Every Friday I’m listing my top 5 finds of the week for business storytelling. Let’s start with the return on your storytelling investment. This post originally appear in LinkedIN Pulse.

1. The ROI of Story is 27.06 (Really!)

I read this post on Ron Ploof’s blog, and I can’t stop thinking about it. Some storyteller folk bought $128.74 worth of basic garage sale crap and sold the stuff for $3,612.51 on eBay by simply attaching a creative, fictional story to each item. Now that’s return on storytelling. Imagine what it can do for you and your brand.

These Hawaiian utensils were purchased for $1.99 and sold for $4.24. Here’s their story.

2. If Content is King, then Visual Storytelling is Probably, I don’t know, God

In this big data world, the last thing we consumers need is more information. What we really crave is meaning.  In 5 Visual Storytelling Trends to Watch Out For in 2016, Nayomi Chibana, a journalist and writer for Visme’s Visual Learning Center, shares the trends they see impacting online storytellers.

3. Don’t Make Me Read

The headline says it: 71 Brilliant, Clever and Inspirational Ads That Make You Think. Melanie Biehle, a Seattle-based freelance story artist (my term, because her bio covers so much creative ground) curated this collection of ads that have me saying over and over again, “Damn, I wish I had done that one. ”

4. The New World of Transmedia Branding

“There is no market for your message, only a market of conversations,” according to Henry Jenkins, Provost’s Professor of Communication, Journalism, and Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California. In this interview, Engaging with Transmedia Branding, Jenkins covers the complex landscape of paid, earned and owned media and how most ad agencies are lost in 20th century thinking. Great article with many solid examples of brands doing it well, like Levis, Old Spice and Megabots. Or, how about this safety video for Air New Zealand.

5. Storytelling That Moves People

One of my go-to business storytelling articles is the Harvard Business Review piece with legendary screenwriting coach, Robert McKee, about why business leaders should become more proficient storytellers. First watch this clip of McKee being portrayed in the movie Adaptation by actor, Brian Cox, and then picture the interview. The resulting article is priceless.

One last word: If you’re looking for some good podcast listening this weekend, I invite you to tune into my conversation with Josh Ginsberg, the Founder of Zignal Labs, about the importance of monitoring and measuring your brand story 24/7. Because you don’t really own that story. Your customers do. So don’t you want to know what they’re saying about you?

Have a great weekend.