Tell Your Story

Here’s a little trivia to share around the water cooler…today is National Tell a Story Day.

National Tell a Story Day is observed in the United States each year on April 27th.

The aim of the day is to encourage people to share all kinds of stories. It is a celebration of the art of storytelling in all of its many forms, whether fiction or non-fiction, a tall tale, or folklore. Whether it’s read from a book, one from your imagination or an actual story from a childhood memory, April 27th is the day to gather friends and family and share those stories.

While this may be a fun, quirky celebration, there is a marketing lesson here for small businesses and professional service providers…

Tell your business story.

Why?

• Your story gives you the opportunity to share what makes your business or practice different, unique, and special. If there is something compelling about your story, it’s memorable.
• Telling your story shows you’re authentic, genuine, and real. It also shows your skills, experience, and expertise.
• Sharing who you are, what you do and how you do it, helps people get to know you, like you and trust you. And ultimately that helps people choose to do business with you.

How do you tell your story?

A good story answers these questions: who, what, why, where, when and how.

Here are some ideas for what to share when telling your business story.

• Who.  Who you are? What’s your background? Why are you qualified? Reveal how you ended up doing what you do. Tell us the company’s history. Share some personal details, for example, a hobby or how you spend your time away from work.
• What. What do you do? Tell us about the services you provide, the products you sell, the problems you solve.
• Why. Tell us why you do what you do. How did you get into your business? What do you enjoy about it? Why do people need your products or services? Why should we choose you?
• Where. Tell us where you are located, what areas you serve.
• When. Give us your hours of operation. Tell us when we would need your services.
• How. How can you help us? What’s your process? How do you work? What should we expect when we hire you? How can we contact you?

Answering these questions will help you weave your story together. By telling your business story you connect with potential clients and customers.

Share your story.

You’ve created a compelling story. Now people have to see it.

The best place to share your story…your website.

When people need a service or product they take to the web to search for it. If you and your business aren’t there, your story doesn’t matter because no one will see it.

Your website is a starting point for sharing your story. You’ll include who, what, why, where, when and how on the pages of your site. But those pages are static; they won’t change on a regular basis.

Expand on your story by adding a blog to your website with regular updates that continue to share your expertise and highlight your business.

Gather email addresses from an opt-in on your website so you can continue telling your story through email marketing or sending an email newsletter.

Share updates about your business, special offers, client success stories, helpful tips and other useful information through social media.

Everyone likes a good story. Make yours interesting and convincing. And tell it every day, not just on National Tell a Story Day.

Small business owners and professional service providers are often uncomfortable with marketing. Does it help to think of it as storytelling? Let us know in the comments.

Need help writing and sharing your business story? Contact me because I love to tell a good story.