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In a recent post by fellow BBH Expert Scott Aughtmon, entitled Lessons From “The Voice”: Does Your Business Have Personality we learned the story of Judith Hill, a contestant on the show.

What Scott pointed out in his post was so meaningful to me that I felt it important to build off of it.

Your story is really important in your marketing.

There are very few businesses that sell something so unique that it has no competitor. Since most of us have competitors there are a few ways to differentiate ourselves from them:

1. Offer better service
2. Offer a better return policy
3. Have a feature that makes us a little bit different (think Southwest Airlines’ 2 free checked bags policy)
4. Have a unique story

I want to focus on item 4 because I think too many marketers skip this step when running through the list.

Of course, items 1 – 3 are important, but once you have them,  make sure you have a story to tell to seal the deal.

I own two small businesses.

One was started nearly 5 years ago and is the more mature one. Every month I look at my Google Analytics to see how my site is doing.

During this analysis I review which pages are the most popular. I have over 100 pages on the site because I’ve blogged a fair bit in the past.

 

My About Us page is my 3^rd most popular page

Why is this? Because people want to know my story before they consider doing business with me.

This page ranks much higher than my Contact Us page. Seems obvious, but have you really given this deep thought?

If your company story is that important to visitors it is a sales page. Does your story sell?

That was Scott’s point in his post about whether your business has a personality. If there’s no story, then there’s definitely no personality.

My story revolves around two truths: I’m courageous and creative.

When I was 15 I started my first business going up against the established bike store in town to sell bike parts to my friends and their friends.

I did not have a store, catalog, employees or a marketing budget. All I had was my mouth and my baseball cap that had the name of my business on it: BMX Factory.

Even then I knew I had to have a name.

BMX Factory did not last, but my eagerness to be in business creatively serving others and making a small profit stayed with me.

That is what sparked me to open more and more businesses over the years. It’s been really fun.

I like to tell people about the various businesses I have opened and how I creatively serve others and it always grabs the attention of the other party.

This is because everyone loves a good story.

 

Where else can you tell a good story?

So, it is supremely important that you tell a good story on your website. I would also like to give you three other key places to tell a good story online.

1. The first one is your YouTube channel.

You do have one, right? The online video revolution is on. Get on board.

Anyway, YouTube now allows you to have a video that invites non-subscribers to check you out and subscribe to your channel.

Great place for a compelling story.

 

2. The second one is your LinkedIn Summary.

Many people skip over this or simply make it a description of their current position. Wrong.

This is intended to be a story. If done well it will be the most read portion of your Profile since it is right up front.

Don’t waste it.

3. The third place is on Facebook.

I have been running a Page on Facebook for years and what I have found time and time again is that the posts that do the best are the ones that tell a, what? A story, of course.

Don’t just promote your business on your Page.

Tell creative tales and your Fans will keep coming back for more.

 

The Takeaway

Go through your website and other online presences and read the stories you have there with fresh eyes.

Do they need improvement? Or are they differentiating you and your business and supporting the sale?

Share your good stories or comments with me below.