“Those who tell the stories rule society.” Plato
I am going to share with you why you want to implement story telling to grow your network marketing business. faster. Don’t worry if you don’t know how. I have everything you need to know to get started right here.
In a noisy social media feed, good story telling strategies to stop their scroll will increase your engagement and ultimately income in your network marketing business. But.. it important to follow a strategy when implementing story telling into your marketing because you want it to capture attention, accomplish your mission and get them to take action. As well as, make them feel connected, build trust, and influence them to take the next step with you, so you can impact their life for good. Story has the power to do all of it!
YOU ARE GOING TO LEARN:
- The art of story telling
- How to use StoryBrand concepts to grow your network marketing business.
- How to be a guide and help people solve their problems and create raving customers.
- Why knowing your ideal customer is key to everything you do if you want to have impact.
- How to create a collection of stories that will have people connecting, engaging and buying from you.
THE ART OF STORY TELLING
Story telling is the oldest form of communication and it is also one of the most effective ways to help people remember and understand what you want them to know. The brain doesn’t know the difference between reality and imagined, so just like how your dreams feel real and it is hard to discern dreams from reality, a similar thing occurs when you are listening to a good story teller.
Story can take you on a journey as if you are there with them and you are synced in thought with the one telling the story. This is why when you tell stories people will feel connected to you and build trust toward you. Connection, trust and engagement are exactly what you want to create influence on your social media.
Here a few facts about stories that will help you understand just how powerful story telling is.
- A story is like painting a picture with words. (The brain turns every word into a movie of sorts)
- Stories simplify complex information making it easy to recall, understand and implement
- Story is a universal language that can connect and inspire people from diverse backgrounds
- Stories help us to relate and empathize with strangers, making it easier to build relationships
Good stories are …
- Entertaining: Keeping the reader engaged, invested and interested in what is to come.
- Educational: Sparking curiosity and educating in a way that draws people in.
- Relatable: Tapping into emotions and similarities between you to build know, like & trust
- Organized: Following a succinct pattern that takes people on a journey from beginning to end.
- Memorable: Good stories can stick in peoples minds for a lifetime.
Stories can influence our way of thinking
When listening to impactful stories, your brain can actually cause you to develop thoughts, opinions, and ideas that align with the person telling the story. (Can you say Influence!) If customers can see themselves as characters in your story, they’ll be more likely to buy your product and experience the happy ending you offer.
how do you use your stories to grow your network marketing business?
I recommend that you tap into the trend of storybrand. This is based on a book Called StoryBrand from Donald Miller and he does an amazing job of helping marketers implement the power of story to communicate simply, effectively and ultimately to get your customer to take the next step with you.
Here is the basis of StoryBrand.
- Every story has a hero. (Your Customer)
- The hero has a problem (this problem can be conscious or unconscious).
- The hero then meets a guide (which is YOU!) that has answers to help them overcome and solve their problems
The big idea is you are a guide (not the hero) in your marketing. That means that everything you do should have your ideal customer in mind, and the value driven content you are putting out there is for the reader/listener not to feed your ego or to brag. This is what sets you as a Modern Influencer (and World Changer) apart from the Influencers with just a platform and a pretty face. Your arrows are pointed out and you are showing up to serve people, not yourself. But, just so you are clear, you can make an amazing income doing this!
How to be a guide to your customers
First of all, the most important part of your story is knowing the audience that you’re speaking to. You can have an amazing story and an amazing product/service to offer, but if it doesn’t line up or isn’t relevant to your audience it’s a waste of your time.
Download my FREE worksheet to discover your Ideal Customer by clicking here.
Once you know your ideal customer it is VITAL to know the problems they have, and most importantly what solutions you have to solve their problems. At the end of the day, the only thing you customer cares about is how you can help their life be better and that is why they will do business with you.
The more you talk about the problems they have the more they will pay attention!
You want to build your social media marketing so that when the hero (your customer), who has a problem that you solve, finds you then it is crystal clear you are the perfect one to help them solve their problems. This is why you want to have a collection of stories that will help you communicate to your customer that you know stuff they need to know and you are the answer they have been looking for.
Creating your collection of stories
Here are 5 different categories of stories for you to start creating for you story collection.
- Wins you have had.
- Overcoming stories.
- Lessons from experiences you have had.
- Stories that educate about your product/service.
- Stories to entertain and make them laugh.
Here are a few examples of stories I tell.
- Stories about my Mom dying of cancer and the lesson that life is short.
- Past experiences, wins and struggles as a leader in network marketing.
- How I was stuck because I was in the wrong role and what I have learned to help others understand how they are knitted together and align with their God given purpose.
- My personal journey of health, aging and weight loss
- Lessons from the Navy, since it is a unique experience.
Share your WINS! This isn’t bragging. You are encouraging them and edifying your wins to them because, since you’ve had wins then you can help them to win also. Sharing your wins helps them to see and believe that it’s possible for them to achieve too, and that you are qualified to be their guide and take them to the life they are dreaming of.
Stories of OVERCOMING!
Everyone loves a story of overcoming. Think about what’s something in your life that you’ve overcome, that your ideal client may also need to overcome. Stories about your inner journey and what you had to overcome to become who you are today. (which is further along than your ideal customer is) They are interested in hearing of this journey because they also want to become more and your story will give them hope.
Lessons from EXPERIENCES!
You can tell stories about experiences that you’ve had that may be unique to you. Talk about what you experiences and the lessons you learned. This is a great way to let people know why you are qualified to help them.
Stories that EDUCATE!
You know things that your ideal customer doesn’t know. Share hacks, ideas, and solutions that may be super simple, but they may have never heard before. You can use stories to educate them on what they need to know and every little tip is sowing the law of reciprocity because you are adding value. People love people who are givers.
ENTERTAIN them!
If you are a funny person you should definitely be sharing as many entertaining stories as you can. People love to laugh and it will connect them to you. I am not necessarily a humorous person but I make people laugh by laughing at myself, because sometimes I get myself into situations that are humorous. Possibly you have really funny kids or someone in your family is always doing funny things. You can share your observations and stories that others may enjoy.
Bonus points if you can share an entertaining story that also relates back to a problem your product solves!
Social media Post structure
When you are posting on social media it is important to make it relatable. Stories that put your ideal customer in the shoes of the stories you are sharing are going to be very effective at getting them to take the next step with you.
Really compelling stories always include some sort of conflict. Set up the conflict and then offer a solution. Or, asking your audience to help you solve the problem works well too.
A great way to structure posts is:
- A strong sentence that captures attention and makes them curious
- Set the scene for the story setting or expose the problem. In a few short (2-3 sentence) paragraphs. Make space between paragraphs for readability. Bold your text and use bullets to break things up when you can.
- Offer a lesson, solution or point to where they can get more info.
- Call to action. It can be to follow a link. Drop an emoji, a multiple choice question to answer or share their own story.
Keep Shining!
Rebecca
