What is a ‘Promise of a Payoff’ in Storytelling Marketing?

Why does this post have millions of views and hundreds of thousands of likes?

👉 It tells a story and gives the user a promise of a payoff.

Most people in this environment would post a panoramic photo, or do a sweeping video, of the pretty mountain scape.

They may put some trending music to inspire or deliver a heightened sense of awe.

And it may or may not do well.

Before You Post, Think: How Can I Make this More Interesting?

Instead of showing the mountains first, this creator saved it until the end.

He started off by putting his hand on the ice.

Why does this work?

It’s odd. This is called a pattern interruption. Our brains likes to makes sense of things, so when we see something off or out of place, we need to sort it out and make sense of it before we move on.

🤔 It makes us stop and wonder:

– What is this guy up to?

– Where is he?

– Why is he not wearing a jacket and gloves?

– Why is he putting his hands on the ice?

– Wait, why is he breaking off a chunk of it?

– What’s he planning on doing with it?

All of this is being processed subconsciously in a fraction of a second.

He then throws the ice sheet onto the ice and it shatters into a million pieces.

Cool, but we still need to know more. We’re hooked. We’re invested.

Then he pans out to reveal the beautiful mountain scape. That’s the payoff. It satisfies, at least some, of our curiosity.

This is how you create engaging content. Before you post, think: How can I make this more interesting?

You can do this by creating a promise of a payoff, adding in some misdirection, some mystery, some tension, using editing, sound, visual and auditory interruption, a compelling voice over, etc.

#storytelling #marketing #socialmediamarketing

Community Building for Brands

How do you make your brand stand out?

The answer lies in the age-old art of storytelling. Just as a perfect ball game keeps fans on the edge of their seats, a well-told story can captivate your audience, create emotional connections, and ultimately drive action.

The following was taken from the book, Three Uses of the Knife: On the Nature and Purpose of Drama, by David Mamet

What do we wish for in the perfect ballgame? Do we wish for our team to take the field and thrash the opposition from the first moment, rolling up a walkover score at the final gun?

No. We wish for a closely fought match that contains many satisfying reversals, but many of which can be seen retroactively to have always tended toward a satisfying and inevitable conclusion.

Continue Reading: The Perfect Ball Game: How We Can Use Drama in our Storytelling Marketing