As an influencer, you’ve written tons of content and likely remember most, if not all, of them. But, as a consumer, do you remember all of the content you’ve read?
In an influencer program, it’s important to create content that resonates. The first step is writing stories that stick – the kind that people will remember and want to be a part of. Stories have a unique way of staying with us – 63% of people remember stories over facts or statistics.
Let’s take a look at some highlights from Natrol’s recently completed Storybook with Linqia. Natrol, a national vitamin and supplement brand, wanted to raise awareness around two of its products: 5-HTP and Melatonin. The top performing stories in this program all had one thing in common: they told real stories to highlight how Natrol made a difference in their lives.
Here are five of the best performing stories from Natrol’s Storybook and some key takeaways we can learn from their success:
1) Building Our Story – “Tips for Managing Stress In the New Year”
“Recently, I found a great plant-derived mood enhancement supplement called Natrol 5-HTP Fast Dissolve. This is a great option for those of you who are like me that really need that extra boost to get through those stressful moments in life.”
Takeaway: Be relatable. Building Our Story increased engagement by sharing her personal stress struggle, something many in her audience could relate to. Additionally, she defined 5-HTP in simple language – the easier stories are to understand, the more “real” and relatable they are.
2) Turning Back the Clock – “How to Prevent Jet Lag without Using Sleeping Pills”
“One of the things my husband loves about his job is the opportunity to travel overseas once or twice a year. He has visited some amazing places, from the rice paddies of Thailand to his ancestor’s land of Germany. He always enjoys the unique food and interesting people in these faraway lands. What he does NOT enjoy, however, is the jet lag that accompanies international travel.”
Takeaway: Be concise. The human attention span is now under eight seconds long, so be brief to keep your audience engaged. Turning Back the Clock grabbed her audience’s attention by starting her program post with a quick anecdote about her husband’s jet lag, something many travelers are familiar with. This strategy inspired readers to visit Natrol’s landing page so they could learn more about how they could prevent jet lag with melatonin.
3) Get Green Be Well – “Need a Chill Pill? Get Stress Relief with 5-HTP”
“Over the past year, I’ve really realized how much stress is overwhelming me and consuming me right now. My health is suffering, my weight is going up, and I’ve lost some of the joy that I used to have. A spark started inside of me. Life probably isn’t going to get less stressful on its own. But I can take control of how I adapt and respond to my everyday stressors and challenges.”
Takeaway: Be emotional. Emotionally charged stories are memorable because readers’ brains mimic the emotions described in the story, imprinting the feelings in their mind. Get Green Be Well took her audience through her journey of finding a good stress relieving routine, emphasizing her need for Natrol’s 5-HTP supplement with descriptive words like “overwhelming” and “consuming.”
4) Faithfully Free – “40 Ways To Reduce Stress In Marriage”
“Kiss a baby. Seriously, I don’t know what it is about babies, but they make you happy. Don’t have a baby to kiss? Kiss a stranger’s baby, and then RUN!”
Takeaway: Be unpredictable. Stories with twists or elements of surprise intrigue audiences and are easier to remember than a predictable ones. Faithfully Free shared a long list of tips to reduce stress in marriage, including how taking Natrol’s supplement to help balance moods and boost happiness levels throughout the day. However, she also threw in a cute surprise tip to delight her followers, inspiring them to keep reading and share the post.
5 ) The Happy Flammily – “5 Things to Do When You Need to Calm Down”
“I used to get the kids fed, cleaned, and changed for the day, and then clean the entire house, and then get myself breakfast around noon. I learned that this isn’t really good for anyone because it just means I’m ‘hangry’ and tired all morning, and it means I’m more than likely to be cranky toward my kids. Now that Em can self feed a lot better now, I’ve been sitting down to have a healthy breakfast while the kids eat too, and it’s been amazing to eat at 8am instead of noon. Everyone is a lot happier when I’ve had my breakfast.”
Takeaway: Be consistent. Repeated information sticks with readers longer than information that is only presented once, making them more likely to remember, share, and return to the post. The Happy Flammily used multiple stories centered around a central topic – stress – and shared five tips for de-stressing, from eating a healthy breakfast to adding a little extra pep in your step with Natrol-5HTP.
Stories that stick inspire your audience to interact with your posts. Keeping these five tips in mind will help you boost engagement numbers in your next influencer program. If you have other tips for writing stories that stick, share them on Linqia’s Facebook.
