Storytelling has become one of the most potent messaging tools available to us. It doesn't matter if that story comes from blog articles, videos, podcasting, or other channels. Nothing can convey the heart and soul of brand essence like a solid story that can be retold (shared) with all the modern social tools. However, there is also a fallacy in the assertion that a great story is all you need. Stories told to you by people you care for or respect will last (in some capacity) for a lifetime. Commercials shouting offers have about as much memorability as a license plate.

Marketing messaging and storytelling is very much the same. When consumers turn off or ignore banner ads, marketers now find themselves crafting new paths, entry points, and rabbit holes to lead the audience to the real message. No matter where people enter your content flow, you want them to exit the bottom of the funnel as customers after absorbing your copy and visual information.

It’s kind of like the Plinko game on "The Price is Right."

Oh, puh-LEEZE. Don't try to act as you've never watched. What else can you do when quarantined.

For those of you who (claim to) only watch Netflix, Sling, and Hulu, let me explain. In Plinko, the contestant drops a big poker-chip-looking disc into the top of a huge upright game board. As the chip falls, it is deflected by pegs, making it in-freaking-possible to predict where it will come out at the bottom. With a few lucky bounces, the chip lands in a slot that pays thousands of dollars.

On the other hand, the chip can end up in the goose-egg slot. In your game of Messaging Plinko, you need to structure your content so that consumers never end up in that zero-dollar slot. (insert #fail horn) Entice, woo, entertain, and inform them so they fall in love with your product or service offering.

Here's a hypothetical scenario using a tropical travel destination as an example:

1) Kelly Consumer opens her email and sees a compelling subject line (which you should hire a copywriter for – because it is an art form) that sparks enough interest for her to double click and see what's inside.

2) Kelly starts reading your story. Like many people, she is busy and has a short attention span, so you get right to the point. A compelling piece of visual content supported by good copywriting should inspire Kelly to click on a link that takes her further down your content path. How you choose to do this in your email should be informed by your list's segmentation, advanced testing, and optimization process.

More often than not, here is where the disconnect is created. Large brands still see the traditional and digital advertising division between church and state. They believe their money is best spent in storytelling from a firm that can tout large (impression-based) numbers derived typically from broadcast, outdoor, and print. Digital shops, right or wrong, are often seen as production houses for resizing and further distribution of this content to shoehorn it into digital silos.

If you are funneling a portion of your budget to a digital firm, you should choose one that can take that conceptual storytelling and nurture it into a more robust experience.

3) Once on the website, Kelly's attention might be pulled in different directions depending on the type of consumer she is. She might be drawn to a video, package pricing, point-of-view photos, pet info, charts showing weather trends, or social media links. Kelly might hopscotch all around to those various content elements. Other visitors might focus on only one or two. As the marketer, you need to ask yourself if you've done the best job in consistently developing content that tells the complete story.

4) If we've done your job correctly, Kelly is now making a reservation. Or she puts the resort on her list of potential destinations. Think of your audience's attention in a very non-linear format. Or, if you want to be geeky, think of it as a process diagram. Where the wheels fall off is usually creative optimization vs. asset management. You have come up with an excellent idea for a new campaign. You pitch it. The client bites, but they don't want to redo all the elements (website, Facebook, blogs, videos) to reflect the new campaign.

All players — same page

The absolute truth is even stranger than fiction. I once had one of America's largest multinational telecommunications corporations as a client. I stood in a pool of more than 40 other agencies working on a ridiculous number of seemingly disassociated objectives for this client.

At first glance, you would think that this model is complete insanity, but it does end up making a lot of sense if done correctly. If you can get your content to connect from one messaging vehicle to the next consistently (from email to landing page, to registration component, to service introduction video, to such action levels, to purchase) while adhering to the brand – then you have succeeded.

The best thing you can do is put yourself in your customer's shoes to understand their motivations. And be honest! If a new website is required for a new product or service, build it. In the end, the expense of doing it right the first time will be far cheaper than duct-taping it to the current architecture.