How to Use Primal Storytelling to Move Your Customers And Drive Growth

On this episode of Predictable B2B Success, host Vinay Koshy is joined by guest Anthony Butler to discuss the power of primal storytelling in marketing and driving growth. The two discuss different types of plot structures and emotions that can connect with an audience to create compelling content.

They also dive into the Primal Storytelling business system, which provides a step-by-step guide for planning content and using emotional connections to improve digital ads. The speaker gives numerous examples of businesses successfully implementing this system to create meaningful, value-based content and drive predictable growth.

They also discuss the importance of understanding audience demographics and psychographics and creating a vision story explaining the business’s big idea. By emphasizing the power of storytelling and emotional connection in marketing, this episode teaches businesses how to move their customers and achieve long-term success.

Watch the episode

About Anthony Butler

Anthony Butler founded a successful marketing agency, but his wake-up call came when a CEO fired them for not getting ROI on their spend. This led him to examine why some content performs and others don’t. He realized that most of the time, it has to do with personality and connection. He delved into the idea of evolutionary psychology. He discovered that humans have vestiges of urges left inside us, such as the need for connection and meaning behind the things we buy.

As a marketer, understanding these primal emotions and connecting them to your audience makes it easier to create content that moves the needle and connects with your audience. This revelation led him to write “Marketing for Humans,” a book highlighting the importance of putting a face and heart into marketing.

From Fired Agency to Primal Storytelling: A Journey to Predictable B2B Success

The latest episode of Predictable B2B Success explores the topic of primal storytelling and how it can drive business growth. Host Vinay Koshy interviews Anthony Butler, a combat veteran and the founder of the digital marketing agency Can Do Ideas, and the author of the book – Primal Storytelling. The episode delves into the importance of storytelling in marketing and how Anthony’s Primal Storytelling system can help businesses drive predictable growth.

Anthony’s journey with Primal Storytelling began when his agency was fired by a client who wasn’t seeing an ROI on their spend. This was a wake-up call for Anthony and his team to pivot their approach and focus on creating content with heart, emotion, and connection. According to Anthony, storytelling in marketing is often overlooked, despite humans’ natural instincts for connection and meaning. He says, “We’re wired for story. Storytelling is something that transcends generations and cultures.”

Anthony’s agency realized that they had been neglecting the human aspect of their content, and that’s when they started exploring the concept of primal emotions and urges. By tapping into these primal instincts, businesses can create content that connects with their audience and moves the needle. Anthony’s Primal Storytelling system involves:

• Planning content.
• Using templates and structures to test and learn what works.
• Adding emotional content that taps into primal urges to improve the efficiency of digital ads.

One key takeaway from the episode is that businesses must have a long-term mindset regarding content marketing. “Too many businesses adopt a fly-by-night attitude to content marketing. They post ad hoc, don’t have a plan, and don’t think about the long-term,” says Anthony. Instead, he recommends that businesses create long-form content and put more thought into the content they create. Anthony gave the example of a manufacturing plant creating a leadership program for mechanical engineers. This adds value for clients and serves as a theme for a long-term content plan. 

Another key takeaway is the importance of personal transformations in business, even in B2B. Anthony emphasizes that –

B2B is not about businesses; it’s about the people in those businesses.

– Anthony Butler

By focusing on the human side of B2B interactions, businesses can create a connection with their audience and build trust. Anthony advises companies to create a vision story that explains the big idea behind their business, even if it’s less grandiose than making humanity a multi-planetary species. 

He also stresses the importance of value stories, content created solely for the audience’s benefit rather than self-promotion. Anthony believes that even seemingly mundane businesses can have a compelling story to tell if approached correctly. He uses the example of a construction company specializing in digging septic tanks. This may seem like the least exciting business to the casual observer. Still, using Primal Storytelling, the company can connect with its audience through its journey and show how its services help improve homeowners’ quality of life. The episode also explores the use of emotions in marketing. 

Anthony suggests that businesses can use emotions to create compelling content but warns that emotions like fear can backfire if overused. Instead, he recommends using curiosity as the most effective emotion to tap into. “Curiosity is about asking questions, and when you ask questions, you invite people to participate in the conversation,” says Anthony. He also emphasizes the importance of understanding the target audience’s primary urges and fears and using this knowledge to create content that connects with them. 

A key part of Anthony’s Primal Storytelling system is using templates to plan a year’s content. The plan is broken down into quarters, months, and weeks, and businesses identify three to five emotions to target by understanding the primary urges and fears of the target audience. Anthony acknowledges this is time-consuming but emphasizes the importance of quality over quantity. “You don’t need to post every day to be part of the conversation,” he notes. 

You don’t need to post every day to be part of the conversation

– Anthony Butler

Ultimately, Primal Storytelling aims to drive out bland corporate content on the internet by adding stories and challenging content for better long-term SEO results. Anthony believes businesses can get in their way of doing storytelling right by believing complexity is necessary, fearing vulnerability, and hiding behind the corporate veil. He encourages companies to consider why people consume content and produce something valuable that connects with the audience. The podcast host, Vinay Koshy, summarizes this well:

To be successful in B2B, you need to think about the audience and what you can do to connect with them.

– Vinay Koshy

In conclusion, Anthony Butler’s Primal Storytelling system offers a framework for businesses to create compelling content that connects with their audience and drives growth. His emphasis on the human side of B2B interactions and using primal emotions to create emotional content is a refreshing take on the typical corporate approach to marketing. As Anthony puts it,

We need heart in the business world. We need passion. We need to have a story to tell because that’s what connects us.

– Anthony Butler

By tapping into our primal instincts for storytelling and connection, businesses can create an authentic connection with their audience and drive predictable growth.

Some areas we explore in this episode include:

• Comparison of plots in the speaker’s book to popular movies
• Effectiveness of underdog and life’s journey plots in marketing
• Primal urges driving people on vacation
• Importance of results and connection in the agency business
• Lack of heart and emotion in content marketing
• Primal Storytelling business system and case study
• Importance of long-term planning and value-add content
• Emotions in marketing and understanding the audience
• Creating a year’s worth of content using free templates
• A three-part system for effective marketing
• Valuable content and connecting with the audience
• Storytelling for predictable business growth
• And much, much more.

Listen to the episode

Related links and resources

Connect with Anthony

• LinkedIn

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