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How To Captivate Your Audience With Episodic Content Marketing

YEC
POST WRITTEN BY
Adrian Fisher

At a time when so much content is flooding the market, how do you stand out through the noise? Marketers are turning to episodic content marketing to set themselves apart from the competition.

Episodic content marketing is long-form content broken into smaller chapters or “episodes.” Content takes the shape of a story that follows a plot and slowly reveals more to the viewer with each episode. This method of storytelling is an effective way to connect with consumers and keep them coming back for more.

While forms of episodic content marketing include articles, infographics and podcasts, video tends to be the most popular and effective medium, and it’s not difficult to see why. Cisco predicts that by 2022, video traffic will account for 82% of consumer internet traffic. As video becomes more prevalent, so does the need to elevate it in a way that connects consumers to a larger experience.

Episodic content marketing presents a massive opportunity for your brand to connect repeatedly with your target audience, which is important considering traditional marketing wisdom maintains that it takes an average of seven touchpoints before consumers convert. There are many advantages to using episodic content marketing: It creates a return audience, builds subscribers and establishes credibility, positioning your brand as an expert in your industry.

Businesses of all sizes can leverage storytelling to connect with customers. Here’s how to use episodic content marketing to set your content apart from competitors and keep your audience coming back for more.

Develop a storyline.

The goal is to captivate your audience with a storyline that is interesting and does not resemble an advertisement in any way. Develop fascinating characters and a plot that resonates with your target audience.

Once you develop the storyline and characters, decide on the number of episodes you need to tell your story. Consider creating a storyboard to help plan

how the story will unfold in each episode.

Create anticipation.

What makes television shows so addictive? Suspense and cliffhangers are elements of anticipation that keep viewers tuning in, again and again, to find out what happens next.

For example, my company creates “Future of Real Estate” episodes that we share on YouTube; we follow the journey of a real estate agent in Los Angeles. Viewers tune in to get a peek at the most expensive properties in LA and to see if the agent can make $30 billion in sales for the year. The content is entertaining and also has an element of suspense that leaves viewers wondering if he will meet his target.

An interesting study by the Georgia Institute of Technology monitored how viewers of Alfred Hitchcock films behaved during low and high-suspense scenes. During high-suspense moments, the brain narrows what people see and focuses their attention on the story. When a story lacks suspense, people become distracted and focus their attention on their surroundings.

You can get viewers lost in the narrative and keep them tuning in by creating the same level of suspense or excitement in your episodic content.

Engage your target audience.

When creating episodic content, it’s essential to consider your target audience. Are your characters relatable? Does the story establish a connection? Rather than cast a wide net, you should intentionally align your content with the culture and persona of your target audience.

For example, Kate Spade’s video series “Miss Adventure” follows the misfortunate events of a character living in New York. The brand cast Anna Kendrick, an actress already popular with the brand’s target audience. By using a well-known actress and an entertaining storyline, Kate Spade won viewers over in its video series.

Take a humanized approach.

When it comes to creating episodic content, don’t just show the polished side of the story. Consider the type of content that is likely to win the trust of the audience. We are all human, so don’t be afraid to take a humanized approach.

People are attracted to stories that are real and non-scripted. In short, we want to see content that shows the struggle. By embracing transparency and giving viewers a behind-the-scenes look at your product, company and team, you can gain viewer trust.

Encourage audience interaction.

Engage your audience by providing a variety of ways for them to interact with your brand. Getting the audience involved during each episode of content further increases brand engagement.

For example, Intel and Toshiba partnered to create the six-episode “The Beauty Inside” video series. The main character Alex wakes up every day as someone different. The companies further engaged viewers by asking them to enter their own videos for the chance to be broadcasted. These videos proved to be popular with their audience and had a positive impact on the brands.

If done well, episodic content marketing can help you differentiate your brand and build deeper connections with your customers. With the massive amount of content available online, use episodic content to tell your brand’s story in a unique way.