A friend of mine recently wrote, directed and produced a movie. He’s a very talented guy. He didn’t have a lot of funding, so he had to get the filming done with a minimum number of ‘takes’ – ideally, each scene complete in one shot. With this goal in mind, he created an extremely detailed storyboard – a cartoon type of scene-by-scene outline of the whole movie with each scene carefully planned and scripted.
This made the cinematographer’s job simple. With the carefully planned storyboard, most scenes did indeed require just one take. The result – the whole project was completed within budget and ahead of schedule. The envy of many Hollywood producers!
Whenever we run a content marketing program we take great pains to create a very detailed roadmap outlining the ‘buyer’s journey’. Go-to-market messaging, content pieces, email messages, landing page and the overall campaign are designed to move a potential buyer toward a successful sales win using predefined steps and milestones.
Inspired by my friend’s successful venture in the movie business, I recently started producing detailed ‘storyboards’ for the campaigns we run for our clients. I’ve found that storyboarding takes content marketing to a whole new level. The ‘scripted’ storyboard brings to life the conversation with the buyer. The changing scenes naturally progress the lead toward sales-ready status with relevant sales provocations and call-to-action steps.
Content marketing programs start to take on a movie like quality – an action-packed adventure based on attacking key business challenges, or perhaps an engaging drama focused on the next business opportunity.
Our clients love this approach. They’re able to see the full picture right from the start – just as the cinematographer did. And the results of the campaigns are great. So why not storyboard your next campaign – and just remember to put the buyer in the starring role!
