It’s no secret that humans are wired to process, relate to and remember stories.

Today we’re exploring how you can use those natural skills to your brand’s advantage and create an enjoyable experience for your audience.

 

 Know Your Audience

This is the golden rule, always. How can you create something people will be interested in if you don’t know who your ‘people’ are? Depending on the size of your business, there are a number of ways to discover your current and future target audience so you can strategise accordingly. Your target audience might remain the same, or you might be looking to expand into a new demographic.

Some tools you could use in the discovery phase are:

  • Social listening
  • Focus groups
  • Online polls
  • Google Analytics data
  • Facebook & Instagram insights

Once you know who you’re talking to, you can embark on the fun part – crafting a narrative.

 

Define Your Purpose

What’s the point of telling this story? Defining the message you want this story to convey, or the action you want its readers to take is vital to success. Ask yourself the following questions as you map out your story:

  • What emotions do I want to evoke?
  • Do I want my readers to change their behaviour as a result?
  • What’s my underlying message, and is it clear and genuine?
  • Is it on-brand?

Don’t underestimate the importance of the planning phase – waffles are a tasty treat, but they don’t belong in your marketing toolkit.

 

Engage The Imagination

There’s nothing worse than a boring story! Once you know who you’re talking to and what you’re talking about – make it exciting so it sticks.

Some tactics you could employ are:

  • Relevant use of imagery
  • Reframing your topic – try different angles to turn something mundane into something worth looking at
  • Adapting your story to suit different audiences
  • Different mediums to bring life to your story: print, social, video. Consider which approach is going to be most powerful or use a mix.

Think about how your story can connect with the stories of others and spark imagination. You might not always have the most exciting message, but it’s up to you to tell it in a way that fulfills a need.