The distillation of people’s thoughts and opinions to an ideal narrative theme should compel and inspire content creators to use their talents and skills. The ideal narrative theme is not a script, or an outline, but are goals by which content creators can shape strategies and set a tone. For example, for the ideal narrative, a filmmaker might want to use humor, and have the subject speak directly into the camera. A songwriter might create a hard-driving song rather than a ballad. At this point we should be using the creative process to its fullest.
The content should be tested with our target audience to determine if it is resonant and compelling. If possible, we can iterate, or do A/B testing.
It’s important for those involved in the process - the interviewers, the story experts, and the content creators - witness the audience’s reaction to the content. We cannot rely on the audience to explain why something succeeds or fails, so we must observe, understand what’s working and what isn’t, then iterate on the content.
Like all content - stories, jokes, songs, shows - most of the content we create for our audience won’t be an instant hit. It might not be funny enough. It might be too long. The writing might not be clear.
But it won’t be off-theme.
There is no formula for creating viral content. Virality relies on timing, surprise, creativity, but primarily luck. A/B testing - asking the audience to compare different versions of content - will guide us closer to success, but to get a truly viral message relies more on iteration and instinct than data.
Because we have captured the audience’s narratives, and created narrative themes to support them, we can confidently build on the foundation. What is built may not always work, but we won’t distrust the foundation. By establishing the audience’s key narratives, we can focus on the delivery of the message.