AMA Boston members and guests gained valuable insights about authentic storytelling in a March 7th webinar led by Christoph Trappe,  a/k/a The Authentic Storyteller™. The fast-paced program produced these take-aways:
- The biggest hurdle to content marketing and effective, authentic storytelling is the “tyranny of over-planning.” As in the NFL, things in business change constantly.
- “Overthinking hurts authenticity.”
- Three-step process is key:
- Stories happen
- Document them
- Share them
- Use a multi-channel approach for your stories -leverage across blogs, social, and webinars.
- What makes an authentic story? It’s happened in our lives, worth sharing, educational, solves people’s problems, interesting – NOT self-promoting.
There are six steps to effective storytelling:
- The Decision: define the “why” and get the right people to buy into your story
- The Plan: make it 1-4 pages, “not 79.” Go beyond “CRAP” (content that really annoys people) to genuine stories.
- The Skills: there are many tools at your disposal (see slide at right)
- The Execution – Christoph’s examples included using “growth hack” strategies, reusing your own content, and  ensuring you use your own images for Instagram, not stock art.
- Refinement: rethink and redo constantly, including tweeting every 15 minutes if you have the stories. Continually test, as what works today may not tomorrow.
- Sustainability: keep sharing and think long-term.
AMA Boston would like to thank Christoph for sharing his insights, and the attendees for joining us. See the next event on our busy calendar and we look forward to seeing you soon!
