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Why You Should Be Using Stories In Your Business

Everyone loves a great story and as humans we connect with each other through them. We are much more alike then different when it comes to our stories. You may be divided on an issue until you hear a story that is simuliar to yours and it connects you to the person.

Why is that? Because you know the pain, the injustice, the frustration that surrounds those circumstances that makes the person more relatable.

How can you incorporate the stories of your life into your business that makes your audience connect with you on a deeper level?

If stories weren’t important there would be no on demand or stories on our social media platforms. This tells you how you as an entrepreneur should tell your story it could be the key componet that opens up the flood gate of follower who your brand needs to connect with.

How can you take your followers on a journey with you? Creators have many forms of storytelling, from blogging, to vlogging and telling their stories through art and music and poetry. 

 

 

Stories Are What Connects Us

I always knew or felt there was more to life than just working a 9-5 job, I love to create, I had a vivid imagination growing up, I was always making things, candles, centerpieces, greeting cards, you name it.

Being in the work world became very mundane and didn’t lend to my happiness just the opposite, I longed for the weekends and dreaded Sunday’s because it meant Monday was close behind and back to the grind.

That story spoke of being unfilled at a job that didn’t pay you what you were worth and took all of your time and no hope of a bright future everyone’s mindset was “when I retire, heck I was still in my 30’s and that was a long way off and what if I changed jobs, what if I got fired or laid off.

 The promise of job security ended with the at-will employment agreement that you had to sign if you wanted to be employed.  Do we really read those things given us? No stability that your job could be lost and they didn’t have to have a reason why they were letting you go?

You’ve put in years of loyal service to a company that you are an asset when they need you and liability when they need to downsize. 

Being an entrepreneur in the ’90s was really hard until the internet phase hit, I ‘m sure many of you can remember when we had our first email with AOL and hearing the sound you got mail.

I remember countless nights when it would take forever to download a file, sitting at the computer patiently waiting and moving the mouse around so the computer wouldn’t fall to sleep only to start the process over again.

 

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Key Components In Storytelling

We hear across social media how important it is to use stories to gain interest in what it is you do. 

Social Media, Facebook and Instagram have infused storytelling in their platforms.

What stories are you telling?  

  • Inspiring
  • Tearjerker
  • Encouraging
  • Stirs up anger

Some stories are meant to stir emotions of anger for the listener to get angry about injustices.

What’s the story of how you arrived where you are in your journey?

Adversity connects us because we desire to know how that person overcame the adverstity in their life.

When you think about how refferals are made it’s because of something you shared because the person you were talking to wanted to know how to get rid a situation that was painful in their life

You refered either your friends, family members or a even a stranger to:

1. a lawyer who won your case.

2. a doctor who solved your illness

3. a coach who helped you reach your goals

4. a trainer who got you in shape.

5. a dentist that is kid friendly for a child.

There are so many stories that connect you to your audience, you just have to start telling them.

The beauty of storytelling is it’s your story, continue to tell the good days as well as the challenging days, everyone has though days and needs to know they are not the only ones struggling.

How many videos do you see of business owners sharing those not so pretty video’s those videos where they are vunerable or frustrated or their project didn’t go as planned.

I believe when we share these types of stories, it encourages your followers that  they are in good company when dealing with the ebbs and flows of life.

Telling your story is apart of your brand and blogging or vlogging is a couple of ways to share it. Here is a blog post I wrote about “Key Tips For Starting A Blog In 2020”  which outlines what goes into creating a blog.

You control the narrative, you can share as little as much as you like. Utilizing story telling in your brand can be as simple as the days events or as complex as a problem you overcame.

 

Finding your Storytelling Voice

Have you ever used storytelling to launch a product, sell a service or simply connect

with your core audience? If not, you’re overlooking one of the easiest ways to position yourself as an authority in your market.

Why? 

Because carefully crafted story-telling is at the heart of every effective marketing campaign, and

forms the foundation of every successful brand.  

A story that resonates with your market will unite your brand with its audience and demonstrate your commitment to providing value.  It will also show your market that you understand their concerns, fears and desires.

With a story entwined throughout your product launch, and within your branding itself, you’ll be able to better connect with your audience because you’re showing them why your brand even exists and how it was created to help them.

And that’s powerful stuff!

There’s another important reason to turn to storytelling when building your business: 

1. Storytelling can also help you find your voice, and stand out in the market because it gives your audience a new perspective, a closer look into the workings of your business and how your products or services are designed to help them.

2. It lays out the origin of your business and explains how you’re able to help them move to the next level in life or in their own business.

let’s make one thing clear: storytelling in marketing isn’t about you. It’s about your customer!  

Even when you weave personal stories into your marketing campaigns, the purpose is to highlight the benefits that your audience will gain access to when choosing your brand above all others. 

Storytelling can also be an effective way of identifying a problem in your niche and then offering a simple solution throughout your story.

There are so many ways you can effectively use storytelling to penetrate a new niche, connect with an audience, stand out from the crowd and subsequently, blow the competition out of the water.

Are you excited? You should be!

Today, I’d like you to kick-start the information-gathering phase. This is where you take some time to analyze your brand so you can determine a relevant storyline for your launch.

You’ll need to take a step back so you can gain insight into how your audience will likely see your brand, not how you know it to be.

This isn’t always easy because of your connection with your products and services. 

Begin by writing down notes relating to:

* Your brand’s purpose: Why it exists. How it began.

* Your brand’s influence: What you bring to the table. 

* Your brand’s problem-solving: How you bring solutions to your market.

These questions will help shape your storytelling strategy and make it easier for you to create the foundation for your campaigns.

 

 

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