Are you telling stories?

That was the phrase my dad always used to say to me as a child when he thought I was being economical with the truth!  I guess sometimes I was!  But these days, I like to think that my efforts are concentrated on true and authentic stories.

That’s what podcasting is all about – telling the real stories of people, business, community and more.Have a listen to this week’s episode of our OnFARM (Food, Agriculture and Rural Matters) podcast at www.podfollow.com/onfarm.  This week our guest is Will Evans from Rock and Roll Farming.

However, if podcasting isn’t yet your thing (or even if it is), storytelling still ought to be top of your marketing agenda. It’s the best way in which to convince your customers that you are the person they wish to buy from.Every business and business owner has a story (which may be about their family, their product, the challenges, their location or all of these) but not all businesses tell those stories in a way that helps them to grow.Here are a few tips:

• Remember that, as Simon Sinek says in his powerful book, “People don’t buy what you do; they buy WHY you do it.” Tell your WHY.
• Once you know who your market is (your customer persona), you need to craft your story so that it appeals to them.
• You need your brand to resonate, to connect, to give context, to appeal, to show purpose, to offer suspense, to create trust, to grab attention and more.
• Your story is your USP so use it well.
• Try writing out different length version of your story so that you have something for every occasion.  An ‘Elevator’ Pitch is a great place to start.
• Think about the channels that your audiences are using and make use of them to disseminate the various elements of your brand story.
• Find other brands who are telling their own stories well and emulate them.

If you need any help, with any element of storytelling, be it the written or the spoken word, get in touch with Scene & Herd anna@sceneandherdpr.co.uk