Do you think storytelling as a Founder is easy?
Well somebody done told you wrong. Well they did and they didn't. As a Founder, sharing your story for the sake of PR is superficial at best. And that's not a bad thing for someone who's constantly being asked to do interviews. Folx on the outside want the inside scoop and that's what good storytelling does.
But what if you haven't reached that level yet? What if your story is still unfolding? How do you tell a story as it's being written?
"In truth, I don't think elevator pitches even matter that much. It's one of those sales techniquest you hear about, but they never actually happen in the real world. What the story does reveal, though, is that stories don't have to be long to be effective. they just need to be as long as they need to be:" - Kindra Hall
One of my favorite folx, Shawn P. Walchef of CaliBBQ Media and Restaurant Influencers, always says, "No one is coming to tell your story." He is so right but there's more to it when you haven't reached a certain level of influence.
Your business is doing well but your brand awareness is waning. You spend money on ads and boosting content but your ROI is shit. You're confused by storytelling because you don't know how it fits in your everyday content and marketing. These are the struggles of damn near every Founder out there try'n to make it work. Then there's
Content pillars
Content calendars
Content batching
CONTENT! CONTENT! CONTENT! When does it fucking end?
Suck it up buttercup because it doesn't end. As long as you're in business content and marketing are your bread and butter. It's what continuously act of filling the top of the funnel. Your job as the Brand Leader is to make that happen without getting losing your shit.
Your personal brand, stories, and core message make it possible. So as not to write a short story let's start with the assumption that your core message already exist. Next are your stories. I use a trinity of stories I learned during a workshop with Marc Gutman of Wildstory. Think of them as your D.O.T.
Defining Moment Story
Origin Story
Transformation Story
Using that trinity I add what I learned from Kindra Hall's book, Stories That Stick. I'm not all in on Kindra's methodology because it goes back to my original statement of stories for the sake of good PR. Her four stories are:
Value Story
Promise Story
Founder Story
Customer Story
As the Brand Leader, you're looking is content that endorses the business, connects with the audience, and markets the offer. And while these frameworks help you flush out your various stories, they can be enhanced with Personal Brand Bookends. Think of them as anchors for better broadcasting.
Personal Brand Bookends are strong anchors, allowing you to expand or compress your D.O.T. as well as provide micro stories that are running over with content and marketing possibilities. We unpacked a bit of this during a live BTS Brandbaby session with Bigmista.
Defining Moment Story Bookends: Alton Brown to Arby's
A story that highlights Bigmista's journey as a recognized local and global authority as a Pitmaster
Origin Story Bookends: Dining to Dating
A story that highlights Bigmista's journey of his parents food influence to cook for dates and BOW CHIKA WOW WOW
Transformation Story: Cooking to Content
A story that highlights Bigmista's journey of going from cooking for a living to creating content for a living
Each of these stories holds a treasure chest of micro stories waiting for space of their own to shine. Combining them with the core message and bigger picture of the overall brand architecture can provide never ending content that can be as scripted as a three act play or as spontaneous as being put on the spot by a fan.
Each story opens the door to a more detailed narrative while providing space and opportunity for short, shareable content. When, where and how you share your stories is up to you. Sharing that I read Kindra Hall's book and attended Marc Gutman's workshop are mere micro mentions of a defining moment story.
Goes to show, a well-crafted multi-dimensional story can be adapted to fit any platform or medium.
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