I know, you’ve heard people like me bang on endlessly about using storytelling in your marketing. It’s a great way to get personality into your content and set yourself apart from the crowd. The thing is, how do you do it? It won’t surprise you to hear that it’s not just a case of telling everyone your life story. It’s all about balance. Your customers will love the fact that you’re relatable but they mainly want to hear about how your business can benefit them. Here’s how you can start using storytelling in your marketing.
Dig deep
You already know the good news about storytelling. Here’s the bad(ish) news. You need to put some work in. As with anything that’s worth doing, using storytelling in your marketing requires a bit of groundwork. If you don’t believe in what you’re saying your customers will spot it. Your message comes across as half-hearted and no-one will buy into it. That’s the last thing you want.
This means that your first step is to work out exactly what your story is. There are loads of things that go into this. If you’ve ever thought about your ‘why’, you’re halfway there. Think about why you chose to start this type of business, or to become self-employed at all. What are your values? How does your lifestyle and history relate to your business? Dig down to the core of what motivates you and write it all down.
What do your customers care about?
Once you’ve got a clear picture of what you’re about, start looking at it from a customer focused angle. People do business with you because you offer something that they need. As consumers we’ll often choose a big brand because we’re confident they’ll deliver most of the time. We know what they’re offering and have clear expectations. As a small business you need to build all of that into your marketing. Your customers only really care about your story because it gives you substance. If you share their values or understand their lives you’re much less likely to let them down.
What does this mean for storytelling? It means that you need to look at what your values are and decide which of them your customers will care about. If you offer products or services for children, parents might trust you more if you’re a parent yourself, or have a childcare background. Look at your story and work out which bits are going to be important to your audience.
The storytelling drip feed
About once a month I’ll write something that isn’t really related to my business. It doesn’t help you to work out how to write your blog or improve your website, it just tells a story. They usually end up having some kind of business relevance because it’s often a story that tells you how I got to where I am or what an experience has taught me.
If you want to do something similar, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t. You can use storytelling any way you want and if you’re talking about something that helps your audience relate to you better, that’s great. However, it’s not the only way. You can still drip feed your story into your blog or business related social media posts. For example, you could post a time management tip on Facebook and sign off with a joke about being late for the school run. Or write a blog with tips to get something done more quickly (because the only long winded thing about your day should be getting the kids into their shoes).
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It’s time that I came out of the closet. I’m one of ‘those’ Mums. The ones they warn you about when your child is starting school. I’m the person you’re encouraged to actively avoid in the playground. I’m the chair of the PTFA at my sons’ school. Before either of my kids started school I wouldn’t have had myself down as a PTFA person at all, even though my Mum volunteered at every school fair when I was the same age. I was invited to a meeting to write an article for the local magazine about the latest fundraising project and found myself inspired by everyone’s enthusiasm. I’m stepping down next term and my last event is done and dusted. I found myself wondering (not for the first time) why I took it on in the first place and what I’ve learned. Here’s what I came up with.
I had a fabulous meeting with a lovely lady recently and it got me thinking (again) about all the different skills you need in business. She was talking about all of the different elements that she was bringing together to make sure that the message she was sending reflected her values and the work that she does. Talking to me about getting the words right was the next stage in the process. She’d written a few things herself but hadn’t been happy with them. It’s a common theme when I speak to small business owners. There seems to be this feeling that they should be able to do it themselves. Writing is easy, right? If you’re holding back from working with a writer because you feel you shouldn’t have to, here’s why you might want to reconsider.
I sometimes feel that I get bombarded by other people’s definitions of success. I hear all the talk about hustle and being a weekend warrior. Someone in one of the business Facebook groups I’m in even asked whether members were aiming for ‘five figures or six’ this year. I’m not saying that people shouldn’t have those goals, if it makes them happy. My only issue is when it becomes the only definition of success.
I’ve been along to a few different networking groups since I started my business. You meet an incredible range of different people with all kinds of businesses. These days I find myself speaking to a lot of people who have a job and a side hustle. Some of them want to turn the side job into the main business and others just want a bit of extra money every month. It all means that I’m hearing more and more conversations about the right time to leave a job.
I’m going to say something that might make you go a bit twitchy. When you’re marketing your business you need to decide who you want to target then focus on them. It sounds fairly logical, doesn’t it? Yet small business owners everywhere get very nervous when they hear it. They say things like ‘but I might make someone feel excluded’, ‘what if I lose a customer because they don’t think it’s for them?’ or ‘but I can sell to anyone’. I understand the worry. As small business owners we need to work hard to attract new customers and build trust. The idea of putting people off just seems counterintuitive. However there’s another important factor to consider. We have limited time so we need to spend it wisely. When you get to know your customer you can do just that.
There have been a few times recently where I’ve started to feel that no-one else gets it. Logically I know it isn’t true but there’s no accounting for the wobbles a human brain is capable of having. As I write this my mood has improved considerably and I feel much less isolated, but I still think it’s worth talking about the time where I felt really lonely. That’s the only word I can use to describe it.
It’s easy to think of storytelling as being something you do with your children. You can cuddle up at the end of the day and send them off to sleep with a lovely bedtime story. Mine are still young enough to watch CBeebies so we sometimes get the added bonus of a tale read by Tom Hardy. (I even know people without kids who tune in to watch him anyway!) If that’s how you think of storytelling you might be forgiven for having dismissed it as an effective marketing tool. Actually, it’s one of the most effective approaches you can take.