Too often, we forget that people connect to storytelling. No matter the medium, your business has to tell a story. It can be written, visual, audio, or anything else you can think of. Don’t be afraid to take a risk and be innovative!
Recently, a story of a man and his wife went viral. Through photographs, the man documented his wife’s battle with, and eventual death from, breast cancer. The story told through those photographs was moving, emotional, and powerful. Similarly, a short commercial from a Thai company made waves with its incredibly moving story that unfolded in only three minutes. It’s even possible to incorporate humor into an irreverent storyline that still manages to conjure up memories of family and spotlight employees.
There’s a reason these things go viral. People crave that human connection, that feeling of rising and falling with another person. Ever since our species could create symbols and form words, we’ve been storytellers.
What story does this scene tell?
Photo Credit: goldsardine via Compfight cc
Unfortunately, this is a step that many businesses tend to skip when it comes to marketing. It’s all well and good to create an “About Me” page with bios for your staff, but is that all your website has going for it? We think you can stretch further. But where do you start?
What’s your unique story? Everybody’s got a story. You just have to find the story that fits with your business and will appeal to your customer base. Easier said than done, right? Maybe it’s the way your business got off the ground, or the inspiration for starting it, or the way your employees interact every day.
How can you best tell that story? What resources do you have available? Do you need to hire outside help? Your opportunities are as big as your imagination. You can tell the story with photographs, video, text, artwork, audio… what speaks to you? Perhaps more importantly, what will your audience respond to?
Utilize all your online resources. In today’s marketing age, you don’t have to rely on television and radio to be heard. It’s certainly not as easy as posting a video and sitting back to wait for views, but you can now streamline your marketing efforts with a little of your own creativity and elbow grease.
Have fun. Don’t be afraid to test out all those wild and kind of ridiculous ideas that you have floating around. Ask your staff for their ideas. Work together to create something amazing!
The hardest part of any story is making people care. There are lots of technical bits, too – pacing, structure, dialogue – but in the end, it means nothing if you can’t get anyone to care. Think of your favorite stories. Now think of why they’re so important to you. How can you create something similar for your business?
The effort involved in this process ranges from minimal to exponential. It all has to do with your manpower and time constraints. If you need some help, you know who to call! (It’s us. We’re talking about us.)
Stephanie Wargin is the Social Media Strategist at Zenergy Works, a web design and SEO company located in Santa Rosa, California. Her friends like to brush her hair into her eyes whenever she talks about Facebook.