Sometimes storytelling for business can be a little rough. Do you struggle to write content that will engage and convert? Are there days, weeks, months, even, when writing feels as torturous as getting a cavity filled? Or maybe you’d rather get that cavity filled than write content? We’re talking about those times when you have the perfect topic but the moment you start putting it into words it simply doesn’t read the way it sounded in your head. It lost its fire somewhere in translation. That’s every writer’s nightmare – outside of writer’s block or continuous interruptions. Or clowns.
You may be suffering from something we’ve noticed lately. Content fatigue; where all the blog posts we read are starting to sound the same: 5 Tips for Writing Killer Content. No, make that 10 Tips for Writing Killer Content. Oh, no, even better…25 Tips for Writing Killer Content!
Hey – if you couldn’t kill ‘em with 5 tips….then 25 is pretty much just beating the euphemistic dead horse. Isn’t it?
And frankly, who has time to implement 25 Tips when they barely have time to read through 5 these days?
Here’s an idea. Why don’t we just stop the vicious content creation cycle and do something real instead? Why don’t we use the original, and frankly, the best technique that has been in existence for centuries, the one technique that everybody loves?
Use your stories.
Take your topic and frame it inside a real story that serves it well, that makes the point. Because the topic you want to write about most likely came about as a result of a real situation that occurred to you or a customer. Right?
Storytelling for business isn’t fiction. It isn’t something made up. It’s genuine. That’s why it engages people. They can relate to what you’re telling them. And these days, relating to business owners and their brands goes far deeper for customers than loving your logo or product.
Social media has given the consumer broader reach and greater choice when it comes to purchasing power.
Consumers are connecting with brands whose stories align with their values and beliefs and more importantly, their individuality. It’s not your logo they want, it’s your message and your purpose and how they feel linking up with a business that stands for something that enhances their identity in the world. The new consumer is one who is curating her individuality through your small business, not merely shopping.
More than ever before, she is conscious of where she spends her money.
A consumer doesn’t just buy a purse, she buys a purse that supports a brand doing community-minded work that she believes in. That’s important to her – supporting small business owners who are in business to make a difference. Because the consumer wants to be involved in the process of making a difference, every chance she gets.
A consumer who wants to make healthier eating choices, learn where her food comes from and support her local farmers can now do just that. Social media gives local organic farmers a way to have conversations with her, to reach out to her, to invite her in to be part of the process. She can actually go see her food in the soil – so when she is in her kitchen cutting up those organically grown carrots for dinner…wow, she knows how they were grown, the name of the farmer who tended them and when they were picked. Yes, people actually do this – for me, just knowing it’s possible is enough to make me happy – and inspire a purchase.
Talk about curating your life.
In the age of the “Selfie” – with millions of voices all trying to be both seen and heard, small business owners need to recognize that consumers are all doing one thing: Curating the story of their lives.
How do you fit in? What need do you fill? Why are you the right choice?
Be a part of their story by connecting to it through yours. If you know your message – your purpose for being in business then you already know which of your stories will reach their hearts. Because that’s what you’re reaching for now – the heart of the individual. When your story intersects with theirs, they know you care and they know it’s the right fit.
The story you want to tell can be as simple as a sentence or two of narrative that explains why you want to talk about a specific topic or it can be as involved as a video. Engaging business stories can be used as examples, lessons, or highlights to showcase new products.
Developing content that connects isn’t hard when you’re just doing what comes naturally – talking about yourself, why you do what you do, about your business and why it matters … to them.
