Building a quality product is the key element of a successful startup but without a good communications strategy, the word about your brand won’t get far. Storytelling is one of the most important steps that will lead you to strong brand status. If you understand the importance of a compelling story and want to create one but you are uncertain how to achieve that, just keep on reading and find out.
Offer Emotional Value
This can’t be stressed enough. Reach out to your audience on a personal level and you will have their attention for good. Don’t hesitate to get personal. I’m not referring to telling your life story to the audience but explain them your startup’s journey. The following questions can serve as guidelines on how to add an emotional value to your startup story and at the same time to keep it professional:
- What made you found the company?
- How did your journey of becoming an entrepreneur look like?
- What are the company’s beliefs?
- How do you plan to contribute to the customers’ lives?
- What is your mission?
- What motivates you to overcome difficulties in the business world?
James Daily, a brand manager, and Brainished editor explains: “It’s the emotional touch that builds trust and understanding. And you need to create a feeling of trust and understanding to captivate your readers.”
Video Storytelling
As people are getting more used to visual content, video presentations are earning the title as one of the best marketing strategies.
Don’t limit your brand’s story only to word copy. Think outside the box. The popularity of video content has been rising as entrepreneurs see its tremendous potential as a tool for achieving a successful brand promotion. As people are getting more used to visual content, video presentations are earning the title as one of the best marketing strategies. Maury Rogow, the CEO of Rip Media Group, a multimedia marketing agency that uses video storytelling explains to the Entrepreneur that video storytelling helps to build brand awareness and profits. He says that quality video IS a sales team that never sleeps, complains, or needs time off. Enhance your startup story with video storytelling and make sure that your brand stands out from the very beginning.
Invest in Quality
No one expects you to be a professional writer with unbelievable writing skills but you do need to provide your readers with quality content. You can’t promote the high quality of your brand with low-quality content. The idea behind the story should be yours, meaning that it represents you and your brand and that it is fresh and authentic. However, you still need to transform the idea into words and that is where writing, editing, and proofreading services come to your rescue. Some examples of online services which you can use are Canada-Writers, ProWritingAid, and HemingwayApp.
Learn from the Experts
What is the best way to learn? Take the advice of successful people and look at their stories as an example. Gary Vaynerchuk, a serial entrepreneur and New York Times best-selling author shares his top tip for startups in the book Foundr V1.0: “Quality storytelling always wins. It’s not about pushing advertising. It’s about bringing value.”
Knowing how to approach your audience is what will matter in the long run. Think about Nike, as an example. Nike’s campaign for running shoes won’t focus on the product, but it will focus its storytelling on the audience. It seeds the idea that you can become a better athlete by wearing their footwear. They have been a prime example of successful storytelling since it has been part of their strategy from the very beginning.
Amanda Sparks, a business advisor and editor at TopDownWriter shares that her years of experience have taught her that the most common mistake that entrepreneurs make is to underestimate the importance of a good startup story. “You can’t have a strong start without a strong story to back you up. Keep it short, direct, and catchy, those are the most important elements. It also goes without saying that authenticity is what gives you value. You must be original or you will get lost among other thriving entrepreneurs,” says Amanda.
Keep it Simple and Straightforward
Don’t overdo it by going into too many details and turning your story in a three-page essay. Your audience wants clear and readable information. Keep in mind the above-mentioned tips and turn them into a concise story of who you are and why you matter.
In addition, keep your story consistent. Everyone needs to hear the same story. Whether you post it on your website, social media, in your ad campaigns, or in your product brief, the emotion of the message must be the same. Consistency is the key to success. To achieve this, you should document your story in a few different standardized formats. That includes everything from a social media post-length single sentence to a web post of 500 words. This will prevent your team members to publish their own versions of the story, ruin the consistency, and confuse the audience.
Final Thoughts
Now that you have a few tricks up your sleeve it is time to get started. Get your creative juices flowing and present your brand in the best possible way. Take the time and craft a compelling story that will have a permanent mark in your readers’ minds. With time, you will appreciate all the effort you made. Believe me!
