The Art of Narrative Construction in Strategic Planning

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As a marketing executive, you understand that in the world of strategic planning there is a crucial concept: every presentation, every proposal is fundamentally a narrative construction. Just as an author weaves an engaging story, marketing professionals are tasked with creating a strategic narrative that captivates, informs and guides the client towards success. This could not be different in our universe, considering that the basis of influence is content.
September 15, 2023 / YOUPIX
Influencer Marketing
Contextualizing the target audience and the segment
The foundation of good strategic influence planning is established by delving into the contexts of the target audience and the segment. Neglecting belarus email list these narratives, prioritizing the dialogue that the brand wants to impose, can (and probably will) result in weak and insufficient strategies.
It’s not about what the brand wants to talk about! In advertising, you pay to interrupt the conversation, in influencer marketing, you pay to be part of it. And if you talk to everyone, you talk to no one!
What are these conversations?
Literally the topics your audience talks about. For brands, this conversation is the content, it's answering what people ask, not just saying what they feel like saying.
The content is always on and is not directly related to annual or seasonal campaign efforts and concepts; it runs parallel to this strategy, supporting its concepts but creating evergreen narratives in formats that generate real connection.
How can we map these conversations?
Using tools such as Social Listening, which monitors discussions on social media, or Desk Research, a survey that addresses digital behaviors and trends on Google Trends. Observing profiles similar to those of your target audience is also valuable, as it provides clues about what to look for and how to interact with influencers. Identifying crucial voices that debate and amplify emerging conversations is also a good way to go.
Do you have well-defined brand territories? Have you stopped to map out how they translate into the digital universe and the production of organic content? Influence goes beyond functional, advertising and extractive conversation. It's about understanding the universes of conversation that connect with the brand and, from there, relating to a creator and their community.
The role of social networks as a social observatory
Social networks become a vast social observatory for us. The internet is an inexhaustible universe of material that can be studied in relation to the target audience. By looking at people similar to those you want to analyze, it is possible to understand who they are, who they follow, what they discuss and post.
It is in this sea of ​​content that already exists (with or without your brand) that you will find the basis for defining a strategic insight. This insight is not a sudden epiphany, but a reflection that is stimulated by a deep understanding of the context.
Content is a commodity
Everyone does it. There are tons of them. Everything is too ephemeral. There is little differentiation. Everyone is living a gigantic infoxication. No one can stand it anymore. What will differentiate what your brand produces is understanding the narratives that exist without it.
The power of strategic storytelling
Strategic storytelling is more than just a few isolated posts, like a feed post and three stories. It’s what introduces the brand’s message into the creator’s content and into the audience’s context. The evolution of brands’ online presence over time is driven by the changing concept of mass media and demographic target audiences, which don’t exist on the internet.
Connecting influencers to consumers therefore requires leveraging all the knowledge acquired about the target audience. Each stage of the conversations must be mapped out, outlining how influencers can insert the brand into the discussions.
Behavior Desk: Discovering Relevant Conversations
Here at YOUPIX, we call this stage of our consultancy the Behavior Desk. It is one of the most enriching stages in this strategic development process and the one that promotes the biggest changes in how the brand will guide its content from then on. It is part of the discovery stage and is when we understand the relevant conversations that occur in scenarios connected to your brand. Research, studies and journalistic immersions show us the opportunities that the company has to build content, communities, products and services.
Techniques such as social listening, interviews and immersion in social media help us map out the conversations of the target audience related to the brand's universe and the specific territories in which it wants to venture. This exploration of the digital environment allows us to map out opportunities, behavioral trends and content references that make sense to the target audience. Identifying the main voices and how the brand can insert itself into this dialogue is also crucial.
Guiding the conversation
Understanding the crucial issues at each stage of the target audience's journey provides the necessary input to plan how to respond and who can deliver that response to the brand.
The art of narrative construction in strategic planning is key to capturing customer attention and intent. In this complex environment, understanding your target audience and mapping relevant conversations are what pave the way for strategic insights that, when added to an engaging narrative, drive brand success.
We recently released a study on narratives from a specific segment for the first time. We chose the beauty industry, which we consider a pioneer in the Creator Economy, to map conversations and narratives. Click here to download the material and understand how our process works.