Esther
Good morning, and welcome to another episode of the Monday Morning Marketing Podcast. Today, we're talking about captivating audiences with compelling stories. Sounds very fancy.
Melanie
It would be lovely to be seen as captivating, I suppose.
Esther
Well, we're captivating audiences. We're not being captivating. That right?
Melanie
That doesn't sound right.
Esther
No.
Melanie
Okay.
Esther
But our storytelling is very important. We're not talking about once upon a time in a land far, far away. We're past that, right?
Melanie
Well, I should hope so.
Esther
But when you tell a story, you have to put a bit of you into it. So you have to give it your spin.
Melanie
No, no, no, no, no, no. I do think there's a personal element but it doesn't have to be you.
Esther
Explain?
Melanie
Well, how many times have we watched TikToks or Reels of a crime being explained? You're not putting your spin on it at all. You're spinning their story.
Esther
Okay, but how does that help me sell more websites?
Melanie
Well, for you, I would say, here's a case study. This is what worked for them. Still not talking about you, though.
Esther
But it is because we helped them with it.
Melanie
But it was their outcome that makes people buy. Yeah, see, you're nodding.
Esther
Unless they're watching, then I'm not nodding. But you have give some details. You can't just go, oh, look how great this website was that we built. You have to give some specifics.
Melanie
Yeah, but you're still not giving your. You're saying, They were captivated by the stylish design they were.
Esther
Yeah, but it's our design. We made the design.
Melanie
Well, actually, it was a bunch of code made by somebody who actually built the website in the first place, and you're just the engineer of it. But that's where it comes from. Let's be serious. You're not going to win this one, Daph.
Esther
No, but an artist can only use the colors that already exist. So you're talking about the same idea.
Melanie
There you go. Still not yours.
Esther
Okay, but storytelling, it's very important. Instead of just giving the cold, hard facts, take them on a journey.
Melanie
Again, there's actually a place for the cold, hard facts. There's comedians who use the cold, hard facts in a certain tone of voice in a certain way and flicking through screens. What's that shouty British man who constantly berates politicians? He speaks all politely and newspaper-y man on screen, and then the camera apparently stops running. But it keeps on going. That's the one. He is hilarious.
Esther
He's brilliant, yeah, because he says the truth.
Melanie
He says the truth, but he says it in his way. But it's still not his story. He's just out his bullet points, basically. And then he's just adding his spin. So you don't actually have to be personable. It's It's great that you are, and I would actively encourage people to. But I think what puts a lot of people off when it comes to storytelling is they think they've got to put all of themselves into the storytelling. They have to mention their family, where they live, what pets they have, their passwords, goodness knows what else.
Esther
No, never.
Melanie
You don't. You can just spin what's already out there. People get paid to do it.
Esther
True, true. But okay, so that brings me to something that's come up recently. Can you use anything and everything to make a story?
Melanie
Yeah, we see this all the time when you see the five things the five ways you shouldn't do with your website, the five ways you're doing it wrong, and there's a negative spin that you can create. It's not really done anymore, not to any real extent.
Esther
Well, there's the You know, infamous one of things I learned about sales when proposing to my girlfriend. Huh? Oh, yeah. LinkedIn posts. They're full of, here's a banal item, and this is what it means in marketing.
Melanie
Okay. If you can't see me, I'm scratching my head.
Esther
She's really confused looking. She's got this weird look on her face going, really, people do that. But yeah, the longer I spend on LinkedIn, the more of them I see, and it's weird. It's like a cup of tea can no longer be just a cup of tea. It has to have some marketing reference behind it, apparently. For me, it's just a cup of tea.
Melanie
Yeah, Again, that's somebody's interpretation, their spin. I've seen those images of multiple teas of different colors put up on a grid and people have to select which one is their type of tea. And I suppose in some way that's some consumer research. But you can spin anything. You can spin going to the shops. You can spin getting a cat. You can spin all sorts of things. But as long as you're paying more attention to what is going to create conversation that's going to encourage shares and that's going to promote engagement, it doesn't have to be your life story.
Esther
No, I agree. There are many things that you can keep personal, especially your passwords, without having to share it to the world. I know people who I've known them online for years and years and years, and only when I met them in person did I then find out that they were married and had children because they don't share that side. Other people openly share that side of motherhood, parenthood, spousal-hood. Is that a word? Because that's what's more the feel that that's what makes them more relatable. But tell your story the way you want to tell your story. Don't let anybody else tell your story.
Melanie
See, there's a place for people to tell your story as well, because then it's user-generated content. See?
Esther
She's got me nodding again. She's got me on this one. I mean...
Melanie
And user-generated content is actually more valuable than your own content. In many ways, actually.
Esther
User-generated content for people with products is far easier, let's face it, than people with services. How do STOMP and IPA Group get their user-generated content?
Melanie
By doing a good job, normally, because we're both services. Or if we do a bad job, we also get feedback.
Esther
Yeah, well, that's when we mostly get feedback, isn't it? Because, well, in our case, we forget to ask for reviews. Bad Esther.
Melanie
This is where Esther has to listen to the podcast we recently recorded about sales processes or processes. It just depends on where you are in the world, okay?
Esther
We're in the same place anyway. Okay. So anybody can tell your story. Your story needs to be told.
Melanie
It may not always be accurate, but yes, they can.
Esther
But your story needs to be told. At the end of the day, your story needs to be out there. People need to be able to find you, see you, read all about you, read what other people think about you, read about what you do. Again, you don't have to include what you had for your breakfast unless that is relevant to your business.
Melanie
Maybe you're a cafe or restaurant or something.
Esther
Or a nutritionist or, you know.
Melanie
Yeah.
Esther
Yeah
Melanie
Or it's a happy pair.
Esther
Is that not a restaurant being covered in that one.
Melanie
It's everything, really.
Esther
But the point is, if you don't write about yourself, talk about yourself, talk about what you do, how you help people, whether that be audio format like the podcast, or whether it be written format like a blog, or whether it be social media posts, or images, or carousels, or infographics, or the list of things that you can do is endless. It could be a radio interview, it could be an advert on TV.
Melanie
It could be a series. It could be a YouTube series. It could be a series of blogs. It doesn't have to be all done in one go.
Esther
No. But as long as you are consistent with your storytelling, giving a consistent message of, We are here. This is what we do. This is how we help. This is X, Y, Z, then people are going to start to remember you because it won't just be, Oh, I did that one radio interview three years ago and people are still coming to my business because of it. No, I'm sorry. It doesn't work like that.
Melanie
Wouldn't it be nice, though?
Esther
It would take a lot of hassle out of it.
Melanie
But it doesn't work that way.
Esther
No. The times are changing so much and so quickly. I mean, I remember showing my age here. Remember when it used to just be in the yellow pages, golden pages, whatever you call them, wherever you are, and people would look them up, find you, and phone you. It doesn't happen that way either anymore.
Melanie
I don't think I've ever been in yellow pages.
Esther
No, neither have I. But I mean, when I was growing up, my parents would always look at the yellow pages. Oh, right. That's the number of the person we need to phone. But the world has changed, times have changed, and we need to move with those changes and adapt and keep growing and keep sending out information into the Ether, whether that be the internet, Whether it be physical format, whether it be posters, billboards, side of a bus, whatever way you promote your business, you have to keep doing it.
Melanie
And there's no harm in updating the odd story as well. I mean, myself and Esther, we've both been in business for a number of years now. And you don't just need to say at the very beginning of your business as an awareness tool. It's a great way to keep that relationship going as well. And it doesn't have to be, oh, I've won this award and new member of staff and all that announcement type of thing. That's not really storytelling. Storytelling is explaining why you got that new member of staff, and what project or what campaign got you that award. Going into a bit more detail, seeing, as you've mentioned before, as behind the scenes, really helps people understand the beating heart behind the brand. And that's what people buy, is not the brand, but the beating heart behind it.
Esther
Yeah. And unless you're a big multinational corporation, then people want to see and hear that beating heart.
Melanie
We can't afford Ronaldo.
Esther
You can't afford what, sorry? Ronaldo. Coca-cola doesn't like him either because he tanked their sales. And they can't afford But, yeah, you need to do what works for you. Take your time, like I said, consistent messaging, because if you tell one story one day and a different story, a different time relating to the same thing, there will be some people who will remember.
Melanie
But the interesting thing is, those type of POVs are the ones that get most talked about. Because you'll get the staff's point of view, and then you'll get the boss's point of view, and it will be exactly the same subject matter.
Esther
But I don't mean it like that because-.
Melanie
It's still storytelling, though.
Esther
It is. But you are the boss and the employee in your company. Cool. If you turn around and give two different stories about the same thing, then that's when people will be like, Hang on.
Melanie
In that instance, yeah. It's just... I'm going to say it. We haven't said it so far. It depends. It depends. I swear we say it depends every single episode.
Esther
I think we should start a Bingo card.
Melanie
Product coming soon?
Esther
Yeah. Check our website for details. But it does. I always hate saying it, but it does. It depends. You could be having a really bad day. I don't I recommend telling a story when you're having a really bad day because it'll be the negative. It'll be the, oh, woe is me, and everything is just horrible, and people will think that that's what you're like. Just I don't think it can be sunshine and rainbows every day.
Melanie
I do think storytelling can include overcoming adversity, though.
Esther
Oh, yes, definitely.
Melanie
So do storytelling afterwards.
Esther
Yes, not in the middle of the adversity. Because everybody has really bad days, but we go on social media to cheer ourselves up. We go on social media to laugh and to have a giggle and escape. Yes. We don't want to, I know it sounds selfish, we don't want to hear about your bad day when we're having a bad day.
Melanie
Pretty much.
Esther
But if there's a way to, like Melanie says, put that positive spin on it and say, Look, this was going really, really badly, but Melanie came along with her company and helped me out, and Esther came along with her company and helped us out, the world is a better place because of the Monday morning marketing podcast. Obviously, that is true story.
Melanie
Give me a hoorah.
Esther
Not doing that.
Melanie
Fine.
Esther
I think what I'm trying to say is just be yourself. Be true to yourself, but if you're having a bad day, step away from social media.
Melanie
If you are still a little reticent of doing storytelling, I'm hoping that after listening to today's episode, you can understand you don't have to get too personal. You don't have to include images of you, even, particularly these days. It doesn't even need to be the real you. You can have an AI-generated version of you.
Esther
Yes.
Melanie
I still would rather it wasn't, but it can be if you really, really don't like it and don't get any ideas, Esther. We're still doing a video series.
Esther
You only think it's me sat here.
Melanie
Yeah, yeah. So I'm hoping this will give you fresh inspiration. I hope that this gives you permission to give it a go because you are missing out an enormous amount of your audience by not connecting with them on this level. So give it a try. What can you lose? Nothing personal, that's for sure. So I think we'll finish off there. I can't think of anything that would be remotely as intelligent or as informative as the last sentence I just made. And we'll leave it there for this week. We'll be back again next week with another podcast. Say bye, Esther.
Esther
Bye, Esther. Oh, bye.
Melanie
I don't know. I think we actually made sense and we had fun this time.
Esther
Oh, yeah. We always have fun. Do you not always have fun on the-?
Melanie
We don't always make sense, though, do we?
