The power of a good story lies in its ability to capture people’s imagination and take them to a new place. At least that’s what the experts say. And I agree. Even for small businesses – ESPECIALLY for small businesses.
At its simplest, storytelling for your brand is really just about making an emotional connection with someone. Now, emotion doesn’t have to be tears (though that’s obviously a big one). An emotional connection with someone can include joy, peace, amusement, discomfort, comfort, hunger, excitement. And some others, but you get the picture. (I hope)
When I was in college at USC (that’s South Carolina, not Southern Cal) our journalism professors always used to say “show, don’t tell.” So, instead of saying “It was scary as crap,” you would use descriptive words to draw a picture of what was happening. So instead try saying, “it was a cold, dark night. The moon was giving off an eerie glow on the occasion it would peek out from behind the clouds. And there was this indistinguishable screeching noise just close enough to hear, but just far enough away to not know what exactly it was.”
Now let’s take that idea to a brand level.
Publix sells what? Food. Groceries. But think about their holiday commercials – people in a cozy holiday setting, sweet moments; it feels warm, inviting, cozy. Never once do they say, “Come buy our groceries. We have turkey on sale!” Instead, their commercials dig into life moments, and they make you feel all the feelings. And when brands make you feel things, you are more likely to buy their products. And that’s ultimately what it’s about, right?
So how do we as small business owners take our brand, our products, our services and turn them into a story?
Here are a couple questions I like to start with:
- What problem is my product/service solving?
- When faced with that problem, what does it feel like? (write down descriptive words)
- When a solution is found, what does that feel like (more descriptive words)
- What do I want people to feel when they buy my product/purchase my service/work with me?
Then you build your story from there, determining different scenarios your service/product would be needed for or used in, who the people are who need/use your service or product, and even down to how your product/service could appear visually. The goal is to make people feel like they need you/your product to solve a pain point in their life/business.
Look, I know determining your brand story can feel scary, I get it, but when you break it down into small pieces, it’s absolutely manageable for every small business owner.
So. I have a little challenge for us this month. I want you to take an hour and sit down and answer those 4 questions above. Then, I want you to email me your answers. I want to hear your stories, your challenges. I want this newsletter and this community to be a support and a lifeline for small businesses. Just hit that reply button.
If you need some inspiration, look no further than the lovely drink I’ve been pouring this month. She’s a beauty.
WHAT NISHA'S POURING
Laurent-Perrier Rosé Champagne
Y’all know I love a champagne, and this is one of my favorites.
|
|
|
WHAT NISHA'S LISTENING TO
|
|
Confessions from the Home Office podcast
The way I relate to some of these stories. Working from home is not for the faint of heart (and is honestly why I got myself a small office I could escape to a couple years ago). Special bonus: Wendi is a personal friend of mine. So don’t walk run and hit subscribe!
LINK:
Confessions from the Home Office podcast
|
NEW CLIENT SPOTLIGHT
I can barely contain my excitement about getting to work with Joshua Trout and help him build his brand as a speaker, author and consultant. Joshua is the author of Transformative Leadership in which he shares a vulnerable look back at his triumphs and trials that has molded him into the leader he is today.
|
|
|
SURVEY COMING SOON!
Ok, y’all. We’ve been doing this newsletter for about a year now, and we revamped it about 6 months ago, and while I’ve heard from a lot of you, we have a lot of new subscribers. We are planning for 2025, and I want to know what you want to be reading in this newsletter. So, in early December, I’m going to send out a survey, and I’d really love it if you’d participate. I promise (promise!) it’ll be short.
