Stories are a fantastic marketing strategy because they actively and easily engage your audience in ways other marketing techniques can not. It has a sort of personal feel which your audience craves. They want to feel important, and they want to feel as though they have connected with your company on some deep level. Give them that feeling! Allow them to feel special and important because if you were in their shoes you would want the same.
Story Types
There are different types of stories you can tell. The most popular is a personal story. Personal stories tell about a persons life, painting the rise to their current position in a realistic fashion. Everyone has a story. Some are more interesting to the public than others, but the public wants to hear your personal stories one way or another. What was your childhood like? How did you do in school and what did you pursue beyond your studies? How long have you worked in your field and why did you decide to begin a business? These things together form a personal story.
Another popular story type are those based around life lessons, quotes of meaning, and classic live and learn. Did you go wrong somewhere when starting up your business? Did you have to overcome adversity to get where you are? These don’t have to be personal either, as with the story type we mentioned above. You could simply choose a quote you really enjoy and build a story with lessons from it. You could take any number of paths with these types of stories.
You may also want to tell your client’s stories- with their permission, of course. These stories are much like testimonials, but they are a little longer and more detailed. I can not stress enough the importance of getting permission to use your clients stories, however, so please be careful when using this type of story.
Proper Execution
Proper execution of a story should take place through all channels. Integrate your story into your blog, website, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest… everywhere. Your story (or multiple stories as the case may sometimes be) will help to define your company, both for yourself and for the general public. Make the story engaging. Invite your target audience to share with you on social media sites their own stories, especially if they relate to your story in some way or form. Just remember to keep the details of your story the same on all channels. If your customers notice small details changing they won’t believe you and your story will fail, pure and simple.
Important Tips
- Write the details of your story out prior to setting it off as a campaign. This will help ensure you don’t mess up later on.
- Be consistent across all channels.
- Create promotional pictures to go with your story. This helps the story appeal more to your audience.
Don’t actively involve hard selling in your story. The point is to engage in a way which will make your customers want to buy from you, not have them thinking your faking a story for a few sales.
