Stories in any part of life are powerful things but here we’re not talking about your Brand Story (we’ll come onto that in a later blog), we’re talking about your personal story and how that can help you connect with your audience and inform your whole branding.
You will see a lot of talk in branding and marketing about your ideal client and how you really need to nail who they are before you can brand or market your business otherwise you’ll be shouting out into the void rather than talking to just one person. And whilst I agree that spending time getting to know your ideal client is vital I am a firm believer in getting to know yourself first before you move onto who you’d like to work with. Your ideal client is usually a version of you at some point on your timeline so getting to know yourself first means you can tailor your ideal client to you rather than trying to bend and shape yourself to fit a version of your ideal client that doesn’t actually align with you.
Not many people take the time to really delve into themselves but the power of your personal story is immense.
There’s a phrase in marketing, “know like and trust”, meaning the journey from random person to client/buyer is first they find you (hello google/social media/advertising/networking), then they get to know you and then form a bond and trust with you and finally they buy from you.
How many times have you bought a product or service from someone or business you don’t know, have not had recommendations from or read any reviews? Just seen it online or in a new shop and bought it? I’d guess not many times at all because as human we need to feel a connection between us and the places we spend our money. A favourite clothing shop where you know the clothes are well made and ethical, a brand of shoes you’ve always worn because they’re good quality and last well, a new plant milk you’ve tried because you saw someone you follow on Instagram say how nice it was. These are all examples of “know, like and trust”. The brands told you a story that aligned with your values or someone else you already “know, like and trust” recommended them.
We love to hang out in tribes us humans, it makes us feel safe – if we’re not in a tribe we’re all alone and open to attack from lions and saber tooth tigers. Ok that might not happen these days but our primitive human brains still work on that level.
We like to hang out in a tribe of like minded people. The people you follow on social media will have connected with you on some level, friends become friends because of a shared interest.
And what’s the best way of finding and connecting with like minded people? Telling your story.
Your story can let people know you’ve been where they are now. It can let them know you empathise with them. It lets them know there is a way out of their situation and you know what that is. Your story can give people hope and help them achieve what they want to achieve. It lets them decide if they like you or not, whether you are their tribe.
So think about where you have come from, what jobs you’ve done on your
journey to where you are now, what’s led you to this business. Quite often we start businesses because we were in a situation we wanted to change and we changed that ourselves. Maybe it took years and a lot of heartache for you but now you know how to do it you can teach others to do it quickly with minimal fuss.
Maybe you suffered a loss and that taught you a great lesson. Maybe you had something wonderful happen and you’d like to pass that amazing feeling on. Whatever you’ve been through, or wherever you’ve come from will be beneficial to someone else and help them onto that next step of Know, Like and Trust.
You don’t have to tell your whole story, there might be a painful bit that has no bearing on what you’re doing now…but they might just offer someone that hope they need and that someone might become your best client and biggest fan.
What’s your story is the first question I ask when I work with a client building their brand. I always ask them what led them to where they are today. What would you say?
What’s your story? Mine is in my about me if you’re interested.
If you’d like to know more about getting to know yourself and your business before starting your branding process then my FREE Build a Thriving Brand course can be accessed here