5 reasons storytelling is a powerful way to connect with your small business audience

If you're anything like me you may not always love self promotion. Bigging yourself up and blowing your own trumpet can be cringey but as small business owners we need to find a way of telling people what we do, why we're awesome and how we can help them. Enter: storytelling! Here are 5 reasons why storytelling is a secret weapon for small business owners.

1. Storytelling is a brilliant way to educate your audience. People may have a problem but they can't always diagnose what it is or what they can do about it. Educating through storytelling helps people identify the problem, often seeing themselves in the story. For example: 'When my boss caught me asleep at my desk I knew I had to sort out my sleep problems. My best friend recommended {your product} and it changed everything.'

   
   

2. Sharing information in story form is just more interesting. Rather than sharing an Instagram post with your opening hours, a behind the scenes reel showing you rushing to open up at 9am is more engaging and shows that you're human as well as telling people what they need to know.

   
   

3. Storytelling is a great way of helping people connect with you. Sharing your back story, how you came to be where you are now, the idea behind your first product gives people an insight into who you are. Why do people buy from you? Often it's because they like you, they trust you and they want to be part of your story. There are a million other products and services out there but there's only one you!

   
   

4. Storytelling is just less cringey than going on about how amazing you are. No-one wants to hear a long list of what you're great at, but they will want to hear the story about how you almost gave up and overcame a challenge. Telling a story is like chatting to a friend: it doesn't feel like selling and it builds the connections that will help your business succeed.

   
   

5. Stories inspire action. Comedian Georgie Grier shared a tearful tweet (back in the days of Twitter) after performing to an audience of 1 person at the Edinburgh Fringe a couple of years ago. The day after that post, which gained 5 million views, her show sold out. Why? Because people care, they want to help and that connection leads them to act. To have a successful business we need people to act. We need them to place the order, to request a call, to do something. Great stories inspire us to do something.

My Tips:

• Keep it simple. Focus on one clear message so that you don't confuse your audience.

• Use emotion. Expressing joy, relief, pride, hope or sadness will help people connect with you.

• Include visuals to make your story more engaging.

• End with a call to action. Make sure your story guides people to the next step, whether that's visiting your shop, checking out your website or following you on socials.

Hopefully this has encouraged you to give storytelling a go. And guess what? Now's a great time to start. Storytelling is super popular on Instagram right now. In a world of AI where it can be difficult to tell what's real, people are looking for authenticity. And there's nothing more authentic than you sharing your own story.

Here more about the power of storytelling in my interview with Jeannie Tweedie, co-Director of Elmbridge CAN on The Cultivating Creative Podcast.