Every Monday I share a photo in my online community for the members there to practice their own storytelling skills using the photo as a visual trigger.
I want to share with you an example of how one of the Community Member’s used this prompt recently.
The photo was a winter wonderland scene where the entire landscape was covered in beautiful white snow, except for one tree, that was sticking out in the middle of the photo — a beautiful red Japanese maple tree — the contrast between the bright red leaves against the all white landscape is what made photo interesting.
One of the women in my community later shared how she’d taken that photo and written an entire post for her LinkedIn Profile.
Debi is an accountant, who has her own business helping other small business owners with their accounting and bookkeeping needs.
She used the story of the tree to talk about how she’s spend a good part of her life standing out …. in the early days as a child, it was painful to be different. She shared personal story of growing up in a strict Pentecostal religion where she wasn’t allowed to wear certain clothes or cut her hair.
She stuck out in the sea of children who all were trying desperately to fit in.
Then she went on to share how it wasn’t until her 40s she truly began to embrace all the ways she was different and stood out — and how that has helped her in her own business…. how it’s helped her build relationships with her clients, because she never judges them for their own oddities and uniqueness.
I was so proud of her for taking the daily storytelling prompt and using it for her own social media and storytelling.
There were so many comments made on this post, people coming forward saying they loved hearing about this personal story.
It’s the prefect example of how as business owners, it’s a really wonderful (and smart) thing to do to share these snapshots from our own lives with our audiences and clients.
This is how you can Humanize your brand…..
Your marketing should not just be focused on your services and products…. but rather the stories that make up your business. The stories of the humans behind the machine.
People want to know WHO they are doing business with …. and the more you can showcase your own personality, and share a few personal stories from time to time will really help your audience relate to you, and want to do business with you.
Take a cue from Debi, and find ways to connect your stories back to your business and what makes you stand out…. what makes you different and unique….. in a sea of competition, why should someone do business with you.
If you need a good visual story prompt today, Join us in the LIGHTbeamers Community on Faceboook — I have today’s Storytelling Monday prompt posted and you can give this exercise a shot.
I'm excited to share I'm producing a brand new podcast called The Inside Story. Each week, I'm sharing the inside story behind some of the biggest success stories and the grit & determination of overcoming some of their biggest challenges.
I'll also be sharing a few of my own stories along the way, aimed to help you develop your own story and understand the power of sharing it with others.
We'll also be featuring the work of other LIGHTbeamers from our Community as they continue to hone their story and shine their light into the world!
April brings her vast expertise in the world of storytelling to show you how sharing your story can have a big impact on the world around you (yes, even in business!)
A former TV journalist turned Video producer and writer, April has been interviewing people for over 25 years to get to the heart of their story.
She hosts the wildly engaged Facebook Group, The LIGHTbeamers community where she shares story prompts and teachings to help other share their story!
You'll be the first to know when The Inside Story goes LIVE! There may even be some GOODIES in store for anyone who shares the podcast and leaves a review!!