Seven Avenues for Strategic Storytelling
Last week I was given a wonderful opportunity to present to a group of realtors about strategic storytelling. I thoroughly enjoyed sharing my love and knowledge of storytelling to help them better reach their target audiences, fine-tune their intent, clarify their voice and understand the elements that make a good story. All of us appreciate a good story. It is as old as time, the desire to huddle around a campfire and listen to great storytellers invite us into an unseen world of the imagination. My favorite time of day when my kids were younger was reading them stories at bedtime. We still have storytime now, but much more sporadically, and I miss those nightly snuggles, laughing at silly phrases or illustrations and getting lost with my children in a good book.
Storytelling has changed form over the years. While a good book is still my favorite way to read or hear a story, now movies, TV shows, journals, newspapers, blogs, websites, YouTube, and even short stories on social media are channels through which we can enjoy a good story. The most effective marketing utilizes the key components of story to evoke emotion. We are emotional creatures, and it is essential that we feel connected to a brand, company, person, product or service in order to do business with them or make a purchase.
How do you utilize storytelling in your marketing to influence your customers and target audience? If you are looking for some fresh ideas, here are seven creative ways to incorporate story into your marketing*:
Case studies: How did you resolve a difficult customer issue? What problem did you solve and how? Dedicate a webpage or space on the services page of your website to these. Share them intermittently on social media to offer help, guidance and examples of how you work.
Testimonials: Hearing directly from your customers provides the social proof your prospects need to get on board. Get a direct quote, a name and a photo if possible. Tap into the descriptive element of story for this one by asking your customers for a testimonial about their experience with a specific product or service or asking them to describe what they enjoy most about working with you.
Day in the Life: This one appeals to your audience’s curiosity about you. Describe a day in your life at your business or place of work. Use all the elements listed below in the Tell Your Story section to grab attention, educate and inspire your clients. The more familiar they are with you, the more connected they will feel, and the more likely they are to buy. Share this on your About page on your website and/or on social media.
Creative Website Pages: In order to be competitive in today’s market, spark your customers’ imagination with stories on your web pages that make them think, wonder and act. Ask questions of them. Paint a picture with your words and beautiful photos. Even consider asking for their interaction through a survey or buttons to engage them.
Press Releases or Articles in Industry Publications: These are some of the best ways to widen your reach and tell your story to people outside of your usual community. Have an event, announcement or partnership you’re excited to share? Tell the story in a press release. Aiming to be a thought-leader in your industry and gain respect and credibility? Submit an article to an industry publication. If you tell your story well, they may just invite you to be a regular contributor.
Email Campaigns or Newsletters: Campaigns are a great way to tell multiple stories or one ongoing story in parts. Create cliffhangers to keep your audience eagerly awaiting your next email. Regular email newsletters to your customers and community are a great way to consistently share stories about you, your work and your industry.
Social Media Reels: Tell short stories over video and engage your customers in your activities, growth, etc. With attention spans getting shorter and shorter, this is a good way to reach the people who don’t have the patience to read a longer story.
*If writing, creating content or crafting stories isn’t your thing or you just don’t have the time, hire a writer like me to help!
Below are the core components of strategic storytelling. Which ones do you feel confident in, and which ones need more attention from you?
Audience
Who is your target market? Where do they look/go online and in person? What do they like? What motivates them? Don’t assume the answers to these questions - ask them! If you haven’t already, do some market research and interview a number of ideal clients. If you have a solid client list you want to grow, consider sending a survey to gather information. If you don’t know who you are telling your story to, it will be hard to tell it effectively. In order to get them to care and engage in your story, you need to listen to and understand what makes them tick first.
Intent
Clarify your intent by beginning with your end goal in mind. Being strategic means you have a plan of action to move towards an overall aim or goal. Is your goal to get new clients? Educate your clients? Build awareness or credibility? Be sure you are spending focused time and energy on efforts that target your end goal. Time is your most valuable asset. Knowing your intent and aligning your actions strategically will ensure you are spending your time in ways that will bring the results you desire.
Voice
One of my favorite quotes about communication is Brene Brown’s, “Clear is kind.” Being clear in how you write and speak in a way that has brand integrity is the kindest way to communicate with your customers. Using your voice consistently through your stories is the key to building familiarity. People are more likely to do business with people they are familiar with and like, and it’s hard for them to get familiar with you if you aren’t consistent in your voice and messaging. Use a confident voice when communicating to build trust and credibility. When you clarify and know your voice, your audience will listen and respond.
Telling Your Story
The key elements of a story include the 5 W’s and 1 H: Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How. These are often used in journalism or research for information-gathering. They are a great starting point for writing a good story - both to consider from the outside and the inside of your story. For example, it’s important to consider who is listening/reading/benefitting from your story, as well as who your story is about. What story will you tell, and what messaging will you use? When will you share it, and when does the story take place? Where will you tell it (on which platforms), and where does the story take place? Why are you telling this story (purpose), and why is its message important? Lastly, how are you telling your story, and how does it unfold and get resolved? Telling a story with all these elements that is also rich with descriptions, vivid imagery and a clear message is an art form. The more you practice it, the better you will get.
Testing, Tracking & Tailoring
It’s important for any strategic storytelling to involve testing, tracking and tailoring as you go. This way, you know if/how your strategy is working and how it might need to be modified. Test different days, times, platforms, buttons, headlines, calls to action, etc. to see which ones yield the best results for sharing your story. When tracking, track the when, what and the results through a service like Google Analytics in order to see open rates, clicks, emails gathered, and sales. As you track, adjust your testing to fine-tune and optimize in order to reach your target audience in the best ways. Lastly, tailor. Edit often. Get feedback directly from your clients. Adapt and adjust as needed.
Overall, it’s important to find the storytelling avenue(s) that works best for you and that you enjoy. Even if your storytelling is simply for the fun of sharing your personal adventures, art or travel, rather than for business marketing, these principles of strategic storytelling still apply. It all comes down to your end goal and creating a storytelling strategy that will get you to that end goal. Storytelling is about connecting, sharing our experiences, and building community. Through stories, we learn, laugh, get inspired and celebrate our shared humanity.
Which new avenue for strategic storytelling are you interested in exploring?
