Business storytelling is fast becoming a main form of marketing for leaders, entrepreneurs, and even start-up company owners. After all, stories allow us to learn best and when told on a personal level, the chances of a viewer taking action or recommended your brand/business/content to others will elevate. American author, journalist and marketing consultant called Chris Brogan once said, “Stories are how we learn best. We absorb numbers and facts and details, but we keep them all glued into our heads with stories.” On that note, let’s find out why your leadership modern marketing strategy should expand to the use of personal storytelling, shall we?
Conveying Your Vision with Personal Stories
Some of the most successful brands in the world have shared their stories and when it comes to establishing yourself as a brand, it is absolutely essential that you can connect your stories to create an element of transmedia storytelling. Whether a brand was founded a very long time ago or is a family partnership, every brand has a story tell. Take this opportunity to connect with your audience and make them realize why they should become a loyal customer. Putting yourself and your team members in the center of the stories you promote will teach future customers exactly what the brand is built on. Furthermore, it will attract the attention of advocates who want to share the company’s story.
Playing a Role in Storytelling
Tapping into the power of storytelling for business is the best way to engage with your audience and share your ideas. Verbal storytelling connects us to our listeners and since most people will buy from brands they know, trust, and like, sharing real-life stories is essential. An element of entertainment can be thrown into the mix to further retain attention, so why not play different roles and reflect on stories inspired by other industry professionals or customers. Conveying your vision, personality and brand values is critical for molding your brand for the future. To stand out online, you need to bring the message to life with an honest story that relates to your audience on an emotional level.
Demonstrating Different Stages of the Journey
Every business owner had to start somewhere. Take Bill Gates for example; his interest in computer programming stemmed from the age of 13. Little did he know that he would start his own company shortly after college – Microsoft. The American business magnate’s journey from bottom to top is what drove his company/brand to such heights. If you want to inform your target audience about the high’s and low’s of your company, there’s a good chance they will be intrigued to learn more. Honesty and openness are two things that can turn potential customers into brand advocates.
Stories are Memorable and Easy to Follow
As much as it would be wonderful if everyone had a good concentration span, the truth is that most people will not be able to remember as much with written content or imagery. Visual storytelling is a sure-fire way to make your audience remember what the overall message was. We have been listening to and reading stories from a young age, proving that you can get into people’s minds with the storytelling method.
Setting the scene for your audience all starts with proper storytelling. Keeping your viewers glued is not as hard it might initially seem and when you start communicating with your viewers on a more personal level, the satisfaction will go far beyond the revenue your business benefits from. Stories sell, and that’s a fact. Staying on top of things and most importantly, keeping your customer base in the loop about what’s happening in your business, can be accomplished easily with storytelling.