Everyone loves a hero. From ancient mythologies to modern-day cinema, the hero’s journey has captivated audiences for centuries. But this powerful storytelling technique isn’t just reserved for the silver screen – it can also be an innovative way to narrate your business story.
Intrigued?
Let’s take a deep dive into the world of the hero’s journey and discover how it can empower your business
The Hero’s Journey: A Quick Introduction
The hero’s journey is a storytelling structure identified by American scholar Joseph Campbell. It follows a pattern: a hero embarks on an adventure, faces and overcomes a crisis, and then returns home transformed.
This framework isn’t just a formula for fantastic storytelling, it’s also a metaphor for personal growth and transformation.
It’s also one of the main copywriting techniques that you see.
Browse on the internet for more than 10 minutes and I bet you come across it more than once.
Applying the Hero’s Journey to Business Storytelling
In the realm of business, you can interpret the hero’s journey in several ways. Your company, a product, or even your customer could play the role of the hero. Here’s how it might look:
- The Call to Adventure: This is where your hero (company, product, or customer) is living an ordinary life and is then presented with a challenge or opportunity. For instance, your company might spot a gap in the market that your product can fill.
- The Crisis or Challenge: Your hero encounters obstacles or problems that need to be overcome. Maybe your product faced initial setbacks during development, or perhaps your customer is dealing with a problem that your product or service can solve.
- The Transformation or Resolution: Finally, the hero overcomes the crisis and is transformed. Your product might finally hit the market and receive rave reviews, or your customer’s problem could be solved, improving their life in some way.
The Hero’s Journey in Action
Let’s look at an example. Airbnb presents their customers as the heroes. In their narrative, the “call to adventure” is the desire to travel and experience a new location like a local.
The “crisis or challenge” is the impersonal and often expensive traditional accommodation options.
The “transformation” occurs when the customer uses Airbnb and has an amazing travel experience, living like a local in a cost-effective and personal way.
When you look at how they present and use this sequence, you can start to see how powerful this storytelling technique is.
Why Use the Hero’s Journey?
The hero’s journey resonates with us because it echoes our own life experiences. We all face challenges, overcome them, and come out the other side, transformed in some way.
In business storytelling, this can help your audience connect with your brand on a deeper level. They see themselves in your story and become emotionally invested in your journey. Whether it’s the success of your product or the story of how your service improves the lives of customers, the hero’s journey provides an engaging narrative framework.
Empowering Your Business with the Hero’s Journey
To effectively use the hero’s journey in your business storytelling, you need to understand your hero and their transformation journey. If your hero is your company or product, what was the “call to adventure”?
What obstacles did you overcome, and how were you transformed?
If your customer is the hero, what problem are they facing, and how does your product or service help them overcome it?
Use this understanding to create an interesting narrative that encapsulates the hero’s journey. Remember, the goal is not just to tell a story, but to engage and connect with your audience. Your story should inspire them, make them care about your journey, and invite them to be part of your ongoing adventure.
The Hero’s Journey – Social Media Examples
Twitter Examples of the Hero’s Journey:
As I mentioned in my previous post, Twitter can be a challenging platform. It’s character count and nesting threads can trip up some businesses, so here are some examples of this storytelling technique in action:
Example 1: A Health Food Company
Act 1 (The Call): Ever feel like healthy food is too bland? We did too, and it led us on a quest for a tastier solution. (Tweet 1/3)
Act 2 (The Challenge): Creating a healthy snack with great taste was no picnic. Countless recipes, countless taste tests… (Tweet 2/3)
Act 3 (The Resolution): Finally, meet ‘HealthBites’! Snacking is about to get a lot healthier, and yummier! (Tweet 3/3)
Example 2: A Software Start-up
Act 1: Tired of navigating complex software? We were too, so we dreamed of making it more user-friendly. (Tweet 1/3)
Act 2: Turning that dream into reality wasn’t a walk in the park. Coding, bugs, late nights…but we kept going. (Tweet 2/3)
Act 3: Meet ‘SimpleSoft’, a software that’s user-friendly and efficient. Make your workflow easier today! (Tweet 3/3)
Example 3: An Online Learning Platform
Act 1: Have you ever felt lost in the sea of online courses? We felt the same and were determined to bring change. (Tweet 1/3)
Act 2: The journey was tough. Curating quality content and making it accessible was a challenge. But we didn’t give up. (Tweet 2/3)
Act 3: Presenting ‘learners’, a platform where learning meets convenience. Start your learning journey now! (Tweet 3/3)
Short Form Video Examples for TikTok, Instagram and YouTube:
If you’re having trouble visualising this storytelling technique in a video form here are some ideas of The Hero’s Journey in different niches:
Example 1: A Home Cleaning Service
Act 1 (15 seconds): [Scene of a person struggling with home cleaning] “Are you overwhelmed by cleaning chores? We’ve been there too.”
Act 2 (20 seconds): [Scene of founding the service, showing the challenges] “Creating a professional cleaning service wasn’t easy, but we were determined.”
Act 3 (25 seconds): [Scene of their service in action, satisfied customers] “Meet ‘CleanHaven’, your solution to a cleaner home and a happier you!”
Example 2: A Local Bookshop
Act 1 (15 seconds): [Scene of a person looking for books online, looking dissatisfied] “Searching for the perfect book online but missing the bookstore charm?”
Act 2 (20 seconds): [Scene of setting up the bookshop, choosing books, setting up the website] “We felt that too, so we brought the bookstore to the digital world.”
Act 3 (25 seconds): [Scene of their online bookshop, happy customer finding the perfect book] “Introducing ‘BookCorner’, the charm of your local bookshop, online.”
Example 3: A Plant-based Cosmetic Brand
Act 1 (15 seconds): [Scene of a person looking at the ingredients of their cosmetic products, looking worried] “Ever worried about the chemicals in your cosmetics?”
Act 2 (20 seconds): [Scene of the brand in its initial stages, the challenges they faced] “We were concerned too and committed ourselves to create a natural alternative.”
Act 3 (25 seconds): [Scene of their products, happy customers using them] “Say hello to ‘NatureGlow’, where nature meets beauty!”
Conclusion
The hero’s journey isn’t just a storytelling technique; it’s a powerful tool for connecting with your audience, building your brand, and driving growth. By positioning your business, product, or customer as the hero, you create an engaging narrative that resonates with your audience and invites them to join you on your journey.
So, are you ready to embark on your hero’s journey?
The adventure awaits!
