Following on from last week’s post, which looked at the power of stories in marketing your business, I thought that this week, I’d share a few tips about finding those stories.
Storytelling in terms of PR has become a bit of a buzzword in recent years. Marketing people love buzzwords, but in reality, the use of stories in PR isn’t anything new. The way we tell them might be, and more businesses might now use them to promote their brand, but stories have always been there to hook customers.
Why does storytelling work?
People don’t buy into brands – they buy into other people. They buy into stories that resonate with them; stories that mean something to them – that provoke a reaction and engage them enough to start liking your brand.
Think John Lewis and their Christmas adverts, Coca Cola and their massively successful PR campaign – all centred around storytelling. Storytelling today is a powerful combination of mixed media – of written content (for articles, blogs, video scripts etc), photos, videos and more. All this makes stories more shareable and more interesting to your target audience.
Taking the example of John Lewis, the stories in their festive TV ads are, of course, fictional, and this works superbly well in tugging at viewers’ heartstrings and provoking an emotional response. The important thing to remember about storytelling in business though, is this: be authentic.
The stories you tell must be clearly identifiable as fact or fiction, and should represent what you truly stand for. So, how do you find them?
Every business is sitting on a mountain of stories, I kid you not – they just usually don’t realise it. It’s therefore important to recognise that the expertise you have as a business within your particular sector – together with your years of training and/or practical experience – is a treasure trove of stories waiting to be tapped into.
So, here are my tips for sourcing those stories:
1. Talk about events you’re involved with: If you’ve taken part in a charity event, carried out fundraising or donated to a good cause, then let your customers know. Just do it in a tactful way – announce your intentions beforehand if you’re organising an event and encourage your customers to come along.
If you’re publicising post-event, then tell the story behind it rather than simply stating what you raised. Has someone in your business got a personal connection to the charity you supported? Why did you choose them? Why should people care about your story?
2. Refresh people’s memories: New customers want to know why they should buy from you and existing customers can always be reminded about why they should stick with you. So – share your story.
How did your business start? Why did you start it? What struggles did you overcome in the early days, and how? All this will increase awareness and understanding about your brand, as well as building connections with your customers or clients and educating them about the ethos of your business.
3. Share advice: What advice did you benefit from as your business grew, and what advice would you now give to other start-ups? Who helped you along the way? Did you have a mentor/investment support? What are your top tips for success? Sharing advice is a great way to connect with your audience, giving them something useful back, as opposed to constantly trying to sell to them. 
4. Stay current: Telling stories should be an ongoing process. People like to stay informed, so let them know what your business is up to. Did your staff attend a training day? Share a few photos and tell the story behind it – what did they learn? How will this help your business and thus also your customers? Let people see into your world so they feel more a part of it and will therefore be more likely to engage with your business.
5. Tell someone else’s story: This might sound strange but… sharing other people’s stories can add an extra dimension to the content you create. It doesn’t always have to be about you to be a good story, or to have the desired impact. You can interview an industry expert and publish their responses on your business blog, for example. It’s a great way to get people’s attention and will give your readers something a little bit different to enjoy.
Stories are powerful ways to engage with your audience. So, know who that audience is and then craft your content accordingly. Be creative!
Want help in crafting your story? Just drop me an email at claire@cseditorial.co.uk