A story is not just a story, it’s a strategy to connect your customers to your business in a relatable way. – Miri Rodriguez
Microsoft storyteller and keynoter speaker Miri Rodriguez had a lot of great advice to share at the “Brand Storytelling and Content Marketing Conference” at Disneyland in Anaheim, California.
We wanted to share the two top insights she shared about using storytelling to build your brand:
1. Ask yourself what emotions are you seeking to evoke with your story?
Storytelling isn’t presenting opinions, data, facts or assertions. It’s also not posting content every day on social media and calling it a story.
Reach your audience through their hearts rather than through their heads. Stories are about an emotional transfer of information through character, plot and conclusion.
2. When identifying the lead character of your story, understand that it should NOT be about you.
Your product/service should never be the hero of the story who comes in and saves the damsel-in-distress customer.Frame your customer as the hero. A good story conveys an experience we vicariously place ourselves in. Your customers want to see themselves facing hurdles and achieving success.
Present your customer as the hero, and your product as the mentor or the secret sauce they use to overcome those challenges. And please don’t confuse bad customer testimonials with story.
- “They don’t want to meet Microsoft. They want to know how Miri from Microsoft can help them.” – Miri Rodriguez
