Your Story is Your Business's Superpower
Photo by Scott Evans on Unsplash
Did you know that most people receive between 6,000 to 10,000 marketing messages every day? If you run a business, there’s pretty stiff competition if you want to stand out. As a small business owner, I know that this can feel pretty intimidating. But here’s the good news: a story is the quickest way to build connection between you and your target audience.
Have you ever lost track of time while reading a book or watching a movie? The scientific word for this is narrative transportation. And if you can learn to tell great stories that activates narrative transportation in someone else, you’ll be able to change the way that they think, believe, and act. Storytelling can become a literal superpower for your brand.
Why? People just naturally respond to stories. A study from Berkley shows that the human brain loves storytelling. Stories release oxytocin (the love hormone) which increases feelings of empathy, trust, generosity, and compassion. And that’s exactly the state of mind that you want people to be in if you’re trying to sell them your services.
The science says that when we get lost in someone’s story, we actually imagine that we are them. Without even knowing it, we begin to think, feel, and act as the main character in the story. And as business owners, this is powerful because it means that we can convince people to buy our products and services or join our causes simply by telling them a great story (or several!) around the work that we do in the world.
Now, in order to be transported an audience has to feel connected (or like they have something in common) with the main character, they need to feel deep empathy for the situation that the main character is in, and they need to be able to visually imagine the world that the character lives in.
Practically speaking this means that if you want to achieve narrative transportation you need to focus on a few things:
Our specific audience and what they care about.
Be willing to be vulnerable and share the good, bad, and ugly.
Share our world visually through photos, video, and words.
Learn how to find great stories that will connect with our target audience.
2020 has been a year that has shown us the power of stories and how they can be used for good or evil. If anything, this motivates me to share the power of story. The world needs to see more stories about the people who are doing great things out in the world. That’s why I’ve shifted my business to help changemakers and entrepreneurs connect with others by sharing their stories in unforgettable ways. I’ll be sharing more of the science and art around storytelling in 2021 and how you can harness its power for your business!