A good storyteller can really capture an audience, making both you and your marketing truly memorable. Read on for some tips on how to use storytelling to empower your MSP marketing:
Be Inspired
To really sell your story and your marketing message, find a way to develop it out of inspiration. What is it about the product that really inspires you? What is it that should inspire your audience? Find something in your product that can inspire everybody, not just your target market.
Speaking from a place of real inspiration makes it easier find the right words and sell the product. It also makes it easier to simplify complex ideas that otherwise impede the flow of storytelling.
Have A Theme
A good theme provides a spine for your story. This helps to clarify and drive the story you’re telling. Vary the themes between stories. Hanging your MSP marketing on a variety of themes helps to engage with your audience.
Tell Stories, Don’t Brag
When you’re telling a story, avoid bragging about your history or a simple recounting of achievements. Find ways to turn that into stories and remember that a good story requires the five Cs:
- Circumstance
- Curiosity
- Characters
- Conversations
- Conflict
Find Room for Some Humor
Sometimes, the stories we tell can be quite serious or sober. No matter what the story, it can pay to introduce a little humor. Get your audience to laugh a little and it both binds the audience together in a shared experience and strengthens your engagement with them. Use it sparingly, though— you don’t want your story to be a complete joke.
Don’t Read from Notes
If you’re delivering a story in person to a live audience, don’t use notes. Few things weaken storytelling as much as reading from notes. It prevents a smooth, articulate flow and feels unnatural. Also, it’s very difficult to speak with passion if you’re reading from notes and remember, your story is supposed to inspire.
By all means, use notes to prepare but know your story well enough, and be so inspired by it, that you can recount it to anyone, anywhere, at any time. Being able to recount your story from the heart frees you to look at your audience, move around, and use body language to really strengthen your message.
Practice
Practice delivering your story. You’ll figure out what you need to change or move around. You’ll understand how some words look good on the page but don’t sound so great. You’ll find out that some words or phrases just get in the way. Don’t just work on saying the words, experiment with timing, emotion, and the inflection you use on words.
Use Pauses
The pause is one of the most powerful tools in selling. Avoid talking too quickly. Give your audience time to digest what you say, and pause occasionally, to make points stronger.
Now that you’ve examined some key points on how you can use storytelling to strengthen your MSP marketing, what other story tools do you think will help? Use these points as a sound basis for building your storytelling and you’ll start to establish your own voice.
