AMA: Salesforce Former Senior Director, Growth Product Marketing, Jodi Innerfield on Storytelling

There are three storytelling frameworks I love, all for different reasons and uses: Pixar Story Spine: This one's great for product demos and feature storytelling. Used by Pixar animators, it’s a structured narrative progression focused on creating a story that is both relatable and memorable. It follows a framework of: What if…? Once upon a time… Everyday… Until one day… Because of that… Because of that… Because of that… Until finally… And the moral of the story is... So for product demos, thin ...Read More

I'm not sure if you're asking about how I use data and insights IN stories, or how I use them to SHAPE stories, so I'll answer both: Data IN stories: Numbers build trust and credibility, and certain buyers and personas NEED data and proof points in order to have a "reason to believe". I find that industry statistics and data help frame the "problem" at the beginning of a story to help validate that the audience isn't alone in the struggle or experience they're having. Or, data helps create urgen ...Read More

Where do I use storytelling? Everywhere! What is a story? A story speaks to a specific audience and knows what compels them and captures their attention. It has a clear structure: a beginning, a middle, and an end. And a story is believable. You can (and should!) use these principles everywhere, which means you can use storytelling everywhere. Externally, I use storytelling in my first call deck with sales teams, in an event or a keynote presentation, and in ad campaigns and customer stories. Bu ...Read More

The first key to great storytelling is "know your audience," so I'm glad to see this question! We say this all the time in product marketing--if you're positioning your product for everyone, you've positioned it for no one. The same goes for storytelling: if you're trying to talk to everyone, you're talking to no one. So, if you've got multiple audiences, you may need multiple stories: A first call deck for a C-suite buying committee who wants to know how your product saves time and reduces cost ...Read More

To train marketers and non-marketers to be storytellers, you could bring someone in to train them :) Beyond that, start by simplifying "what is a story." Everyone has a favorite book, movie, musical, play, or story they were told as a child. Maybe their child has a favorite bedtime story. Ask them: What makes a good story? Once you have people bought in on what makes a good story (a clear structure, a believable challenge, a compelling hero, a satisfying resolution) challenge them to think about ...Read More

Regardless of whether it's a GTM story, a customer story, or an internal pitch, I have three key elements for any story: Who are you talking to? Make sure you are very clear on your audience, what they care about, how they make decisions, and the one thing you want them to walk away with. How do you get their attention? You'll need a framework and a structure with a clear beginning, middle, and end so it's easy to follow your story. And, you want to make sure the pain/problem you set up at the b ...Read More