[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Menu – global” fullwidth=”on” specialty=”off” transparent_background=”off” background_color=”#fce1c1″ allow_player_pause=”off” inner_shadow=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” padding_mobile=”off” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” make_equal=”off” use_custom_gutter=”off” next_background_color=”#000000″ custom_padding_tablet=”50px|0|50px|0″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”3.8″ global_module=”549″][et_pb_fullwidth_post_title admin_label=”The Resurgence of Graphic Novels and How Your Marketing Can Benefit” global_parent=”549″ _builder_version=”3.17.2″ meta=”off” date=”off” background_image=”https://iriscontent.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/bigstock-Coloured-Explosion-66434.jpg” text_orientation=”center” text_shadow_vertical_length=”0.1em” text_shadow_color=”rgba(201,211,178,0.4)” title_font=”Aclonica|700|||||||” title_text_align=”center” title_font_size=”79px” title_letter_spacing=”17px” title_line_height=”1.2em” title_text_color=”#fdf3e7″ meta_font_size=”6″ text_shadow_blur_strength=”0.1em” /][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”off” specialty=”off” transparent_background=”off” background_color=”#fce1c1″ allow_player_pause=”off” inner_shadow=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” padding_mobile=”off” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” make_equal=”off” use_custom_gutter=”off” prev_background_color=”#000000″ custom_padding_tablet=”50px|0|50px|0″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop”][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text text_font=”Georgia|300|||||||” text_text_color=”#1f041e” background_color=”#fce1c1″ use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” _builder_version=”3.17.2″ text_font_size=”20px” text_letter_spacing=”5px”]
Something has changed in the world, and you have noticed it already. No, Thanos still hasn’t taken over the Universe, but he definitely appeared on a box of cereal. And it’s not only him, but every other popular comic book and graphic novel character have found their way on the shelves of the supermarkets as brand ambassadors. And it goes way beyond that.
Today’s adults grew up reading the stories of the battle between good and evil enhanced with cool sketches, and today’s kids are reliving all of them through the movies, equally excited as the adults.
Graphic novels and comic books are on the rise again thanks to the movie industry. All of this fuss is completely justifiable because people simply love them. In fact, they love them so much that the first edition of Action Comics that in 1938 was worth a dime was sold for a record $3.2 million! The latest Avengers: Infinity War movie went over $2 billion in the box office. That’s how much we love them!
So what makes graphic novels and comic books so appealing to us? They are exciting, easy to read, visually appealing and tell a good story. If you offer any kid in the world the option to read the most exciting book or the most boring graphic novel, the vast majority would choose the graphic novel and they would still love it!
The inevitable question is: If content marketing can benefit from the comeback of the superhero era? It definitely can, and we are here to give you the content marketing tips to help you out!
More Engaging Content
No need to mention that storytelling in a form of a graphic novel or a comic book is appealing to many. The reason why this type of storytelling increases engagement is the closure principle that graphic novels are based on.
In terms of graphic novels and comic books, closure means that several fragmented images that tell a story are observed as a whole. In that sense, our brains are encouraged to try and fill in the gaps in order to get the full story. This is a mental trait that all people have – we don’t like unfinished things and if there is no clear ending in sight we would like to fill in the gaps and develop the details of the story ourselves.
Gaps like these are what makes the content feel more personal so to say. When our brains lack a detail in the entire story, we tend to connect it to our background or personal experience.
A compelling graphic novel style content should follow the standard format of left-to-right and top-to-bottom storytelling since that is the intuitive way of reading for everyone.
Great Addition to Written Content
Comic book style content can certainly stand on its own. However, due to the format, words are not the star of the piece. If you have a long article you might not be able to completely communicate the message just by sketches and few words placed in speech bubbles. However, writing can go hand in hand with graphic novels content and one can help the other interchangeably.
By using mixed storytelling through both elaborate text and illustrations, you can target more groups at once. Graphic novel style content will be the first thing that catches the eye of the reader. They will engage with it to an extent that works for them, and if they are really interested, they will go on an read the elaborate explanation. In any case, even if they don’t go further into reading the entire article, you have already made an impact on them and given them the brief version of the information they are after.
Telling a Story Through Different Channels
Think of whichever graphic novel or comic book superhero. They have started out a as character within a graphic piece, then were turned into an action figure, built a legacy of fans and had a movie adaptation. This gives you a crucial content marketing tip on how you can spread across various channels and attract customers of all backgrounds.
Going back to our Avengers movie example, people who genuinely don’t like superhero stories went to see the movie. Why? Because it created a huge fuss that everyone wanted to be a part of. Same with graphic novel inspired content. It gives you the chance of standing out for all the right reason and it is shareable content perfect for social media. Even people who do not match your buyer persona might find the content interesting and share it on. In that way, it will be spreading through more than one channel and if you have done the job right the users will provide you with increased exposure.
How to Fit Graphic Novel Style Storytelling in Any Business
Initially, it might not seem like this content type matches every business. It might not match it a 100% but you can always take bits and pieces that fit into your overall content marketing strategy. To give an example, let’s say that you are introducing a new product. Creating a comic book style content about it might not be the first place to go to. However, what you can do is introduce a fictional character that will be sort of a brand mascot. The character can announce the product through a series of sketches, and later on, you can use it to promote the product by having short comics of the character using the product. If you add an element of humor you might have just found your marketing treasure.
Take a look at Prada for example. Their latest SS18 collection was inspired by graphic novels and you should take a look at their creation as a content marketing tip you can use.
In reality, graphic novel style content is not the easiest to pull off, but if done properly it can be a great lead generating wonder, in a similar way Wonder Woman was for the comic book industry. It takes time, effort, creativity and resources, but it can perfectly fit into your bigger marketing picture. Hopefully these content marketing tips gave you ideas of how to use the graphic novel and comic books hype to your own advantage. In the meantime, here are some comics that only content marketers will understand! Laughs guaranteed!
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