Apparently, it’s a tough time for businesses to stand out.
It’s said there’s a lot of noise and a crowded marketplace standing between you and your customers.
And it’s true the digital landscape is pretty packed:
- More than a billion websites
- Around three million blog posts published each day
- A hundred million hours of video watched on Facebook daily
What’s a business got to do to stand out these days?
Collective sigh – it all seems so bleak.
But hang on. Don’t people actually come looking for what you’re selling?
They ask Google for the product or service you offer. Yes, they’ll do lots of researching and comparing and reviewing before they buy – it is the Age of the Customer after all. But my point is, they come to you. They’re gifting you their attention when they click on your site. Don’t squander that golden opportunity – forget about marketing to them and consider what they need instead.
On every page and at every stage of your communications, think of them as an audience in need of your stories. Storytelling is the start of your customer’s experience with you. It can set you apart from your competition and make your business memorable. It’s a way to connect to someone’s heart as well as their head.
How journalism can help
It can be easier to find and write your own brand stories, true stories, if you write with a journalist’s approach. Journalism is storytelling with a purpose – here are a few tips to make it easier to do it yourself:
- Know your audience: Be clear about who you’re speaking to, and make sure your writing is aimed at them. This can be your ideal client but it can also be based on customer data, testimonials, phone records, feedback forms and any other information you have about the people you serve.
- Give value and context: Help your audience with useful, interesting information. Tap into your experience and knowledge to put information and current issues into context for them.
- Respect accuracy and authenticity: Check and double check that everything you’ve written is correct. Be true to your brand values and your brand mission in everything you write.
- Make it personal: People relate to people so put a human face to the stories you tell about your business. Whether it’s telling your own story of how you came to be where you are today, or the stories of those people who have benefited from what you offer – they are unique to your business and potentially its most memorable element.
- Be direct and concise: Respect your audience’s time and get to the point without too much “clever” writing; use conversational language and use only as many words as you really need. Write a draft then edit ruthlessly while continually questioning whether you’re getting across the key message.
Stay you, stay real
There’s one important message to end with.
I’m suggesting you try journalism techniques to improve your brand storytelling – I’m not suggesting you adopt a journalist’s persona. Don’t try to sound like a news reporter when you write, or like a TV presenter in your videos. Embrace your own brand writing voice and be yourself. Just try a few of the strategies that journalists use to get the best out of their stories. They’ll boost your chances of being heard in the noisy online world, not by adding more noise but by having something valuable to say with your own real stories.
