I’m going to tell you a secret. It’s not all about you.
You are not the hero in your own brand story. You may save the day, but you’re not the hero. The sooner you learn that, the faster you can make your buyers happy.
If you think about epic stories—like Lord of the Rings, or Harry Potter—you find that the hero is the one on the journey. Your buyers are the ones taking a journey, from awareness to customer, and perhaps even to loyal evangelist. They’re the heroes in your brand story, the lead character.
As you do your brand storytelling, you want to involve your lead. The more your potential buyer feels a part of the story, the more likely they are to commit to your brand.
Think of the last book you read that you really enjoyed. What made you enjoy it? Your connection to it. It was something YOU wanted to read.
You started reading, being open to the story’s content, and something about it grabbed you. You related to it. You understood the characters, or the situation, or the problem. For some reason, you put yourself into that story.
And then you finished the book. You probably wanted more. As a brand storyteller, you have the opportunity to tell your story AND give the reader the opportunity to get more!
When you do your content marketing, help the reader out—put her in the story. How do you do this? Here are a couple of Dos and Don’ts:
Do’s
Know Your Targeted Buyer Persona
When a writer writes a book, they do so with a particular audience in mind. He knows he can’t please everyone with his book, so he focuses on one group of people—teens, adults, children, people with certain beliefs or a particular race, etc. It’s the same when you are crafting your brand story. Who are you trying to attract to your product? Write with that specific person in mind.
Involve the Buyer
The best way to keep people from walking away is to talk about them. If your brand story were a book with characters, you would want the main character—the one you root for—to be the buyer. Why? Chances are if you can get your lead to picture himself using your product in a positive way, they are way more likely to pay attention and convert to a buyer.
Don’ts
Make It All About You
People are self-centered. It’s just a fact. We want to know more about what affects us than others. After they have heard enough about you, your struggles, your interests, your pet cat, and so on, they are ready to walk on. But… if you talk about THEIR struggles (and how your product can help with that), THEIR interests (how your product relates to them), and maybe even their pet cat (and how Fluffy would also love the product), they will read to the end.
Leave Your Reader Without a Way to Get More
You have hooked your readers, who did not even realize they just fell in love with themselves, and now you must close the deal. If you do not give your readers a way to find more content they can become bored with your product and move on to the next thing. You have to feed the customer to keep them in your fold. They want more, and you have more to give. A strong CTA will direct them to more products, information, and opportunities for purchase, keeping them interested in your brand.
Your product is only part of the story. The person using your product is a greater part. Without the buyer, there’s nothing to tell. Tell stories about them, and they will listen.
