The Secret Behind Storytelling in your Content
The strongest content evokes emotion from your fans and prospective fans. I often speak about the importance of using storytelling in your content to evoke that emotion from your audience.
There’s a secret behind storytelling in your content. It’s 1 key piece that separates an okay story from a great story.
First, before we dive into it, you need to have a solid foundation in place. What do I mean by that?
You need to have your ideal fan profile developed. This foundation determines what story you’re telling.
Why?
As a sports organization, team, or athlete, you aren’t putting content out for yourself. It’s not about you. It’s about your ideal fan. The person that you’re speaking to. The profile of the person that you are trying to serve.
Okay, now that the foundation is in place, let’s move on to the secret sauce.
The secret behind successful storytelling in your content is passion.
Why Passion Matters
There’s a big difference between the production of someone who’s doing a job for the sake of doing a job and someone who’s doing a job fueled by passion. The passionate individual is going to radiate that passion in their energy.
It’s going to show up in the quality of their work, in the ideas that they have, in the collaboration they bring to the team, and in the duration of time that they remain on your team.
It’s the person who’s bought in. The person that sees the vision and wants to be part of it. When you allow the space to play and create, fans feel the difference in the end result.
What happens when you aren’t passionate about your work?
What Happens When You Aren’t Passionate About Your Work
Can someone who isn’t passionate about their work create magic through content? Yes. They can get a job done and complete it on time.
In a recent article, I spoke about energy leaks and the result of that in your content. The same applies if you aren’t passionate about the work you’re doing. Subconsciously, your audience is going to pick up on that.
Are you allowing passion to lead your content creation process?
Why Fans Watch Sports
People watch sports because of the connection - it unites them, they can identify with others also cheering on the same team, and it provides something bigger than yourself to rally behind.
There’s a common goal. The entry to barrier isn’t high.
Studies show certain psychological benefits associated with being a sports fan.
What are the most effective ways for drawing your prospective fans in?
Identify your ideal fan profile so you can shape content that speaks directly to them
Build an emotional connection with your prospective fan
What’s the best way to build connections with prospective fans? Using storytelling in your content. Ensuring that the story that you’re telling directly applies to the type of people that fit into your ideal fan profile. This means shaping your content around them.
One way of doing this is by showing people a behind-the-scenes view of your sports team or athletes.
The Story That Turned Me Into A Packers Fan
For those who don’t know, I take football season very seriously. It hasn’t been uncommon for my uncle to check his cable subscription package up at the cottage to see if the Packers game will be shown before inviting me up to visit. A testament that shows family dynamics. I’m very fortunate for the not so little things like that. The acts that show effort, that people want to be involved.
Anyways, I digress. Back to the story.
Growing up, I always liked Green Bay and Tampa Bay.
“Down by the bay” 🎵
As I got older, I read Instant Replay. The book was written by Jerry Kramer, offensive lineman of the Green Bay Packers.
It’s one of the only books that I can read over and over, and that still gives me chills and excitement every time I pick it up. Kramer has a way with words. He takes readers into the locker room, he shows the personality of his team and his coach. You feel like you’re right there in the room with them.
“I want to show exactly what it’s like for me - an offensive lineman, a right guard, definitely not one of the glamour positions - to struggle through a professional football season. I want to show what my teammates are like in all their dimensions. I want to show what it’s like to push yourself almost beyond endurance for a coach who considers pain only something that you must shrug off. ”
Jerry Kramer, Feb 1967, Instant Replay
Story. Connection. Unity. Passion.
It’s all so interwoven.
Allowing Passion to Lead Content Creation
It’s about bringing it all together - allowing passion to lead your content creation process.
Some people understand the importance of marketing, some people struggle with it. While it’s an aspect that’s needed and there are certain KPI/metrics/ROI, it’s not something as cut and dry or black and white as Sales or Finance.
Content is important because it moves people into your funnel. It’s a platform that takes someone from being a cold lead to a warm lead to a hot lead to a loyal fan.
The purpose is to drive people onto a channel that you own. To foster and build the relationship. To surprise and delight your guests. In a way that moves them down the chains. Separating you from your competition.
You have 8 seconds to gain a prospective fan's attention or you lose the chance to pull them into your funnel.
Analyzing sports content
How Do You Create Space for Passion to Lead Content Creation
How do you create/foster an environment for passion to lead the content creation process?
Allow creative freedom - creative juices can restrict when there’s a box to fit into.
Find and lean on your employees or athletes that have the passion ignited within them.
The passion, purpose, and legacy in the sports industry are being left on the field. Athletes carry the fire and drive that ultimately results in consumer interest, fan engagement, ticket and merch sales, sponsorship opportunities, etc. The athlete acts as a bridge.
Enlist your athletes to be more involved in the content creation process.
Give them a “so what”. Make it worth it for them. Take the opportunity to educate and help them grow and expand their own personal brands.
Investing in your people is going to come back to your organization. It's what keeps people on your team for longer. It's what sparks higher engagement.
And frankly, it's something that a lot of organizations can improve. So it sets you apart as an industry leader and disrupter.
When an employee is bought in on your mission, on your vision, the legacy you want to leave, it’s going to shine through in passion.
Passion is what creates an easy sell. When someone is passionate about something, the way they speak about it is different.
And that’s a key factor in successful content - move people down your funnel.
Allow the space for freedom, flexibility, creativity, passion, and fun to come up in your content meetings and during your content creation process.
If you’re interested in professional development for your digital and production teams and/or for your athletes, I offer customized training and consulting. Please inquire for more.