Want to Build Your Marketing Brand? Tell Your Story.
Every year at this time, March 20 or 21, people celebrate World Storytelling Day. The day is an opportunity to celebrate the tradition and art of verbal storytelling. From fables to fairytales, to prose to poems, stories have been passed down from generation to generation through this ancient artform.
In my family, and I’m sure many of you have the same experiences, we have several stories we tell every year, usually around the anniversary of the circumstance. It never occurred to me until now that when my grandparents would tell us their World War II love story and crazy race to the altar before Grandpa had to ship out, or my parents and aunts and uncles would share their version of what happened on the day of the big tornado, that we were all taking part in ritual that has been around as long as human language. As we’ve grown older and moved away from each other, we don’t get together as often, but we still tell and share stories – through social media, text chains, and of course, Zoom or FaceTime. Who knew all this time we’ve been building our family’s brand through the art of storytelling marketing?
Authentic Storytelling Enriches Your Client Relationships
No matter how the story gets told, the deep connection that is made is why storytelling goes beyond family traditions and should be an essential part of your company’s business strategy. Storytelling is a way to make richer and more meaningful bonds with your audience. It allows your customers to get to know you better, become engaged and loyal to you, build a relationship with you, and be inspired to take action. While storytelling should always be a part of your overall content strategy, there’s no better time to make sure your organization’s storytelling is firing on all cylinders than when you’re marking a significant event.
The Perfect Time to Tell Your Story
In 2019, I was working with a non-profit organization celebrating its 100th anniversary. That major milestone was a great opportunity to reach current and potential donors, organization partners and the community at large. Through video, donor communications, social media posts and ads, we told the story of the positive impact the organization had made on people in the community, why they should care and what they could do to ensure the organization would be here for the next 100 years. The goal was to instill a sense of pride in current donors, inspire new donors to give and raise the overall visibility of an organization that had been around for a long time, and remind people of its relevance in the fabric of the community.
At Chartwell, we’re celebrating 20 years of being storytellers for our clients. When we began, in 2002, we were mainly a public relations firm, telling our clients’ stories through pitches we made to reporters to secure media coverage. As we evolved to become a full-service agency, we added more storytelling tools to the toolbox – marketing services, website design, brand development, blog writing, social media, video – to communicate a message and inspire audiences.
Make Storytelling a Priority
Whatever tactics you use, storytelling is a powerful tool to make a deeper connection, teach your audience something about your organization, share your experiences, build trust and inspire them to act, whether it’s to buy your product, donate to your cause, enroll in your school or utilize your services. It’s the time-honored tradition of compelling, authentic storytelling that will ensure your company “lives happily ever after.”
