The Power of Authentic Storytelling in Business
Karen Thatcher is here to continue our new guest blog series. Once a month, we’ll be sharing a guest blog post from an industry expert. Karen is a Freelance Creative and Comms Consultant specialising in charity comms. In this post, she walks us through the process of how to build authentic storytelling into your communications, shares why it’s so important, and leaves us with her top 6 tips!
Storytelling is everywhere…
With an estimated 4million new books being published a year, endless TV at our fingertips, and playlists filled with music of every genre, we have access to more stories than ever before.
Sharing stories is as old as time. Stories in all forms have been used across history and across the globe as a tool to entertain; to preserve culture; and most importantly, to connect. We immerse ourselves in books, films, podcasts, and personal conversations, all driven by our desire for connection and engagement (as well as entertainment, of course…). Now more than ever, we are living in a world craving authentic connection with the people we’re interacting with. We’re looking for something deeper, we’re looking for something REAL. And that goes for businesses too.
In a world saturated with conflicting marketing messages, it is crucial for us as businesses, to cut through the noise and establish genuine connections with our audiences (even if we don’t have a massive advertising budget). This is where the transformative potential of authentic storytelling comes into play.
I speak to myself as much as I speak to you when I say this: we need to be striving for quality over quantity. We need to disregard the follower count and pay attention to authentic engagement. Connection doesn’t happen over night. It happens over time, and it happens when people can see that what you say, matches what you do. It takes showing up, sharing your story, and then sharing it again… and again… It’s consistency, and often, it’s the long game.
Authentic storytelling humanises a brand, instills trust and cultivates loyalty.
It goes beyond sales pitches and resonates with the customer on an emotional level. So let’s explore why authenticity matters in storytelling and how we as businesses, can harness its transformative potential in all of our comms (comms just simply means “communications” and is all the ways- visuals, written words etc, that you communicate as a business, and within your business).
Our whole identity as a “brand” is influenced by who we are (literally the person/people behind the business), the values we hold, and the vision we are working for and towards.
When it comes to comms I have one simple rule: If YOU don’t know (and can’t write down on paper in under 150 words) WHO you are as a business, and WHAT you stand for, you can’t effectively communicate it to anyone else.
If you haven’t yet established your business values, that’s ok, but defining your business values is your first step before you even think about weaving storytelling into your comms.
You know when you’re at a party, and you get stuck talking to someone who is nice enough, but you just don’t gel with them, and they start telling you a story… it’s so long winded, it has a record-breaking number of tangents and your eyes begin to glaze over… You’re trying so hard to keep up with what they’re saying, desperately hoping that your face doesn’t reflect how bored you are, and you really cannot in any way work out (or even CARE about) what their point is?
If you don’t know your brand identity like the back of your hand, if you don’t know who you are as a business, what you stand for and the vision you’re working towards, and if you’re not having fun, your storytelling will be about as engaging as that person, at that party. And no-one wants to be that person.
You want THE RIGHT people
In today’s competitive business landscape, establishing a strong brand identity is crucial for success. Authentic storytelling offers a powerful tool for businesses to stand out from the crowd. By leveraging your unique stories, you can differentiate yourself in the market and cultivate a loyal customer base.
(But remember… you don’t want ALL the people, you want THE RIGHT people.)
Take some time (in whatever way works for your brain type- I’m a lists girl!) to reflect on what makes your brand special. Consider your founder journey, the values you hold, your visual brand identity, customer feedback, challenges you've overcome, and personal elements that influence your business. These stories help carve out a distinct brand identity that resonates with your audience. YOU have a story to tell. It’s unique, it’s yours, and it’s worthy of being heard.
Once you've identified your own unique stories, it's important to communicate them effectively across various channels. There are several ways to incorporate storytelling into your communications:
Branding:
Utilise your logo, fonts, colours, and images to convey your brand identity.
Website:
Incorporate your branding into your website design, include written content, authentic images, videos, and blog posts.
Social media:
Use images, videos, captions and branded graphics to tell your story on platforms that reach a wide range of audiences. (Don’t forget to tailor your social media posts depending on the platform too- check out your insights to see the genders, ages etc of your most interactive audiences, and think about the specific purpose of each platform, utilising the specific tools that are available for businesses on each of them.)
Printed materials:
Create business cards, flyers, impact booklets, banners, and giveaways that align with your brand identity.
Video platforms:
Consider using different video and creative formats such as interview-style, animations, scripted content, spoken word poetry or music. Be creative, there are plenty of helpful apps to get you started.
Podcasts:
Start a podcast! Explore your brand story, discuss business-related topics, and invite guest hosts or interviews to enhance engagement.
When you’re communicating anything at all, you should ask yourself: WHO am I trying to reach? WHAT am I trying to say? And HOW do I communicate to achieve the WHO and WHAT?
My top tips:
1. Have fun with it: If you enjoy sharing your stories, your audience will enjoy hearing them.
2. Consistency is key: Incorporate key words and taglines that reflect your values, across all communications to reinforce your brand identity.
3. Transparency and authenticity builds trust: Be honest about mistakes and challenges, people need to see that what you say and do, align and be clear and transparent about what your values are.
4. Set boundaries: You don't have to share 100% of your story 100% of the time. Choose which aspects of your story you feel comfortable sharing whilst maintaining authenticity. (And sometimes push yourself out of your comfort zone!)
5. Embrace trial and error: Authentic storytelling requires experimentation. Learn from what engages and resonates with your audience, and adjust your approach as you go.
6. Expect gradual results: Building connections through authentic storytelling takes time. Be patient, connection doesn’t happen over night. It happens over time, and it happens when people can see that what you say, matches what you do. Show up, share your story, and then share it again… and again… It’s consistency, and often, it’s the long game.
And so, my final piece of advice to you is this: Just do it. Start small. Take some time to begin to make the list I mentioned above, outlining some of your unique stories and timelines of your business and then choose one thing from that list to begin sharing. Be intentional about tailoring it to fit across all of your platforms in their individual ways. Keep sharing and sharing it for a few months (you will be bored with it, because you see 100% of your content. NO-ONE else sees 100% of your content). Try it for a while, and try it in different ways, keeping an eye on what engages people the most. If something DOESN’T engage and connect your audience celebrate that and learn from it, because now you know what your audience doesn’t want. Use your failures as much as your wins. Don’t expect instant results, but watch over time as your authentic storytelling becomes a powerful connector between you and your audience.
YOU have a story to tell. It’s unique, it’s yours, and it’s worthy of being heard.
Harness the power of authentic storytelling as you share the impact your business is having on people’s lives and the value your business holds in the world.
If you’d like help cultivating a posture of storytelling in your business in whichever (or all) the way(s), or you need some support as your tailor your comms, I’d love to help!
🔗 You can connect with Karen on LinkedIn, visit her website, or email hello@thatchcreativeuk.com
👀 Watch this space for more Guest Blogs throughout the year! If you’re interested in writing a guest post for The Bloom Blog, get in touch.
Bloom Creative is a design business based in Kent offering branding & brand refreshes, quality digital design, and eye-catching print design. You can browse our services or book in a free discovery call.
