Pictured above: Paul Henczel, founder of Story Academy, and author of the book “Miracle in a Mill”. In this particular picture, he was speaking at “My Story Mondays” in Vancouver; a place where an adult can share a story and elevate themselves while inspiring others.

Last week we started discussing with you about the power of connecting. Connecting with your customer or client is critical – if they feel comfortable with you and decide that there is a reason to frequent your business, other than you are selling a service or product that they want, then you have a better chance of bringing that customer in and engaging with them and keeping that customer. One of those ways of connecting with somebody is by using your face, and now that you are using your face, it is great to couple that with another amazing piece of content for your websites – a personal story.

We’ve attended Story Academy and what they say about this very subject is inspiring, and really reinforces the idea of where marketing for businesses is going. We learned throughout our series of tips on content that it isn’t enough to exist; you need to be relatable and different – again, in a world where competitors all advertise that they sell what you sell and do what you do, this is how you make your mark.

Seth Godin tells us that “Marketing is no longer about the stuff you make, but about the stories you tell”, and this couldn’t be more true in 2018.

Crafting an effective personal story is all about finding something personal that resonates with a large group of people, preferably inside of, or related to, your target market.  You may be able to share that your company was founded a father or great grandfather, your personal story as the owner of the company begins when you were six years old and did some chores while hanging out with dad at the shop on lazy summer days.  You could share how you got into the industry or what drew you to this line of work.

 

Some of your personal stories do not need to be large either.  They can be small photos with captions showing your dog joining you at work or sharing a personal milestone that your business helped you achieve.  Any of these stories give your customer a view into your world and provide them with an opportunity to connect with you.  They may not care about anything else, but they may decide that they want to frequent your business because of a personal story you shared, and since in a lot of cases, you are your brand, this personal story wasn’t just about you, it was about your business.