Your missing marketing strategy. The power of storytelling.

Stories began 400,000 years ago, when we first sat around a fire.

It’s a fire that became the focal point that sparked a cognitive revolution.

Sitting around this fire, we needed a way to pass on knowledge, a way to teach, a way to share. We developed stories.

All knowledge, all ideas, were passed down through these stories. The best sharers survived longer, the best stories stuck, and the best ideas spread.

Stories are in our DNA — from the campfire, to cave paintings, to hieroglyphics, to written language, to the printing press, to radio, to TV, and now, to social media.

Today, you have an idea — an idea about your business, your career, or an idea about how you want to shape the world. And I want to tell you how to use stories and social media to make your ideas spread.

So why is storytelling important for you and your business?

Stories simulate reality. They allow us to safely test an idea or a scenario without actually having to live it. Stories are a flight simulator that help people rehearse for real life events.

Leonardo Da Vinci’s biography teaches the power of creativity without having to paint the Mona Lisa.

Anne Frank’s story teaches emotional resilience, without having to endure the Holocaust.

The story of Muhammad Ali teaches us about standing up for your principles, without having to get punched in the face.

The stories of the successes of your clients allow people to peek inside before taking the scary first step.

Each of you has an idea, but it’s trapped in your head. It’s an idea that can change the world — maybe not the whole world, but someone’s world. It might be about making people’s bones stronger, getting them off medications, or helping them get up off the floor.

But the idea is stuck. And it needs something to get out. It needs a story.

We want to tell the stories of our current clients — to share their struggles and their victories. We want the people lurking outside the window of your business to peek in and see people just like them, overcoming problems just like theirs, with your help.

These stories are too important not to be told.

I recently spent a day reviewing 500 marketing Instagram posts from Exercise Physiologists. 88% talked about features, benefits and facts. Only 12% told stories.

But people don’t buy facts. They buy ideas. And stories are how ideas spread.

Let me prove it to you.

In the early 2000s, there was a battle in the portable MP3 player market. There were initially three players — the Rio PMP300, the Zen Mosaic, and the Microsoft Zune.

Here’s how Microsoft used facts and specs to sell the Zune:

“The Zune HD features 16GB or 32GB flash storage, a 3.3-inch 480×272 OLED touchscreen, Wi-Fi connectivity, HD Radio tuner, up to 33 hours of audio or 8.5 hours of video battery life, support for MP3, AAC, WMA, WMV, MPEG-4, and H.264 formats, 720p HD video output via dock, a size of 102 x 52 x 9 mm, a weight of 74 grams, and comes in ten colours.”

But of course, there was another player in the MP3 market — a product that would go on to earn over $100 billion and outsell its combined competition by 200 times.

A product that sold not through facts, but through story.

Microsoft needed 166 words to share the facts of the Zune. To tell their story, Apple needed just six:

“iPod. 1000 songs in your pocket.”

If you rely only on features, you’ll be ignored. If you tell a story about how you solve a problem, you’ll be remembered and trusted.

We’re in the business of behaviour change. And while facts inform, stories persuade.

So let’s learn how to tell a story.

Every story needs a hero.

And here’s one of the most important things you can take away from this:

You are not the hero.

Your business is not the hero. You have a different role to play, which I’ll share in a moment.

But your role isn’t the hero.

Scroll through the Instagram grid for your business. If it’s all photos and videos of you, you’re trying to make yourself the hero.

Check out your website. If there’s an “about us” section, you’re likely positioning yourself as the hero.

That’s a company-centric business — not a client-centric one.

Your heroes are your clients — the people you help and the people you want to attract.

We want to share their journey — the hero’s journey.

From early campfire stories to Instagram stories, all good ideas are spread using the same formula. Let me show you.

I applied this formula to the highest-grossing movies of the last couple of decades — Avatar, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Avengers: Endgame, Titanic, The Lion King, Top Gun: Maverick, Barbie, and Toy Story.

A combined $24 billion in box office takings tells us this formula works for Hollywood — and it can work for your business too.

The Five Act Story Structure:

Act 1: The Dream
The hero needs to make a difficult change — to escape something or achieve something.
This is Harry Potter trying to escape his life with his muggle aunt and uncle.

Act 2: The Obstacle
Something is standing in the way of that future.
This is Buzz Lightyear challenging Woody to be Andy’s favourite toy in Toy Story.

Act 3: The Mentor
At their lowest point, they meet a mentor. This is you.
It’s also Obi-Wan Kenobi introducing Luke to the Force in Star Wars.

Act 4: The Path
The mentor designs a plan that causes the hero to change.
This is The Avengers in their quest for the Infinity Stones.

Act 5: The Arrival
The hero overcomes the problem or reaches their goal.
This is Barbie choosing to become human in The Barbie Movie.

They’re all the same story:
The hero wants change but faces obstacles, meets you as their mentor, follows a plan, and reaches their future.

This five-act story is your plot — but the plot only exists to challenge the character.

The most important character? Your client.

This is the story you must tell again and again in your business.

It’s the story of a hero (your client) and you, their problem-solving mentor.

When potential clients hear these stories, they need to see people who look like them, solving problems they also have, with your help.

Now let’s get practical.

Here’s how you can tell stories in your business:

• Through video
• Through Instagram carousels
• Through client-written Google reviews
• Through memes
• Through photos and videos of everyday moments in your business

Where do you tell these stories?

Anywhere your target client pays attention.

That includes Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, Google My Business, your website, email newsletters, podcasts, waiting rooms, community Facebook groups — even reports you write.

Wherever you share them, tag the client and invite them to collaborate. Their stories will reach more people like them.

Let’s make you the hero for a moment:

Act 1: The Dream
You picture a future where your message spreads and your business thrives.

Act 2: The Obstacle
You’re struggling to stand out in a crowded market.

Act 3: The Mentor
You read an article where someone shares the storytelling formula that works.

Act 4: The Path
You realise storytelling is the secret to spreading your ideas.

Act 5: The Arrival
You become a confident storyteller and your business grows.

Now go out and find as many campfires as you can — and tell as many stories as you can around them.