Weave your story around your service
What is storytelling marketing? If I told you to buy a chocolate bar because it’s tasty, you’d probably forget about it in a few seconds. But if I weaved a story around a young boy fishing with his grandpa, whose face lights up the moment his grandpa digs out a chocolate bar from his back pocket, chances are you’d remember that story. It may even compel you to buy that same chocolate bar the next time you go grocery shopping. That is the power of business storytelling.
How do you ensure that people remember your product or service via your storytelling marketing?
Stories allow you to stand out from the clutter
Stories are enticing and stand out from the clutter of everyday stimuli that are sent our way in the form of both online and offline advertisements. It’s one thing to list out the advantages of drinking a protein shake to an athlete; it’s another to present those same advantages through storytelling marketing. People are attracted to stories because we’re social creatures and we relate to other people and their experiences. It’s really that simple!
Business Storytelling as a great tool
Business storytelling is a great and effective way of engaging with your audience. Reason being our brains can’t tell fiction from reality, which is why we become so invested in stories. When we hear a good story that is told well, we become part of the story. Take a moment here to think of the last great book you read or a film you watched and felt every emotion the character felt as if it were happening to you.
Stories help us experience an idea or a thought as opposed to the dull and to-the-point information that often bombards us. This is the reason companies spend so much time getting their brand story right, which in turn helps them position themselves more accurately.
How Business Storytelling Affects The Brain
Storytelling causes a neurological response. According to neuroeconomist Paul Zak’s research, when our brains encounter a good story, oxytocin is released, causing us to feel empathy. The feeling is empathy is what compels us to want to take action. When you are able to convey empathy, people are more likely to act on their emotions, whether it’s purchasing a product, taking a trip to one’s dream destination or donating to a charity.
Work on your storytelling marketing – How I can help you become a better storyteller
I work with Chief Storytelling Officers (CSO) of organisations, both big and small. A CSO uses the powerful tool of storytelling to help a brand or a company with social selling (or selling using the power of content). And successful organisations like Microsoft see a lot of value in this, which is why they invest a lot of resources in honing the skills of their Chief Storytelling Officers. You don’t have to be a big organisation to benefit from harnessing and sharing your stories with your customers and audiences.
As a leader in your organization, YOU are the CSO, your team need to know how to craft a compelling story because they’re the ones in direct contact with your clients or creating products and services for your clients.
As a storytelling expert, known as The Story Midwife, I help leaders to create compelling presentations through business storytelling.
Before becoming a Professional Speaker, I worked for over twenty years as a midwife.
I now live and breathe stories as a speaker, trainer, performer and coach.
Need to work on your storytelling marketing? As a World Class Speaking & Storytelling Coach, I’ll help you mine, refine and deliver a captivating story for your business or brand. Whether it is the boardroom, podium or stage; I can show you how to develop a persuasive presentation with a compelling story that will be hard to forget by anyone who gets to experience it.
If you would like to find out about training for your team, I’d love to hear from you. Contact me lisa@speakingsavvy.com.au or call +61 (0)438 902042.