Storytelling is the Skill Everyone’s Hiring For (and You’re Already Doing It)
Storytelling has quietly become one of the most in-demand skills in marketing, brand management and communications. More and more roles are asking for “strong narrative skills” or the ability to “craft compelling brand narratives.”
Companies are realizing that the marketers who actually know how to tell a story (not just post content) are the ones driving connection, retention and sales. Because many brands are moving away from traditional PR and moving toward creating their own content, they’re looking for more impactful ways to reach their audience. There are multiple trends driving this shift, but a changing media landscape is a notable one according to this article by the Wall Street Journal.
If you’re managing your own brand and creating your own content, you’re already doing the job of a brand storyteller. This skill comes with a huge opportunity to not just grow your brand or business, but it also opens the door for you to work with clients who want to pay you to do the same for them.
Storytelling Grows Your Brand
People don’t connect with logos, taglines or even a great design at first, they connect with the story that they’re being told.
Standing out from the crowd online means giving your audience something to “root for” or get behind. Whether that's you giving them the story behind your music, the inspiration for your product-based business, or why you provide the services you offer, you have to make sure your audience understands and knows who you are.
Storytelling Grows Your Business
Did you know that you can make a sale before you even ask for it? A clear story does the selling before you ever make a pitch.
When a potential customer already knows your “why” (why you started, why you care, why your product, service or offer exists, etc.) your sales conversations inevitably get shorter and your conversion rates go up over time.
It’s important to note that this isn’t an overnight process, it does take consistent communication of your story to see those results. Your audience needs to hear or read your story enough times, in enough places, for it to actually stick with them. You can use your origin story in your welcome email sequence or to frame your offers instead of merely announcing them. Over time, you’ll be closing the loop with people who already feel like they know you.
Storytelling Opens the Door to Client Work
The best part of this shift in hiring practices is that as a DIY marketer, if you can tell your own story well, you can learn to tell someone else’s just as well. Small businesses and entrepreneurs are always on the hunt for people who can take their real, complicated journey and turn it into something clear and compelling. You can offer this service as a freelancer, consultant or a creative partner instead of waiting for someone to hire you full time.
A Simple Storytelling Framework
The days of needing a degree to tell a good story are over. You can use this simple framework that I like to call The Turning Point Method that works especially well for personal brands:
Who you were – What did things look like at the starting point before the shift?
What changed –What happened at the turning point of the shift? What did you learn?
Who you are now – What was the result of the turning point? What’s different?
Why it matters to your audience – Why should your audience care? What does your story make possible for them?
The fourth step in this method is the one that can turn a personal story into a marketing asset.
When you share a story without explaining why it matters to your audience, it’s just a personal anecdote. When you add why the story matters to your audience and what it can do for them, it becomes a pitch that doesn’t feel like one.
Try It Yourself!
I’ve developed a free worksheet that walks you through The Turning Point Method step by step you can map out your own brand story (or your first client’s!).
Download the worksheet below and let me know how it works for you.
