Most people think that storytelling skills applies only to bed time with the kids. That’s important, don’t get me wrong. But storytelling is so much more than just for fairy tales. It’s a great business asset as well. The ability to tell a good story can become an effective and profitable activity for entrepreneurs and marketers.
In fact, in today’s age of the internet and social media, storytelling is more important than ever. We now have the ability to tell more stories across various platforms. It no longer costs a fortune to do great storytelling. But here’s something that may seem obvious- you can’t maximize on good stories if you don’t know how to craft one.
We at Pluggas have always been firm believers that everyone has a story to tell. Sometimes it’s just not told right. Storytelling can be a craft that takes years to master, but you have to start somewhere. Here’s a basic three step formula to a great attention-capturing story that anyone can learn.
Find the Common Ground
Good stories are first and foremost relatable ones. We as emotional audiences are drawn to stories we can relate with. In a story, the formula to a great hero is someone who people can relate to. Struggling to make it big, trying to get the girl, finding a place in the world all sell because that’s what we’re all looking for.
When telling a story on social, are you keeping your subject relatable? How can you connect your product or service to something that people experience on a day to day basis? Create content where the subject is relatable at many levels, and you have a good starting point for a story.
Create conflict
Deep in everyone’s psyche is an attachment to conflict- a problem that needs solving. That’s another important element to telling a story. How does that relate to businesses? As product or service providers, we are all in the business of solving problems.
Whether you’re a coffee shop in a place that lacks hangout places for communities, a pest-control business out to cleanse homes and offices of unwanted “guests,” or a law firm looking to help people with their legal problems. Use your platforms to identify that conflict and show people why that conflict must be solve.
Provide the resolution
The last step to any great story is a solution to the problem. We hate problems, but we give it attention because we’re all looking for the answer. As a brand or business, how do you provide that solution to a problem? The way you answer that question will greatly affect how effective your story will be.
Actually the first two elements- common ground and conflict- are build up to this last piece of the puzzle. In the light of storytelling for businesses great story is one with a resolution. Because it’s the resolution that sets your audience up for the call to action, which could be a subscription, a social like or even a sale.
This is a blog series that we will be doing over the next few weeks where we’ll be talking a lot about stories and storytelling. Why it’s important, how to do it right, the benefits they bring and some great examples of great stories. So make sure to check out our blog every Monday or subscribe to our newsletter if you don’t want to miss it.
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