laura figueroa-scott

One of my favorite movies of all time is The Princess Bride.

The characters are funny and the lines that are spoken are memorable and no matter how many times I have seen it, I always feel good afterward, like those things could happen to me too.

But it is how that movie begins is where the magic happens first.

It begins here:

With a grandfather reading his grandson a story.

That’s one of the best and most powerful tools you have to establish your brand and connect with your audience: storytelling.

The more compelling a story, the more reason people have to come back to you.

Even if you have not done a lot of storytelling, you can learn what you need to do to tell a good story in five simple steps.

1. Let people know what your brand’s core message is.

This is what motivated you to stand up and put your product or service out there. People want to know what you stand for and what makes you unique.

One of the most popular examples of this is Nike’s “Just do it.” Nike wants people to get and move and feel good and look good while doing it. This is the very reason the company was started.

Take some time and write down what made you do what you are doing. It’s a good reminder and putting it on paper can help you keep that in mind as you create your marketing content.

2. Know who your target audience is.

As an entrepreneur, it’s important to know a few things about your audience.

• What do they care about?
• What problems do they have that your product solves?
• What gets their attention on social media? Images, video, infographics, or text only?

These three things are a good start on knowing that information because you want to be able to talk to and connect with your audience on an emotional level.

3. Make sure what you write is relatable to your audience.

Working with the information you have discovered, you now can talk about your personal experiences that talk about the benefits of your solution and how your product or service made that change for the better a permanent one.

And keep it real. The more genuine you are in your stories, the more your audience feels like they know you and that they can trust you.

4. Use good, high-quality images and videos in your posts.

Visuals are one the most powerful tools in your toolbox. Make sure whatever you use relates to your story and complements what you are sharing.

Learn what type of visuals are best used on your social media platform of choice. Each platform has their own requirements so it is a good practice to learn what those are to make the most of the visuals you choose to use.

5. Have a strong call to action.

Let your audience know you want to hear from them! You can do this by:

• Asking questions
• Inviting people to comment
• Asking people to share their own stories
• Drop you a note in a DM

Let your audience know what they need to do next. This can be visiting your website, signing up for your newsletter, getting scheduled for a strategy call, or to BUY NOW!

Don’t leave this part out of any of your posts. Including a call to action (CTA) with each post makes sure that you are always accessible to your audience.

This is an example ad for a company that is an eco-friendly clothing brand focused on sustainability and ethical fashion.

The core message is: “Empowering individuals to make sustainable fashion choices for a better future.”

As you can see, the story does not have to be long at all to have real impact.

When you know what your brand needs to look and sound like to promote the benefits of your product or service, it becomes very simple to tell a good story to your audience.

Want to learn more about storytelling? Get in touch with me at laura@laurafigueroascott.me and let’s see what we can do together!