There are four key reasons you should use stories in your marketing mix. Attention, Connection, Credibility, and Action. They build a bridge between your offer and your reader like nothing else can.
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From the time we are small children our parents have read or told us stories. It has been the same since the dawn of time. Stories are how information has been passed on. Our history, our culture, our values and lots of important life lessons. We are hard-wired to listen to stories. We remember stories.
Today we are inundated by messages. Some we want to read – others, not so much. Our finger hovers, wanting to hit the delete key and move on. But an engaging story interrupts us…catches our attention, begs to be read.
In the niche of alternative health and all things wellness, stories are super important. They help us connect with our reader. They engage emotionally. The reader sees him or herself getting a problem solved. Pain relieved, worries gone, enjoying life to the fullest.
The story in itself makes the content more easily remembered. Stories are not lists of facts. They are experiences. These shared experiences give us a vision of how something might get better for us.
Stories elicit an emotion that connects us. A bond that engages us.
The bond might be good, might be happy, might be sad, but there's definitely a bond there. That bond lets us experience the hero’s pain, frustration, fears, desires, goals, maybe even joy. In the story, we see the hero overcoming our own problem.
We're all ears. We want to hear about it.
Maybe the hero has a bad knee they had to overcome. We might relate that to our own aches and pains. Maybe they had an illness or maybe they're fighting some sort of a disorder. Maybe they're concerned about looking older, losing confidence, not being as engaging with other people.
The story shows us someone that overcame our problem. It shows us how we can regain our own confidence.
We’re engaged. We want to know, we want our problem solved. It was the story that committed our attention. It can also be the story that convinces us. Because they are a form of testimonial or social proof, they seem more valuable, more credible than pages of statistics.
They work in the same way as all the reviews posted on Amazon or Trip Advisor. We get the validation that this is a good thing to buy, a good place to stay or visit. This validation allows us to comfortably take action.
Without action, nothing happens. No call, no order.
That's why stories and testimonials are such an integral part of your marketing program. If you're in the field of alternative health, wellness, spa, beauty… people want to hear success stories. If it worked for the person in the story…maybe it will work for us. We want to give it a try… we take action.
Stories have to be included regularly and liberally. We need their ability to grab attention, make a connection, build credibility, and allow the reader to action.
How does your marketing rate for stories? If they’re not stellar or not liberal, we should talk. I can help with that.
This is judith@jcpwellnesscopy.com look me up. Send me a message or give me a call.
Judith Culp Pearson receives three top honors
at the annual Society of Permanent Cosmetic Professionals in
Ft. Worth, Texas - October 7-9, 2023
