A 5-Step Guide on How to Tell Your Small Business' Story Through Your Website

Modern marketing is more than pushing products/services. It is also creative storytelling, and your website is the ideal platform

Marketing through storytelling

The purpose of storytelling is to evoke an audience's emotions and move them to take action.Storytelling is a two-way communication that evokes emotions and has the power to motivate the audience members to act. The purpose of this blog is to explore how a business website can be used for storytelling marketing. I came up with this topic while researching content ideas for "Inspirational Sunday" (social manager jargon). As I aimlessly scrolled a webpage full of marketing quotes, one caught my eye. According to Mr. Unknown, marketing is no longer about the products you sell, but about the stories you tell. Is this accurate? Google defines marketing as “the activity or business of promoting and selling products or services, including market research and advertising”. So, Google thinks marketing is about products and services. Marketing's main goal is to sell, although it has become much more complex due to the advent of social media and online marketing.

The National Storytelling Network (NSN) describes storytelling as two-way communication. They state “storytelling involves a two-way interaction between a storyteller and one or more listeners. The responses of the listeners influence the telling of the story. Storytelling emerges from the interaction and cooperative, coordinated efforts of teller and audience” (NSN). This sounds like UX (user experience) website design to me! Storytelling is a powerful marketing tool that connects the audience to the speaker emotionally. As a form of communication, NSN distinguishes storytelling from other forms of communication by using language, gestures, vocalization, a narrative, enlisting the active imagination of the participants, incorporating all senses, and involving the listener as an active participant.

I realized that exceptional websites can be described with remarkably similar characteristics! Because storytelling and good UX go hand in hand, I believe websites are the best platform for storytelling. They can create an emotional response in the audience and there is two-way communication. Typically, a web developer adds a CTA (call to action) button to a site; when a user clicks it, that changes the next page, programmed by the developer, until they leave the site. The best website copy has a distinct voice, clear messaging, a narrative and overall theme, and lights up the imagination of the user. Sounds like it would work well for storytelling!

Tell a story on your website that will impact your audience and compel them to act

Every small business has a story to tell. It varies from business to business "who" you are telling your story to, "what" you are sharing, "how" you are sharing it, "why" you are sharing it, and "where" you are sharing your story. But do not let yourself convince yourself that you do not have a story worth telling. Because you do! In the beginning, I wrote free blogs for small businesses as part of my business. I interviewed dozens of people and listened to their stories. The people I met inspired me, and each had a very powerful and inspiring impact on me. Imagine yourself sitting at a kitchen table explaining why and how you started your business to an old friend. You share the vivid details, the story follows a logical sequence of events, you identify the conflict, elaborate on the characters, and solve problems for your clients! This is the story you must tell the community.

How to Tell a Story Through Your Website

Every story has five main parts; unforgettable characters, a conflict that must be solved, a challenging opponent, an intriguing theme or central question, and a distinct voice. How can we accomplish this through our website? Websites are technical, not emotional! That is not necessarily true. Building a website is technical, but websites can be an emotional experience!

• Developing the Characters -

  • You will want to make it clear who the key players are. Who the audience and users of the website are? What your relationship with the audience is and how you plan to take them on an interactive journey through your website. The users become the co-creators of the story based upon the navigation and user experience of your website. One of the first things a developer does before building a website is to define the target audience in as much detail as possible. Your copywriting, navigation, user experience, imagery, structure, and CTAs all depend upon your audience. Next, introduce your team members (of your business) on an "About Page". You can include headshots, fun, engaging photos, non-traditional bios, quotes, or jokes to keep it interesting and connect with your audience on an emotional level. You will want your audience to feel a part of your team! Stories start with a hook (your homepage) and entice the users to explore further by building their curiousity. If you want your user to get to the“About Page” you must make the homepage like a gorgeous old wooden door creeping open, covered in vines and flowers, with a faint cloudlike mirage lifting as you open the door to explore further. There must be something enticing and mysterious behind that front door that makes people want to step inside.
    

• The Conflict -

  • Once you have caught your users’ attention, you introduce the conflict. Do not give the solution away too soon! Storytelling is like slowly undressing. It should be seductive, tempting, and make you curious. Your purpose as a business is to identify your customer’s pain points and help solve them. The problem you are solving is the story conflict. When a user clicks on your website, they are looking for something. A product, a service, a cure for boredom, etc. It is your job to identify the solutions to their problems, explain why you are the best choice to solve their issues, and how you will go about doing that.

• A Challenging Opponent -

  • Competition is a thing of life. Especially in our free-market economy. There is always someone who claims they solve the same problems you do but better, faster, and cheaper. This is the part where you leverage your unique value proposition (UVP). I recommend researching your competitions’ websites and making notes of what they do well and what you want to avoid. The small business world is highly competitive, and your website must be able to compete with others. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is especially competitive. Google ranks sites that have several specific attributes such as keywords, meta descriptions, title tags, backlinks, and fast loading speeds, just to name a few. If your site is not competitive, it will not even be found! Second, users will “bounce” off your site quickly if it is not visually appealing and engaging. Share what makes you unique and highlight your strengths. Answer what makes your site and business stand out and differentiates you from your competitors.

• An Intriguing Theme or Central Question -

  • Before beginning the construction of your site, I highly recommend writing out your goals in black and white on paper. Good websites have an end goal in mind and an overall purpose. You are the trusted guide, and your purpose is to achieve both your goals and the users’ goals simultaneously. If your goal is to sell products or services, your website may look vastly different from a hairdresser’s site whose goal is to book appointments. Your goals will also help determine one decisive step, which is what distinct voice do you want your website copy to have? If you are a personal injury lawyer who wants to warn potential clients of the dangers of not being represented by a lawyer in court your voice will be more earnest and formal. A “sip-and-paint” website where people virtually take painting courses and sip wine will have a more friendly and upbeat voice.

• Use a Consistent Voice Throughout Your Site -

  • Messaging, posturing, and your voice are all terms that define your communication style with your audience. When I write blogs, I use a different voice than I do when I am drafting a press release. You want to get it right! If you have the perfect UVP, amazing products/services, and a gorgeous website, but you get your copy voice wrong…. you will confuse and potentially turn off your audience. This is where your company’s personality can shine through! Coherent and consistent messaging builds your authority and credibility. Without the correct voice, your audience will not trust you or take this journey with you through your website. Website copy is just as critical as the imagery and functionality.

In summary, marketing offers many different channels and opportunities to explore storytelling. One of those is the small business website. A good website will tell your business's story in an exciting and inspiring way while remaining professional. This is a tricky skill to learn, takes experience, and careful planning to execute. I may not know a lot, but one thing I know for certain is your business has a story worth telling and an audience out there that wants to experience it! So happy marketing to YOU! I hope you found this useful in some way, and until next time, party on!