Two weeks ago, I wrote an article inspired by a rare encounter with a shy 2-year old leopard named Amali (pictured) in Southern Africa. She padded softly out of the bushes and gave me a tantalising turquoise stare, stealing my heart in the process! You can read my blog by visiting https://copythatsells.co.uk/dont-stay-hidden-tell-your-story/
After posting that blog, together with a whole host of related marketing content, I’ve had some fascinating conversations. This all goes to show that a shy leopard can teach us some very important life lessons about venturing into the unknown to tell our brilliant business stories to those looking for someone like us to help them.
So here are my five leopard lessons for captivating our audience with compelling content marketing stories which will get them coming back for more!
1. News travels fast when you have a brilliant business story
Amali’s blog padded its way through 5 continents, collecting hearts across a plethora of far-flung countries along the way. She was liked or featured in conversations in the UK, Netherlands, Namibia, Poland, Mexico, Brazil, Rome, Belgium, Denmark, North, South and Central America, China, Canada, Croatia and India. She even made it Israel where she was loved by the strategic developer for a Global Peace Strategy! Good work Amali!
People were drawn to her gorgeous turquoise eyes, her soft fluffy tail and the sincerity of her message: though feeling vulnerable, be brave, visible and you by telling your business story. They shared her story with others (sometimes they were speaking in a language I did not understand) which I found gratifying.
Leopard lesson 1: Storytelling gets everyone talking. It is the great leveller!
2. Repurpose your story to make it go further
I am a business storyteller who helps clients reach the right audience with story-based content marketing. So my blog’s aim was to encourage people, nervous about telling their story, to step over the line and start sharing!
So practicing what I preach, I repurposed it into at least 7 other pieces of marketing content and saw it build momentum, receiving hundreds and sometimes thousands of views through awareness and consideration to people thinking they’d like to be using storytelling to help them sell, themselves. I created 3 infographics, a video, web content as well as a series of social media posts.
One of my infographics was a poem where I showed how I managed to step away from the comfort of being a corporate employee to becoming a Marketing contractor and then to start my own business. I thanked people for believing in me and giving support and was overwhelmed by the wonderful outpouring of love from that piece. I realised I had many supporters and they so appreciated my stories. If you post your thoughtful content regularly you’ll notice that too!
Leopard lesson 2: Your stories are pure gold! Spin them into multiple formats and weave their golden threads through your content marketing strategy to reinforce your brand story and build your message.
3. Write your story for the people who matter to you
Not everyone likes leopards! Some people prefer kangaroos! To avoid my story from jumping in the wrong direction, I direct my story and marketing content at the people I cherish who share the same values as me. Those values are kindness, courage, honesty, respect and generosity.
It’s true, I did receive some unsolicited feedback from a complete stranger who was not very generous in his comments. But it turned out that most of his feedback wasn’t relevant because my Amali blog did go on to receive a very high volume of interactions across different marketing platforms. So don’t try to please everyone or you’ll end up pleasing no-one!
Leopard lesson 3: Don’t expect everyone to love what you say. Make your story specific to the people with whom you would love to have a chat. Don’t be surprised when they talk back!
4. Inspire people through your marketing content
I wrote my blog because I wanted to encourage others to be seen as real by telling their stories. When I had this wonderful comment (below) I knew that my message had emotionally resonated. That’s the best compliment I could ever receive! Thank you Emily!
“I love how REAL you are Katherine and I look forward to reading your posts regularly. x ” Emily Gibson, HR Consultant at the HR Patch Ltd https://www.thehrpatch.co.uk/
Leopard lesson 4: by genuinely and generously sharing important truths, people will value you and want to participate in your continuing story
5. Make it memorable
Yes, we all want facts and proof points when we are looking to connect or buy something from someone else. Are they trustworthy? Does what they sell actually work?
The fact remains that people buy from people and want to connect with the human being behind your business first and foremost. Research shows that we make up to 10,000 decisions a day and 90% of the time purchasing decisions are made in the subconscious mind. Your story will emotionally connect with people at a deeper level and (again according to research) be 22% more likely to be remembered afterwards!
Leopard lesson 5: Use a story theme (like my gorgeous leopard!) which will grab and hold someone’s attention until the end of your story.
Conclusion
Yes, Amali, the shy young leopard, has taught us a great deal. She gave us a rare insight into the life of a leopard who is solitary, shy and utterly mesmerising!
She’s padding back into the African bush now. Maybe we’ll hear from her again?
One thing’s for sure; she’s left an indelible pawprint on our hearts which we’ll never forget! She’s taught us the most important life lesson of all when telling our stories and making them part of our marketing content. That is to go out there and tell our brilliant business story to the world and most importantly…
be brave, be vulnerable, be you!
So thank you Amali! You are indeed, like my clients, the Hero of my story!
Amali the leopard photographed by Katherine Ledger in Africat, Namibia.
Would you like help in creating your business story, then weaving it like a golden thread throughout all of your marketing content to build the right relationships and win business? Then contact me for a storytelling/content chat on +44 (0) 7703545117 or katherine@copythatsells.co.uk and visit my website at https://copythatsells.co.uk. I would love to hear from you!
Copyright © 2018 Copy That Sells. Photographs by Katherine Ledger. All rights reserved.
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