements for testimonial content. Record authentic video nuggets for nurturing clips. Their credible voices lend organic validation that heightens relevancy for recipients on similar journeys to purchase.  

Repackaging Educational Assets into Serialized Content 

Extended technical material risks overwhelming prospects lacking context on next steps. Counter by transforming one-off assets into serialized content journeys designed to nurture understanding over time. Segment lengthy material into digestible chapters delivered in sequence, each building on the last. Conclude with a call to action specific to their evolving readiness as demonstrated through progressed engagement.

Gamifying Engagement with Choose-Your-Own-Adventures  

Interactive content jumps off the page through consumer participation. Mimic the captivating choose-your-own ending stories popularized by youth novels. Provide prospects a scenario-based challenge then let them toggle between paths forward based on their preferences and priorities. Outcomes explain key takeaways personalized to their selection for more contextual education.  

Tying Nurturing Narratives to Secular Events  

Resonance comes from conveying understanding of audiences’ surround-sound realities. Identify dates and cultural moments holding significance for targets then engineer content leveraging timely narratives. Examples range from year-end planning to industry conferences, new mandates impacting operations and breaking current event analyses through their lens. This strategic newsjack increases relevancy.  

Animating Concepts through Infotaining Videos 

Complex ideas shine through untraditional mediums that fuse information with entertainment. Partner animators with subject matter experts to develop videos bringing concepts to life. Use humor, metaphors, and cultural cues that prospects recognize for smile-worthy learning. These creative assets cut through forgetfulness, reminding prospects of key takeaways long after initial exposure.

Surveying Viewers for Future Story Ideas  

Adopt a listener first mentality by surveying viewers post engagement to sharpen future content. Request feedback on concepts covered, unanswered questions remaining and desired subject expansion to address knowledge gaps. Directly asking prospects what fictional scenes or sample personas would maximize relevance also provides invaluable direction for producers. Let their narrative requests guide creation.