It's noisy out there.
A report published by the University of California estimates that the human brain consumes 34GB of data per day or around 100,000 words.
That’s a lot of information.
TV, radio, social media, advertising, direct mail, email, outdoor… are all fighting for our attention.
More than an advert
Once upon a time it was enough just to advertise. To be seen amongst the stories and information we were consuming. There was credibility in that.
Today, that just makes you part of the noise.
Now you have to be the story. You have to engage and entertain your audience to make them buy your product or service.
But why a story? We have been brought up with them our entire lives. Nursery rhymes, fables, religion, gossip have been consumed by us since the moment we were born.
We can relate to them, remember them, draw meaning from them and act on them.
Driving emotions
Our lives are a patchwork of stories, good, bad, happy, sad, funny and serious. They shape our decisions, our beliefs and who we are. Like faces in objects we look for them, are attracted to them, spot them and are driven by the emotions they derive.
And it’s emotions you want to stir.
You want to use them to create a deeper link with your audience. To create relatability, empathy and trust; and to align your product, service and brand to.
Finding your story
You may be thinking this is all well and good, but we don’t have any stories, not any that are worth telling, anyway.
That would be where you're wrong.
Your business is full of great stories. You just need to know how to look for them and to ask the right questions to find them.
And once you've found them how to make what you do valuable and needed by the audience.
But that's a topic for another time.