Have you ever read a b2b white paper that read like a novel - yet was 100% accurate? A veritable page-turner.

No, neither have I…

It seems to me that many marketing communciations professionals are hemmed in by the realities of doing business. There are oodles and oodles of legal, compliance and competitive forces that mandate how things must get done.

But I think these ‘business vectors’ result in a certain blandness to many of the white papers, case studies, blog posts, video logs and other ‘content’ that technology businesses hope their audiences will read (or is that consume?)

You can almost ‘sense’ the invisible mesh protecting the ‘real story’.

And that’s why I wonder how might fictional narrative styles be employed in the b2b marcoms world?

A case study series that uses narrative techniques, scenes and even a plot?

A white paper and its impact, written as if it was a three act play?

To be honest, I’m not certain how or even if these might work. But that doesn’t mean they should be ignored.

Technology business marketing is (ever) changing under the influence of the Internet and modern communications.

For example, b2b social selling is close to being potty-trained and about to enter preschool. (In my opinion.)

How will prospect and marketers get together in this brave new world? Not by drowning the potential customer in a flood of content they can never hope or, more importantly, want to read.

That’s why I’m interested in how ‘creative nonfiction‘ might play a constructive role in the business world. That Wikipedia link is a start. Now followup with this primer from the guy who wrote the book, Lee Gutkind. I mean, who can resist a book titled, “You Can’t Make This Stuff Up.”

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