Giving birth to a creative business idea is exhilarating and challenging and the experiences you have in those early days make for great dinner party stories years later. But no matter how long it has been, those original moments also have value in the present day as the foundation of your brand’s story.
Few Creatives understand the value of refining their brand’s story from the start. There was a moment when your business was just an idea and this was the beginning of its story. You developed your idea, made things happen and envisioned a road ahead that the idea and the characters would travel.
Telling that story to an audience in ways that are interesting and engaging is the essence of content strategy. Once you transformed it from just an idea into a living breathing business, that’s when it became something worth talking about.
There is power in shared human experience.
Every day new parts of the story reveal themselves to you and if you pay attention to what others in your field are doing, your uniqueness will start to become clear. This is the magic ingredient when sharing the story of your brand – your unique successes and challenges, your unique strengths and vulnerabilities. Never underestimate the value of the shared human experience – there will always be parts of your story that will resonate with others. The more they feel they have in common with you, the more likely they are to remember you and engage with your business somehow. Find your uniqueness and thrust it into the spotlight!
Many businesses get overwhelmed at the thought of content strategy (if they even know what it is), however the basics of content strategy are beautifully simple. Get your ideas out of your head onto paper then turn those ideas into stories that either make people think or offer them solutions. The next step is finding places to share those stories and the simplest content strategies are often the best – write blog posts if you like to write, or share your story in beautiful captioned images in Instagram if you like to take photos. There are endless possibilities, but trusting your instincts and doing what makes sense to you will always deliver you the best results.
Sometimes its important to enlist professional support.
If you still feel like you’re fumbling around in the dark, look for someone who can help you to make your path clearer. Maybe it’s an editor, maybe it’s a copywriter, or a social media manager. Or hey – maybe it’s one amazing woman who can do all three of those things! (Wink, wink.) There are some incredible creative people out there who can add so much value to your business in a personal and a professional sense. It doesn’t take much to find the person just right for you and when you do, you’ll wonder how you ever got along without them!
Your story is a powerful part of your business and some days it will be the thing that motivates you to keep going. Defining the key moments and sharing them with others is what will make you matter to your market in the long run. Share the things that matter to you and without doubt they will matter to someone else. Sharing your story with others opens the door to them wanting to support you so gather your people around, get everyone excited about how great your story is and share it as much as you can!