Storytelling is as old as time. It was used to teach important information to the general public way before there was paper or papyrus (or even writing!). Important concepts could be condensed into short stories which helped the audience understand what was being conveyed. You only have to look at the bible for example. Filled with lots of stories or parables. Illustrations of complicated ideas conveyed in a way that even the lay person could understand. Think, “The kingdom of God is like…”
Why am I saying this. After all, what has the bible got to do with your business? Well, its all about effective communication. All about getting your story out to your customers. Helping them to understand your business and what it does. We all know that as a business we need to understand our customers better, however, we need to help them to understand us too. So we need to tell them our story. Who we are, what we can do, how we can help them.
Story telling is easy, everyone does it. We all make up stories to entertain our children. It’s called playing with them. When you sit with your son or daughter and play, for example, with their Lego ™ you make up a scenario of what is happening in their world. That is story telling. It doesn’t have to be a long novel of Pulitzer prize winning quality, it just needs to be honest, from the heart.
People engage with people. They will engage with your business more when they engage with you, with your staff.
Ok, so its just good old fashioned marketing isn’t it? In some respects yes. Marketing was pushing the brand and the product. This is more about You, More personal. This is a more modern way of doing things. A more people oriented way of engaging with people. Lets be honest. No one likes being sold to. No one likes being told that they absolutely must have the latest new gizmo or gadget. They prefer to know you, to know they can trust you, to know you can help them. Once they know you, they begin to like you. They begin to connect with you. Connected customers will buy more from you. They will keep coming back. They become loyal customers. The kind of customers you need.
So, get out there, tell your story. It doesn’t have to be professional, it doesn’t have to be polished. It needs to be honest.
Look at the phenomenon that is the YouTube blog. Thousands upon thousands of people getting out there online and just talking, telling stories. Engaging with their customers (if you are watching their videos then you are a customer). They are often very raw. Not done by professional companies. But, they are effective. Why? Because they are honest and communicate directly with those who watch them. It’s like listening to a friend. You feel like you know the person. You feel that you could trust them.
Traditional methods of marketing no longer work.
Tell your story.