Is Your Marketing Content Raising Unresolved Questions?
The story of Jonah is a whale of a tale that doesn’t get the credit it deserves. It’s so much more than a one-dimensional children’s story about a guy who gets swallowed by a great fish. Jonah’s story has a depth and sophistication that are easy to miss if you don’t watch for them. In fact, the great fish isn’t even the most interesting part of the story. It’s what happens later that’s really compelling.
What does all this have to do with marketing? Good question. But first, you need to know the story of Jonah.
The Reluctant Prophet
Jonah is a reluctant prophet. God comes to him and says, “I want you to go and preach against the city of Nineveh. Tell them I’m going to destroy them in 40 days.” So Jonah eventually goes. First he runs, then he sails, then he gets tossed overboard and nearly drowned, and finally he gets swallowed by a great fish. Then he decides he’ll go to Nineveh. He delivers the message to the city, and something unexpected happens:
The entire city repents. That’s a big deal, because NOBODY listens to an Old Testament prophet — especially godless Gentiles like the Ninevites. Keep in mind, this is a city that is legendary for its wickedness. But the whole city repents, from the king on down.
And something else remarkable happens: God repents, too! He decides not to destroy the city after all.
Well, Jonah is livid. He can’t stand the idea of Israel’s archenemies prospering — especially under God’s own hand. So in a huff, he goes up on a hillside that overlooks the city and sits down to see what happens.
Soon God comes to Jonah and he says, “What right do you have to be angry? I created these people. I love these people. Don’t I have the right to save these people?”
And THIS is the most interesting part of the story: we don’t know how Jonah responds. The story ends there, unresolved, hanging in silence on an unanswered question. It creates a tension that can make you squirm if you sit in it long enough, because it forces you to answer the question for Jonah. And if you take the time to really enter into the situation honestly, you might not like the response you give.
Okay, but I still haven’t answered YOUR question: what’s all this have to do with marketing? I’m glad you asked!
Is Your Marketing Raising Unresolved Questions?
What happens when you ask a question and leave someone to answer it for themselves?
What would happen if your marketing content raised certain questions and left your audience to answer them for themselves?