One of the main challenges business owners face when marketing their brand is getting people’s attention. There is so much competition out there. It becomes harder to stand out with all the free information and digital noise. This is why content marketing has become so important. It’s a great way to develop an audience while increasing the chances of having potential customers find your website. No matter what industry you’re in, content marketing, more specifically, storytelling, is one of the main ingredients in developing a following and really showing the world who your brand is and what you stand for.
What Is Storytelling?
Storytelling is a great way to connect with your audience. It’s not just about the products or services you offer, it’s about how those products and services exist in the world. What are you doing for others, how are you meeting their needs, easing troubles. It shows that your business is alive, and run by real people that offer real value in today’s marketplace
To create a really compelling story, there are a few characteristics that will make you stand out and really relate to your customer.
Being Transparent And Truthful: Being completely open and honest about your company should be the cornerstone of the content you create. It should be about real people and real situations as well as facts and genuine emotions. Try not “to tell” but “to show”. Try to use terms people can relate to, especially when explaining how you intend to add value to their lives.
Humanize Your Brand: Even if you’re company is B2B, focusing on how your products or services touch the lives of others is a great way to humanize your brand. Allowing users to connect with you through the experiences of your customers shows the impact you have in the lives of others. One rule when writing about people: “Be specific enough to be believable and universal enough to be relevant” –Ann Handley
Be Original: You want to offer a fresh perspective when it comes to developing your story. What’s unique about your company? What’s the inspiration behind it? Why is it important?
Putting The Customer First: You want your story to resonate with people in more ways than just what’s tangible. Features, functionality and benefits of your products or services are fine, but creating an emotional connection with your audience, really showing that you get who they are and what they need, will do so much more for your story, and for your business. Create something that they want to be a part of.
Now that we understand the basics in creating a compelling brand story, here are some questions that will help develop your story:
- What’s your purpose?
- What’s your history? What’s interesting about how the business was founded? About the founder?
- What inspired the business?
- What’s interesting about your company? Why is it important?
- What problem is your company trying to solve?
- What are your values and how do you portray them in your business?
- What is important to you?
- How does your company add value to the lives of your customers?
- How has your business evolved?
- What makes your product or services different from the competition?
- Can you identify all of the people that make your business thrive? Who are they?
If you don’t know who you are, and what your businesses core value propositions are, it will be very challenging to explain it to someone else. You want to share your story in an honest and engaging way, and it starts by understanding your reason for being, and expressing that reason in a way that users can relate to and want to be a part of.
Be open, be honest, be human. Everyone loves a good story. Make yours one of them!
