Category: Storytelling

  • 5 Stories You Can Tell in Your Content This Week

    5 Stories You Can Tell in Your Content This Week

    5 Easy Stories You Can Tell in Your Content This Week

    When it comes to creating content that stops the scroll and builds connections, storytelling is your secret weapon. Stories help humanize your brand, create emotional connections, and make your audience feel like you get them. If you’ve ever stared at a blank screen wondering what to post, here are five simple story ideas to inspire your content this week:

    1. Your “Founder’s Story”

    This is your “why” story the tale of how your business came to be. Share where it all started and the driving purpose behind what you do. Think beyond the polished version; let people in on the things they may not know. Maybe it was the side hustle that grew into your full-time gig or the pivotal moment that inspired you to start. Your audience wants to know the person behind the business, so don’t be afraid to get personal and let your passion shine.

    Format:

    • Start with a pivotal moment or the problem you set out to solve.
    • Share the journey, including any challenges or unexpected turns.
    • End with the “why” behind what you do and how it serves your audience.

    Why This Story Works:

    The Founder’s Story creates an emotional connection by showing your audience the human side of your brand. It builds trust and makes your business more relatable. People want to support businesses with a purpose, and sharing your “why” helps them understand and align with yours.

    2. A Customer Success Story

    Shine the spotlight on a happy customer or client who walked away thrilled with the results you delivered. This is your chance to share how you turned their worries or frustrations into a win. Paint the picture: What were they struggling with before they found you? How did you step in and change the game? These stories double as social proof while showing the transformation you’re capable of providing.

    Format:

    • Introduce the customer and their initial problem.
    • Describe the process or steps you took to help them.
    • Highlight the results and how it positively impacted them.
    • End with a quote or testimonial if available.

    Why This Story Works:
    Customer success stories build trust and credibility by showing real-world examples of your expertise. They demonstrate the tangible outcomes your audience can expect and highlight the value of working with you. Plus, they’re relatable and inspire confidence in potential clients.

    3. A Product Story

    Every product has a backstory. What’s yours? Maybe it’s the “aha moment” that led you to create it, the challenges you overcame during development, or the unique problem it solves for your audience. Giving people a behind-the-scenes look not only builds intrigue but also reinforces the value of what you offer. Bonus points if you include fun anecdotes or unexpected twists in the creation process!

    Format:

    • Start with the inspiration or problem that sparked the idea for the product.
    • Share the process of developing the product, including obstacles or breakthroughs.
    • Highlight the final result and its unique benefits.
    • End with how it’s impacted customers or your business.

    Why This Story Works:

    A Product Story pulls back the curtain and gives your audience an insider’s look. It builds excitement and trust by showing the thought and effort behind your offerings. It also positions your product as a solution to a specific problem, making it more relatable and desirable.

    4. A Personal Story with a Business Lesson

    We all have life moments that teach us big lessons. Maybe it was that time you took a big risk, faced a failure, or had a sudden epiphany. Share a personal story, but don’t stop there connect the dots back to your business. What was the key takeaway, and how does it apply to what you do? This is a powerful way to blend authenticity (yes, I said the word you love to avoid!) with value for your audience.

    Format:

    • Set the scene by describing the life moment or situation.
    • Highlight the challenge or pivotal moment.
    • Share the lesson you learned and how it applies to your business.
    • Wrap it up by tying it back to how this insight can benefit your audience.

    Why This Story Works:

    Personal stories resonate deeply because they show vulnerability and relatability. They help your audience see the person behind the brand while delivering a meaningful takeaway. This combination of personal connection and actionable insight makes your content memorable and impactful.

    5. The “I Was Done” Moment

    Kick off your story with this dramatic opener: “I was done.” It’s compelling, relatable, and creates curiosity. Then, describe a moment when you hit a breaking point a time when you were fed up, frustrated, or ready to throw in the towel. What changed for you, and what was the turning point? Whether it’s about your business journey or a personal shift, this type of story is bound to hit your audience right in the feels.

    Format:

    • Start with the exact moment or thought when you realized you were “done.”
    • Explain the situation or series of events leading up to that moment.
    • Share what shifted or what steps you took to move forward.
    • End with the resolution and how it changed your perspective or approach.

    Why This Story Works:

    This story is raw and relatable. Everyone has felt “done” at some point, so sharing this moment shows vulnerability and builds connection. It’s inspiring to see how someone moves past a breaking point, and your audience will resonate with the courage and growth displayed in your journey.

    Why These Stories Work

    Each of these stories does more than just entertain; they connect. They show your humanity, highlight your expertise, and reinforce the value of what you do. Whether your goal is to inspire, educate, or sell, weaving storytelling into your content strategy is a game-changer.

    So, what are you waiting for? Pick one of these story prompts and run with it this week. Your audience is ready to hear from you and trust me, they’ll thank you for it

  • Unlock Sales Success With The Power of Storytelling

    Unlock Sales Success With The Power of Storytelling

    Why Storytelling is the Secret Sauce to Sales

    This blog post is pulled from Episode 9 of the Coffee Social poscast. Click here to listen to the full episode. ‘

    Let’s cut to the chase: humans are hardwired for storytelling. From caveman etchings to TikTok trends, we’ve always loved a good story. But here’s the kicker—stories don’t just entertain us; they inspire action. And when it comes to marketing, action equals sales. If you’re not weaving storytelling into your strategy, you’re leaving money on the table. And let’s face it, nobody wants to leave money on the table. 

    Why Stories Work

    Ever notice how a good story sticks with you? That’s not an accident. When someone tells a compelling story, their brain syncs with yours. You’re not just hearing the words; you’re feeling the emotions, visualizing the scenes, and stepping into the narrative. That connection builds trust, and trust is the foundation of sales. As I said on the Coffee Social podcast Ep 9, “Stories sell. Numbers tell.” And while data is critical, it’s the story that makes people care enough to buy.

    Paint the Picture of Transformation

    A great story does two things: it shows the struggle and the solution. Think of it as the “sad to happy” journey. Your customer’s pain points—that’s the darkness. Your product or service? That’s the light. Highlighting this transformation is what convinces people you can take them where they want to go.

    Example: Let’s say you’re a coach helping women overcome their fear of showing up on video. Instead of saying, “I’ll teach you how to use Instagram Lives,” try this: “Three years ago, I was terrified of video. My business was stuck, and I knew I had to do something. So, I took on a challenge—100 days of live videos. By the end, my confidence was through the roof, my Facebook group grew from 30 to 400 members, and my inbox was flooded with inquiries. I can help you get there too—without 100 days of live videos.”

    See the difference? You’re showing them that you understand their struggle, but you also have the roadmap to success.

    Where to Use Stories

    Here’s the best part: stories work everywhere. Whether you’re posting on Instagram, writing an email, hosting a webinar, or recording a podcast, storytelling is your MVP. And no, it doesn’t have to be a Hollywood production. A simple, relatable story can be just as impactful—sometimes more so.

    Pro Tip: Your stories are evergreen. Don’t shy away from repeating them. Not everyone sees your content the first time, and even those who do might need to hear it multiple times for it to sink in.

    Make It Relatable

    The magic of storytelling lies in making your audience feel like you’re speaking directly to them. When your ideal customer hears your story and thinks, “That’s so me,” you’ve hit the jackpot. Understanding your audience’s pain points and desires is key to creating these “that’s so me” moments.

    Practical Tips for Storytelling

    • Start with Your Own Stories: Reflect on moments in your life or business that align with your customer’s struggles and victories. Keep a “story bank”—a running list of experiences you can draw from.
    • Structure Matters: Think hero’s journey. Your customer is the hero, and you’re the guide who’ll help them overcome their challenges. I repeat, you are NOT the hero. 
    • Keep It Simple: You don’t need fancy transitions or dramatic effects. Talking straight to the camera or writing from the heart can be just as effective.

    Show, Don’t Tell

    Instead of lecturing your audience, immerse them in the experience. For example, instead of saying, “You need to learn moderation tools on Clubhouse,” paint the picture: “Imagine someone starts disrupting your stage, and people start leaving. Knowing how to mute or remove them instantly is the difference between saving your room and watching it spiral.”

    Takeaway: Storytelling = Connection

    At the end of the day, storytelling is about building connections. People buy from those they trust, and trust comes from feeling understood. Whether it’s a heartfelt anecdote, a funny mishap, or a lesson learned the hard way, your story could be the nudge someone needs to hit “buy now.”

    So, what story are you going to tell today? Let your audience see themselves in your journey, and watch the magic happen.

  • 7 Strategies for Successful Storytelling Webinar

    7 Strategies for Successful Storytelling Webinar

    Power Up Your Brand Story on Social Media Webinar

    We developed the 7 Strategies for Successful Storytelling webinar as a companion lesson to the blog post, Your Story on Social: 7 Ways to Maximize Impact. With storytelling being the foundation of the services we offer at JRH Graphics we wanted to take a deeper dive on this topic and highlight ways businesses can utilize these strategies immediately. We also wanted to highlight how each of these strategies could be utilized in various organizations and businesses so we provided specific exxamples of each in practice and shared some of the results we have seen.

    Storytelling on Social Media

    Goldfish attention span longer than human We reviewed the following seven strategies on the webinar, including why the strategy is successful and how to actually utilize the strategy.

    1. Get Visual
    2. Enroll Users Help
    3. Verify with Proof
    4. Create a Story Arc
    5. Expand on the Blog
    6. Enroll Influencers to Help Magnify Your Story
    7. Create Connections

    The 3 Big Win Strategies

    We focused the webinar of the following 3 Strategies that we consider our Big Win Strategies.

    1. Create an expanded narrative by utilizing the concept of story arcs. A story arc allows you to tell more of your brand story over the course of multiple posts creating deeper engagement. You brand story touches multiple aspects of your business so it should naturally touch multiple areas of your social media marketing.
    2. The second strategy is expanding your story on your business blog. Expanding your story on your blog helps highlight your knowledge within your niche and establishes you as a leader. This strategy can result in significant payoffs as blogging has a tremendous return on investment.
    3. BIG WIN strategy number three is to build relationships with your audience and followers. Social media is meant to be social, and businesses must utilize the tools available to build relationships with followers. Engaging with your followers will build trust. Talking with your followers builds loyalty. Educating your followers establishes you as an expert.

    Enjoy The Webinar

    Since we build flexible and adaptable solutions into our strategies all of the tips and strategies are moldable to your unique situation. We make sure that each strategy is adaptable to a variety of companies and that it will help you tell your winning story. Please enjoy the webinar. If you have additional questions or want to provide feedback or suggestions please reach out. Webinar also visible on the JRH Graphics channel on YouTube

    9 Essential Posts for the Holidays

    Please join us for our next webinar.  We will look at the 9 Essential Posts Framework utilized by JRH Graphics and review how to use it to get the most from your posts on social media this holiday season. Using the 9 Essential posts framework and pairing it with a content calendar you can plan the best ways to engage with followers. The framework makes it easy to provide varied content that is educational, entertaining and useful for your audience. Join us on this webinar, and “sleigh” your social media this Holiday! Get it, sleigh instead of slay!

  • Tell Your Winning Story with JRH Graphics

    Tell Your Winning Story with JRH Graphics

    Telling Your Winning Story

    At JRH Graphics, we help businesses tell their winning stories. It is the focus of what we do because we believe that your story is your most powerful tool. Your story can engage an audience and build customers for life. All the services we offer at JRH Graphics focus on this goal. Our business consulting services include services to define your niche, develop your brand, and craft your story. These services are laying the groundwork for your business.

    Reaching Your Audience on Social Media

    Once you have laid the groundwork for your company, it is time for us to tell your story. Using the brand and the key differentiators we have defined, we start to tell your story to your desired audience. Our vehicle for doing this is social media because the audience is active, engaged, and looking for businesses to follow.

    Supporting Your Story with Custom Content

    We pair our social media services with our content creation services, so what we are posting to your social media is unique. For us to effectively tell your story on social media, we need content that is specific to your brand. Generic content and stock photos do not highlight your unique differentiators. They also do not add value to the audience. The custom content that is created by JRH Graphics will highlight your unique business and its goals. Millions of pieces of content are added to social media every day; you won’t stand out on social media with generic content that adds no value to your audience.

    What makes JRH Graphics different? Multiple services all aimed at helping you reach your goal of telling your winning story to your audience.

    Flexible Options to Meet The Needs of Our Clients

    Every business is as different as the owner. For our services to work with a variety of companies, we offer flexible options to our clients. We allow each client to change the type or level of service needed on a month to month basis. Flexibility enables our clients to increase or decrease coverage based on needs. As well as allowing them to scale their services as they build the business. We focus on the needs of each client by only providing them services they want.

    To highlight how we can utilize the services offered by JRH Graphics to help businesses tell their story, we will look at Urban Jungle DC.

    The Story of Urban Jungle DC A Premier Botanique

    Urban Jungle developing the storyI had known Cody Alexander, owner of Urban Jungle DC for a few years before I began working with him. When I met him, he was a nurse, but his real love was plants, particularly orchids. Shortly after that, he and his partner began running a small garden center out of the first floor of their home in Washington, DC.  Over time they stared to experience some of the growing pains common in small businesses. They had too many clients to handle daily. But not enough clients or exposure to make a more substantial investment in the business. We had spoken about this by chance, approximately two days before I left my full-time job. I provided him with some tips based on my experience as a retail manager. I also offered him some details on social media marketing, as that was my current love.

    My Story with the Jungle Junkies Begins

    I joined the team of Urban Jungle DC as the “PR Guy” officially in January. Our first major test would be the upcoming Valentine’s Day Holiday. We had a lot of work to do in a limited amount of time. Luckily, I was able to have the Urban Jungle intern work on the specifics of the Valentine’s Day promotion. Meanwhile, I tackled other branding and story-related things. Those first few weeks, I spent a lot of time talking with Cody. I was asking a lot of questions about his brand, his philosophy on life, where he fit in as a business in the DC area, and more. I was gathering the information I needed to define his brand and differentiators. Additionally, I was observing the daily operations of the business.

    Business Consulting Services at Urban Jungle

    At Urban Jungle, the formula for success had a few components. First, they had the best exotic and easy to care for plants in the area. Secondly, we added some creative storytelling and themes to the mix adding in some quirkiness and interest. Thirdly, we focused on education and plant care. Finally, we made sure to feature the passion and love for plants that ower, Cody Alexander showcased in all that he did.

    Having the best available product does not automatically equal a win for a business. Our other key differentiators needed to be just as visible, if not more evident than the plants. Urban Jungle provided each customer with in-depth care for all of their plants, even if they did not buy them at Urban Jungle. Walk-in Clinic hours to help customers diagnose sick plants were also available. Quirky and unique containers for many of their plants was a fun aspect of the brand. We made sure that when customers came into the store, they saw lots of unique options.

    Cody Alexander as A Key Differentiator

    Cody was a Key Brand differentiatorA business without a heart, without a, why, without energy, and without passion will always fail. Cody was all of these things for this business and more. Cody was the key brand differentiator for this business. It was the one thing nobody else had. As a brand differentiator, Cody was the face of Urban Jungle. The success or failure of the company was tied to his success.

    When You Are Your Brand, Literally

    For this to be possible, we also needed to create procedures, standards and simplify other operational issues. Streamlining procedures would allow Cody to could continue positively contribute to the community, collaborate with other business leaders, and teach classes. Once these details were hammered out, we were able to start building on our successes. We were able to expand our offerings and our audience. While Cody focused on being the brand, I focused on promoting the brand.

    Social Media Management and Content Creation at Urban Jungle DC

    At Urban Jungle DC, my role as PR Guy. I managed all the social media accounts and created all the content for each profile. These two services were linked together for Urban Jungle but are not always depending on the business. Working with Cody, we developed a plan for the social media content to feature the educational aspects of the business, as well as a bit of quirkiness and fun. “Plants with Personality” became an important theme. It allowed us to tell the Urban Jungle story through the eyes of the plants. Other central aspects of the social media marketing included a focus on collaboration, building on successes, and finding unique ways to tell our story.

    Plants with Personality

    From movie start orchids running from papparazi to scorned succulents who hated supporting the orchids. All of the plants were part of the story at Urban Jungle, which was an amazingly successful storytelling tool. The audience would become connected to these characters. Some of the characters like the Wandering Cactus would make repeat appearances. Often people would come in looking to adopt a plant that was featured, calling them by the characters’ name in the social media post.

    Building A Community of Jungle Junkies

    From our first Valentine’s Day promotion, we focused on building a community around the Urban Jungle brand. A community of Jungle Junkies that loved plants. A community that became a part of the story. From influencers that became friends to customers that would come by daily, we made sure to feature as many of them as possible and build on a campaigns success. Once a Jungle Junkie always a Jungle Junkie!

    The Results

    The results we saw at Urban Jungle DC were incredible; through our efforts, he increased his followers on Instagram from 1,000 to 18,000. Sales doubled year over year. He expanded the footprint of his business and was featured in locations like Shop Made in DC, Steadfast Supply, and Think Local DC Markets. Urban Jungle was named the best place in DC to buy plants by the DCist. The shop was also featured in publications like the Washington City Paper and The Washingtonian. Urban Jungle DC was the new kid on the new kid on the block, but they quickly became a top brand and the Premier Botanique in the area.

    Flexibility to Tell Your Winning Story

    Flexibility and custom options allow our clients to select the services necessary to tell their winning stories. We focus on what our clients need at any particular moment and can build a package that will help them succeed. This different approach is what allows us to be successful with a variety of clients, no matter the strengths or needs.

  • Your Story On Social: 7 Ways to Maximize Impact

    Maximize the Impact of Your Story On Social Media

    Your brand story is a powerful and versatile marketing asset. Here at JRH Graphics we believe that your brand story should come first. When told correctly, it can connect with your audience at an emotional level and build relationships that can lead to loyal customers, brand advocates, and eventually, customers for life. There are many things you can do to maximize the impact of your story, including the 7 Strategies we outline below. Using the 7 strategies on social media will result in an audience that is more engaged with your brand as well as fiercely loyal to your business.

    story strategy get visualVisual Storytelling

    Using videos and images to tell your story on social media because after all, a picture is worth 1000 words, or more!

    Today, people have an attention span of approximately 8 seconds. As a result, images are more important than ever, especially on social media. Our brains can process images much more quickly (about 60,000 times) than words, and it only takes a few milliseconds to recognize a familiar object. Also, humans can recall images better than text. So by using images to tell your story, you will be able to get your point across quickly. Plus the audience will be able to recall your message better than if you used words. 

    Similiar to photos, video content boasts similar numbers because our brains are hardwired to understand visual cues. Video also has the power to ignite emotion and personal connections, and it entices viewers to seek more information. Social media is seeing a huge increase in video content because it’s ROI is the highest of any form of media. Check out these incredible video stats, and then if you have any questions about why you should use video, you can let me know!

    Visual Storytelling Should Be Standard

    If you aren’t utilizing visual storytelling techniques, you are missing out on an excellent opportunity to engage more customers. Make sure your visuals are unique, powerful, and contribute to your story. Keep this in mind to get the most benefit from visual storytelling. Create videos that speak to your brand and entertaining to get the most engagement. Include your videos on your site, on YouTube, and share them on social media. If you are concerned about spending too much money or time creating video content, start by creating videos for the content you consider to be evergreen. AKA the everyday stuff that ain’t changing!

    story strategies users helpEnroll Users Help Telling Your Story

    Encourage the creation of user-generated content. Repost and credit users for any user-generated content that you receive. In last month’s Social Proof Webinar, I reviewed the value of social proof in the form of User-Generated Content. But as a reminder, the most significant value of user-generated content is that it is someone else supporting your story. A consumer recommending a product or sharing how they utilize a product will always have more power than a brand or business talking about a product or service.

    More Powerful Story with Bias Removed

    As a business or marketer, you are inherently biased. A customer is relatable and not biases in favor of your business. Therefore, the audience trusts what they have to say. People listen to their peers. Some of the most potent recommendations are peer recommendations. Peers share the same experiences, struggle through similar issues, and take suggestions from one another. After all, who do you go to if you need a dentist, plumber, new massage therapist, or recommendation on where to go for yoga? Your friends, family, loved ones, and other peers. 92% of consumers trust recommendations made by their peers. User-generated content is an indirect recommendation for a service or product.

    When you get user content that supports your brand story, you should use it but make sure to use it properly. Get permission from the person who posted it. Schedule it to run in support of a campaign or at a time when the visibility will be highest.Tag the content-creator when you repost. For more info on the proper use of user-generated content, see this post.

    story strategies social proofDo More Than Talk the Talk

    The next way to maximize the impact of your story on social media is to verify your story with social proof. Positive reviews show your audience that you are doing more than just talking the talk. You are actually, walking the walk. Your customers have noticed and provided positive reviews that prove that you do what you say. This is incredibly important for a new business that is attempting to establish themselves and build a new audience. It is also vital that existing companies don’t lose sight of the importance of reviews and verifying their story with social proof.

    I Got the Reviews; I Am Good Now!

    Your first year in business, you were great at encouraging customers and clients to leave reviews. You even had an email campaign and links in your email signature that led right to Google and Yelp. In 2016, when you opened you got 44 reviews that were 4-Stars or higher. You also recieved eight 3-Star Reviews! In 2017 the reviews stopped pouring in as your regular customers had already written reviews. Your campaign to push for testimonials grew tedious, and you had other things to worry about. In 2017 you received ten reviews that were 4-Stars or higher, ten 3-Star Reviews and two 1-Star reviews. For 2018 you got three 3 Star Reviews, and in 2019 you have three 2-Star reviews.

    In total you have:

    1. Fifty-four 4-Star or higher reviews
    2. Twenty-one 3-Star Reviews
    3. Three 2-Star Reviews
    4. Two 1-Star Reviews

    The problem is the customer is going to value the most recent reviews more than the older ones. Older ratings are more likely to be discounted because time has passed, and things change. A potential customer may see you as a business that is now less focused on the customer. A place that used to get great reviews but is in a state of decline.

    Every Day Opportunities

    As you build relationships with clients and customers, you have plenty of opportunities to surprise and delight them. So you have a similar number of chances to ask them to write a review/recommendation/testimonial. Make it easy for them; some retail establishments even provide them with a computer on-site to write the review. Remember, don’t offer sales and promotions in exchange for good reviews. And always frame the discussion as a way to help other customers.

    story strategies create arcCreating an Arc

    Maximize the impact of your story on social media by merely telling more of it. When you create a story arc, you can feature more of your story. This increases engagement and builds a deeper connection with your audience. Plus with the possible elimination of “likes” on Instagram, saves will be the most influential metric for Instagram to measure the value of a post. It is likely we will see a shift towards longer-form captions that make creating a story arc easier. Creating a story arc also helps you plan and deliver content that is EDUTAINING (educational, useful, and entertaining).

    Planning is an essential step for creating a story arc. Make sure that all the posts that you weave together highlight varying viewpoints and aspects of the story. They all must also contribute to the main idea in the story arc. Where possible, attempt to weave in user-generated content, and social proof to help “prove” your story.

    Practical Uses and Notes on Story Arcs

    Not only can you utilize the concept of story arcs to tell your brand story. You can also use story arcs for a more practical purpose. Many times we see great content we wish to share like a post highlighting the 6 Skyscrapers You Must See Before They Topple, or 4 Amazing Sharks That Look Like Celebrities. However, 6 Skyscrapers is a lot to feature in a single post. Utilize the story arc in these situations and deliver these cool but poorly constructed buildings in a 4-6 post arc.

    Providing content in this way also creates a bit of anticipation and excitement. It keeps your audience wanting more! If you do utilize the concept of story arcs and don’t post the posts consecutively, make sure you let people know when to expect the next post.

    story strategy expand on blogExpand The Story On Your Business Blog

    As a small business owner, you want to establish yourself as a leader in your niche. A blog allows you to go deep on topics, flesh out concepts more fully, and create usable tools that will engage your followers. In previous posts, we provided statistics and other great reasons to start blogging, take a look at them if you have not yet begun to blog.

    A blog does fantastic things like allowing you to engage your audience, on your own platform, on your terms. Blogging also expands your footprint on this little thing known as the Internet. Every time you blog, you add a page to your website, a page that can be indexed. What is so great about that? Every time you pop up in a search, you have the potential of reaching a new client or customer.

    Powerful Blogs

    Having a blog drives more people to your website. A blog helps you engages more people. It’s a powerful tool that converts your audience into clients. Your blog positions you as an expert in your field and helps foster a deeper relationship with current customers. Your business blog functions as a lead generation tool. Having a blog allows you to create in-depth content that will add a great deal of value to your clients and audience. Your blog is a searchable place to dump all that incredibly useful information in your head and share it with others. Expanding your story on your blog will lead to greater sales and higher conversion rates. It will help you build a loyal audience that will turn to you when they need your product or service.

    story magnify with influencersMagnify Your Reach With Influencers

    Want to know something that has the potential to be better than a celebrity endorsement? Working with an influencer to help maximize the reach of your brand story could help you make a mark for your business. Influencers are influencers within a specific sphere, a particular audience that is interested in let us say fashion. The influencer is a peer of this audience, but they are the super cool peer that everybody wants to be. They are the ones that throw the best parties, get invited to all the events you want to go to and use all the same product, and wear all the same designers as you. They also discover all the freshest new products first, but once they discover them, you and all your friends must have them. Man, if only you could be the super cool peer!

    Okay, Let Me Tell You A Secret

    The influencers don’t discover all the coolest new products. The products are found for them by a savvy marketing guy who knows what audience they want to target. A marketer that has researched who has pull with that specific audience. Then he narrows it down from there by weeding out those who work with a competing brand, or have an aesthetic or overall brand doesn’t match the product. Finally, they meet with the remaining folks and decide who is best for the campaign, and pitch it to the influencer they choose. Most likely they don’t let the other finalists know they are out until the preferred one agrees to the campaign.

    Now, maybe it is a little less dramatic than the scene I painted rbut you get the idea. eIn order for influencer marketing to work, you need to select the right influencer, that has access to the market you are looking to access. Your brands must complement one another sand they must actually, currently use, or want to use your product. You don’t want it to look forced or fake. If that is a possibility, it could hurt or even destroy the reputation of the influencer and your brand. Look at it this way, what fashion influencer who has long been photographed in the most elegant red souled shoes would suddenly start wearing the Crocs out in public. Not any influencer that cared about their credibility with their audience. (let the hate mail from Croc lovers commence)!

    build connectionsCreate Connections and Build Up An Engaged Following

    Easier said than done? Maybe! But when it comes down to it, the best tool to magnify the impact of your story on social media is to create connections with your followers. Listen to what they have to say. Deliver content that is engaging to your specific audience. Respond to those who take the time to reach. Yes, every single one. Why? Because you are building an authentic brand that wants to fulfill the desires of your audience to connect with them. Build these connections, both online and in-person.

    Connections That Matter

    In my past life, I had a Professor walk up to me in the local convenience store and ask if I was in a rush because he needed to grab something for me. Sure, I was off the clock, but I waited, and he came back from his car with his textbook order and handed it to me. He knew the deadline was today and was so sorry he missed it, but he wanted to get it to me as soon as possible.

    Build those connections, and your story will go farther than you could ever imagine.

    Maximizing the Impact of Your Story On Social Media

    As you can see, there are many different ways you can maximize the impact of your story on social media. Some of these will work better for your brand. Try them all and try mixing them up. Make sure you are delivering quality content and that your story is the right story for your target audience. If you want to continue to explore the ways to maximize the impact of your brand story consider joining me on Monday, October 7 at 6:30 PM for the 7 Strategies to POWER UP Your Brand Story Webinar on Zoom! Snag your free tickets below.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

  • What’s Your Story? Unleash Your Business Superpower

    Surrounded by Darkness

    It is 2:45 am on August 24, 2008, and blackness surrounded me. I am laying face down and unconscious in the middle of Columbus Ave in Boston. The man who had moments before been stomping on my head, yelling for me to die was gone. This vicious and unprovoked attack left two friends in the hospital and two others afraid to leave their apartments.

    To this day, I have no recollection of what happened; it was all very cloudy and grey in my mind. What I do remember is waking up in the hospital. Confused. Distraught. And in pain. But there was also something else that felt different, but at that moment I could not pinpoint what this different feeling was.

    The Darkness Returns

    Months later, my attacker pled guilty to 9 counts. But justice was not served as he walked out of the courtroom with his freedom and instructions to attend anger management classes. Once again, I was surrounded by only darkness.

    Where was the justice in that sentence?

    What message is this sentence sending to people?

    Before this moment in my life, I never had any desire to share my Story. My experiences were unique to me and had no way of impacting others. In my mind, those who said they were going to change the world were merely tilting at windmills.

    My Own Story Transformed My Thoughts and Beliefs

    I left the courtroom, angry and upset, and I walked to calm my nerves. My voice cracked as I answered the first call from a reporter following up on the case. But that small crack in my voice was the last I ever saw of the person who didn’t share his Story.  I delivered an emotional but rational response that highlighted the critical points to the argument I had laid out in my head. Ending the conversation with a simple but powerful, imagine if you were the one lying face down on the pavement, how would it feel to know that the man who did this to you walked free.

    And I continued to tell my story.  Zeroing in on all the emotions that someone experiences when they are violently attacked and continued to ask them to imagine if it was them. Just a short while had passed, and something extraordinary and entirely unexpected started to happen. People began to listen. But not only listen, these listeners then started to re-tell my Story, to rally around it, and to take actions to try to prevent things like this from happening again.

    The world around me began to lighten.

    My Story Was Now Bigger Than Me

    Then one morning, my phone rings and the voice on the other end says, “Please hold for Senator Kennedy’s Office.” The Senator wanted to use my Story as part of his floor speech in support of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Bill. A bill he fought tirelessly for. Legislation that this country desperately needed if we had any chance of preventing attacks like the one that happened to me and so many others.

    That Bill was Senator Kennedy’s windmill and his legacy. I can only imagine what he felt the day the bill became law.

    Darkness is Lifted

    The passage of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Bill marked the moment when color began flooding back into my life . The darkness had finally lifted.  I took a deep breath and walked back into my technicolor world a different person than when I was ripped from it the year before. That period of darkness taught me many lessons that will stay with me for a lifetime. But I was happy to return to my technicolor world and continue to use the new found superpower of storytelling to brighten the world just a bit more.

    Laying The Groundwork for JRH Graphics

    I was still many years away from establishing JRH Graphics, but I was unknowingly laying the groundwork for my future business. As the head of GLAAD’s DC Leadership Council, I worked with a team to help amplify the local stories that needed to be heard by a larger audience. And the fight for marriage equality came to DC, and GLAAD DC LC told lots of amazing and compelling stories of love.

    Then there was a wedding contest that was supposed to be for fun. It was a 3 month full fledged storytelling, marketing, and social medi blitz that landed a gay couple in second place in a NATIONAL wedding contest. That would be me and my ex-husband of course. And a small New York Times photo, of minor importance. Or we were on the cover above the fold on the day marriage was legalized in  DC. Plus a wide array of rallies, and speeches and so much more. Through this, I was honing my craft. I was learning to trust my gut. And most of all, I was repeatedly being amazed by the power of stories.

    Understanding the Importance of Stories

    I learned so many lessons running these campaigns, but none was more important than how powerful stories can be. Stories are like no other medium. They empower, inform, and encourage action. Stories are transformational. Stories capture hearts and minds. A good storyteller can simplify even the most difficult issues and create greater understanding with a story. Stories create powerful connections between seemingly unrelated things, and stories bring people together. Something we need now more than ever.

    This is My Story

    Jonathan Howard The Power of Stories So this is my Story; it is my authentic and emotional Story about how I learned of the power that stories possess. This is also a happy story for me, it is an awful thing that should never happen to anybody else. But it happened to me for a reason, and it allowed me to uncover my passion, and build a business around something I love. This story is a portion of my overall brand and a part of what makes JRH Graphics different.

    When you boil all of what I told you down to its essential elements, it is about transforming hate into love. Hate and love are universal emotions. Everybody knows love in some way, and everybody knows hate. These universal emotions are the secret sauce, they are what allows the Story to connect with an audience.

    So, What’s Your Story?

    Want to know a secret? The words you use to answer this question don’t matter at first. The first time I ask it I am listening to how you provide the answer, then I am watching your body language, and looking for something that will clue me in to the fact that there is a bit more. And then I push.

    Why do I push…

    Because each time I ask the question “What’s Your Story,” I am trying to get down to the “why.” When you finally reach the real reason behind why you do what you do, the rest falls into place. Your Story becomes your roadmap for everything you do. It provides clarity and purpose for your business as well as great content for me to post on social media.

    An authentic story that connects to your why and engages your target audience makes everything easier. Content creation is more straightforward; engagement is more organic, scaling your business is natural and creating measurable goals that move you towards where you want to be in 5/10/15 years is a piece of cake because all the key factors are aligned.

    A T-shirt is More Than Just A T-shirt

    I want to give you an example. I had a business I was working with to build a brand that they could use that felt authentic. The problem was I could not get down to the “Why” with them for weeks.

    Why is it that you make these T-shirts?  I would ask

    Because they are nice, aren’t they!

    Why not cotton socks?

    Because we make nice t-shirts.

    After a few weeks of beating my head against the wall, I finally saw a glimpse of something and pushed to eventually discover that the family made the t-shirts because after their father passed away, they could not find one of his favorite ones. They found the fabric of the original shirt and now use it for all of their t-shirts. And instead of their marketing just relying on the fact that they make nice t-shirts a fairly low threshold, we were able to create a niche for them and a new need for consumers.

    Because that t-shirt is not what they are selling, they now sell memories. And a simple story overlooked by the business owner made all the difference.

    We All Have Powerful Stories, Use Them

    I hope this highlights what a well crafted and authentic story can bring to your brand. I also hope that this gives you a bit of insight into my business and,  it inspires you to tell your Story. We all have stories they are powerful, don’t be afraid to use them.

  • A Different Approach to Social Media and More

    Combining Our Experience with Our Passion and Helping Other Businesses Succeed

    Social Media has incredible power and reach. However, businesses can not capitalize on that if they don’t have a great story to tell and content that helps followers understand that story. When we founded JRH Graphics, we knew that our suite of services had to make it easier for businesses to tell their story. Our services needed to offer customizable social media plans for posting on their profiles. As well as provide our clients with content that spoke to their unique brand.

    So, we combined our twenty years of business experience with our passion for storytelling and set out to help small and middle-sized businesses get the most out of social media. Our services are all customizable. This allows us to build social media plans that meet our clients’ unique needs. Each piece of content created is made for the sole purpose of telling our clients’ unique story. No generic content, no one size fits all solutions and no pick one from column A and one from column B brand stories.

    A Different Approach: Story First

    At JRH Graphics, we do things differently. We believe that spending a little extra time building your brand story provides value to the brand in the long run. A company without a story has no chance to survive in today’s marketplace. Your story is the foundation of all that we do. If we want to help you to be successful, we must first build a solid foundation.

    Building A Solid Foundation: Discovering Your Winning Story

    What’s Your Story? If you have ever had a meeting with Jonathan Howard, then the chances are he has asked you this question. For us to be able to support your business, we need to know your story. Everyone’s story is unique, so the first thing we do is listen to you talk about your business and watch how you engage with your audience. Your answers to questions like, What does your business means to you, provide us insight as we help you explore your “why.” We ask about your reasons for doing things. What are the values of your company? We want to know what you want to be known for after all is said and done. What problems are you solving for people? All of these questions help us understand your business and allow us to build a brand story.

    The Foundation is Solid

    Now that we have explored your brand story, we can use what we have learned to move forward. This allows us to make more informed decisons about how we promote your brand, what audience would engage with your brand and so much more. A well developed brand story provides us with a solid foundation we can build upon. This foundation allows us to do the following items an so much more.

    1. Use your voice and values in our posts on social media
    2. Target an audience that makes sense for your business
    3. Create custom content that speaks to your values
    4. Engage others that share your values
    5. Represent your business properly on your social media platforms

    We Have The Story, Now What?

    People do business with people in today’s marketplace. The days of businesses operating behind a veil of secrecy is long gone. Your story provides your business with a human face. A human face gives it the power to connect with your audience. Once we are at this stage, JRH Graphics works with you to build a social media plan that allows you to tell your story to an audience that shares your values.

    We work with you to create a package that works for your business. Self-run packages are available where we meet either monthly or weekly to review your calendar and posting plan. We also provide fully managed packages across multiple platforms. With these plans JRH Graphics will create and post custom content that supports your story. And if you fall somewhere in between these two options, we build a custom social media plan that will work for you.

    Social Media Management Plans to Support Your Business

    A Self Run Approach to Social Media

    You decide that you can continue managing the daily duties of your social media. All you need is some assistance planning your content and posts. The drab and generic content that past providers have given you as “custom” does not speak to your unique brand, so creating some custom content to post on your profiles is essential.

    You are not alone, many of our clients fall into this category. They choose JRH Graphics because we offer them a better solution. We schedule regular meetings to help them plan their content. We provide them with a framework for content creation we call the 9 Essential Posts for Every Business on Social Media. During our regular meetings, we help schedule monthly posts and ensure that they are providing their followers with “edutaining” content that adds value. Our goal is to make sure that your social media profiles start working toward the success of the business and no longer feel like a burden.

    A Fully Managed Social Media Plan

    Your business has grown, and the stress of managing your business and promoting your business is overwhelming. You decide that you want to focus on running your business because that is your wheelhouse. But, you need to be able to trust someone to help you promote it. JRH Graphics offers plans that can help you here too.

    It is nearly impossible to run and promote your business at the same time. We take on the task of managing your social media so you can focus on what you do best. A review of your current platforms is performed and make a recommendation on a social media management plan that works for you. We will help you build a strategy that puts you on the path towards engaging followers and creating customers for life.

    The next step is to create content that supports your brand, your story, and reflects your values. We share these customized posts with you every week and ask for your approval. We will never share anything on behalf of your brand without your approval. This strategy allows you to engage your audience, provide them with “edutaining” content that speaks to your brand daily. It is your brand, your messaging, and your custom content; we are just the ones posting it for you.

    A Plan for Custom Content Creation

    Some businesses have a person in the marketing department that is in charge of monitoring the social media for the company. In some cases, they are responsible for creating content. In other instances, a business may need content created by an outside source. Whether you need photos or additional promotional pieces we can help you out.

    Content is king!

    The content you put on your social media can determine who chooses to follow you . Your content influences how your audience feel sabout your brand. From photos to articles, to free tools you provide to your followers, it all says something about who you are. We believe that the content you put out should look and feel like you. While we love stock photos for some things, they don’t belong on your social media profiles.

    At JRH Graphics we literally, loathe content that pretends to be custom. You hava all seen the cringe-worthy off-brand quote somebody posted to their Instagram feed. This is not what JRH Graphics provides. When you hire JRH Graphics to create custom content for you, we will create actual custom content. Content that is based on your brand and your story, not just your brand colors and taglines.

    You Have Choices, We Hope We Made That Clear

    You can select to have photos taken that represent your brand, or have posts created based on the content you have already curated. Whether you need us to develop a single campaign or want us to work with you in an ongoing capacity we can help you out.  We can create content that is representative of your brand each month or once a year. Our content creation plans are just as customizable as our social media plans.

    The Biggest Difference at JRH Graphics

    Jonathan Howard is what makes JRH Graphics different. He is driven, passionate and creative. His hand on style and unique way he approaches problems will help your business rise to the next level. Jonathan has over 20 years of business management experience. The knowledge gained from his experience is what he brings to every one of the clients. Jonathan and the entire JRH Graphics team is committed to helping you be successful. We will roll up our sleeves and work along side our clients to ensure their success.Are you ready to be heard on social media? Do you want the JRH Graphics team to help you tell your winning story? Ready to engage an audience that has the potential to be customers for life?Get Noticed

  • What is Social Media Management?

    What is Social Media Management?

    What is Social Media Management?

    Social Media Management is a foreign concept to many people. The list of questions I am tired of answering probably goes on for days but here are a few #epic ones.

    • What does a Social Media Manager even do?
    • Does Social Media really need to be managed?
    • You just sit on Instagram all day and take selfies, right?
    • And, my favorite… Do you know Kim Kardashian?

    There is a deep misunderstanding behind what social media managers actually do, especially in the business realm. No, it does not take me an entire 8-hour shift to create an Instagram post that says, It’s Friyaaaay where is the Partaaaayyy! First of all. I own my own business. I wish I worked shifts, especially one as short as 8 hours. Secondly, this is not what you hire a social media manager to do. A social media manager is charged with creating and posting engaging content that advances the goals of the business.

    So, now that we have gone over some of the things that we do not do; we can review why your business will benefit from having a dedicated social media manager.

    The Role of A Social Media Manager

    Each business decides what the role of the social media manager will be in an organization. However, these following tasks generally fall under the roles and responsibilities of a social media manager. We also provide some needed skills for each task. As social media becomes more ingrained in all we do the tasks will continue to become larger and more complex.

    • Represents your brand online
    • Manage all of your social profiles
    • Create custom content for your business
    • Engage followers and build up a new following
    • Balances informative content with promotional content
    • Monitors and responds to comments and questions
    • Tracks and analyzes the results of social media campaigns
    • Ensures that the voice used to post is consistent

    Social Media Managers Roles and Responsibilities

    Jonathan Howard, lead content creator and business consultant at JRH Graphics defines the role of a social media manager and discusses what makes JRH Graphics unique.

    Manage Your Brand & Maintain Your Brand Identity

    Your brand and your story are essential ways you connect with followers. Your social media manager is the promoter and protector of your brand. They ensure profile images are all recognizable and follow branding guidelines. Create posts that are branded and use the brand story appropriately. They are the first contact point with new customers and customers looking for support and service via Twitter. Some are even tasked with maintaining your shop presence on Facebook and Instagram and promoting new items via product posts.

    Communication, Attention to Detail and Organizational Skills Are Required

    A social media manager controls the conversation on your social media platforms. They accomplish this with a well-planned content calendar complete with key promotions, events, and new product releases. As well and educational and behind the scenes content that is EDUTAINING – Educational -Useful- Entertaining. Your brand and story are powerful connections. With social media becoming integrated into so many facets of your business, your social media manager has the power to shape your story and brand in all that they do. They must possess strong communication skills and be well organized to manage this aspect of the job.

    Create Customized and Engaging Content

    A social media manager brainstorms, researches, creates copy and visual for all your social media posts. In many cases even today, a social media manager is the sole creative for social media posts. They are also the one who actually does the posting. A social media manager is charged with creating engaging content for followers to consume from start to finish. They must be aware of trends and know what types of content is engaging followers. A plan to eliminate the content that is no longer essential is key. They function as brand ambassadors, storytellers and must be able to create an emotional connection between customers/followers and the brand.

    A Social Media Manager Must Be Creative and Flexible

    Flexibility and creativity are essential. The demands of the users and the lightning-fast pace of technology is changing every platform at a record pace. It is certainly feasible for you to develop content at the start of a month only to find that the platform you were going to post it on has changed the format or size. Or in the case of Google+, it is gone! They should be early adopters of new technology but still, be willing to work to get results on existing technology and platforms. Create Great Content Often, Adjust for Algorithm, Repeat should be their motto.

    Manages Your Profiles & Engage Followers

    Your social media manager is the sole person responsible for managing the day to day of your social profiles. Is the person running your social media the first person that you want your customers to see when they enter your business? Your social media manager needs to be able to communicate and personify all your business stands for. Charged with engaging existing and new followers every day on your platforms, the social media manager holds a great deal of power. They define the message that helps define your audience. They are building your future customer base.

    Must Be A People Person and Problem Solver

    Responsive, tactful and eloquent. Three keywords to look for when hiring a social media manager. In addition to the story and branding, a social media manager must also be intimately aware of all company policies and procedures so they can provide the right information to customers when asked questions. A social media manager must be a problem solver. They are going to be asked to solve problems that your customers and followers are facing each day.

    Track the results of campaigns and Adjust Accordingly

    Your social media manager not only puts the content into play but they also have to measure for the ROI (Return on Investment). Using the many different measures of engagement, social listening and much more they need to rank the success or failure of posts (and aspects of posts). This allows them to see which pieces of content measure up to expectations and which fell short. They also need to react to the results quickly. If it failed once it will fail again. They need to know not to put content that will certainly fail into play when they could replace it will other content that a higher chance of success. Finally, they must also measure what types of content are engaging at what levels and if they need to restructure the content calendar to accommodate for the changes.

    A Social Media Manager Must be Analytical and Proactive

    Social media is bound to change. A social media manager needs to adapt. They need to analyze the results of their campaigns. They must double down on successes and eliminate content that fails. New ways to engage will always be emerging and some trends may be the perfect opportunity for your business to stand out. However, without an adaptable member running your social media team you may end up always arriving late to the party. Especially, if they aren’t even measuring the success of the posts they are posting.

    Keeping the Brand and Voice Consistent

    Want to confuse your followers? Have a different aspect of your brand identity as part of your profile photo on every platform. Change the order of the words in your tagline. Select a different color for your logo. Inconsistency confuses customers. And once a customer is confused they leave. What is worse they are not likely to come back. Equally confusing is when your brand changes the voice it speaks in on social media from post to post, I am guilty of this on my own brand and it is confusing to followers. Define the voice as part of your brand identity and stick to it.

    Your employees can speak directly to followers but as brand ambassadors and that voice can be unique to that post once it is defined. I encourage you to use that type of post wherever possible as well as social proof posts (reviews from clients) as a happy employee and a happy customer both send a powerful and emotion-filled message.

    A Deep Knowledge of Branding and Emotional Storytelling

    A social media manager needs to understand branding and emotional storytelling and connect those skills to the product or service they are selling. They need to be aware of what the differentiators are that strengthen the brand as well as how the company is positioning itself in the marketplace. Finally, they also need to be aware of the known competition and stay ahead of any new competition. Many times the first place you can identify some new players in the game is on social media.

    Does a Social Media Manager Just Take Selfies for Instagram?

    I hope at this point, we all know that this is not the case. A social media manager holds an ever-increasing role in your business. They are an integral part of marketing and branding strategies. They are content creators that must create engaging content that will grow an audience and create followers for life. A social media manager must create and deliver a great deal of content each week as well as to measure the impact of that content. And if that is not enough, the entire job can change at the drop of a hat. Once again, a great motto for any social media manager should be…

    Create Great Content Often, Adjust for Algorithm, Repeat!

    Oh, you guys did get one question right… Of course, I know Kim Kardashian, totally bestiesWhat Does JRH Graphics Provide that is Unique?

    Social Media Managers are a dime a dozen. There are many solutions available to create content for social media. Hundreds of people create logos and more people are entering the brand storytelling arena. Many of these people have little to no business experience. They went to school and studied advertising or social media marketing and know how to do that.

    That is not JRH Graphics. We understand the day to day of business because before we started our own we spent 20 years in business. We learned the ins and outs of social media before it was commonplace among businesses because we worked on college campuses and “grew up” on the cutting edge of it. We have faced hundreds of challenges and created hundreds of solutions. With each new company we work with we have added to our toolbelt and made these tools available to other small businesses because when one of us succeeds we all succeed. A listing of the available tools can be seen here.

    We Know Business

    Running a business and promoting a business are two full-time jobs, each with different skill sets. The more time you take to promote your business the less time you have to run it and the time you take running your business impacts your ability to expand your network of followers, nurture leads and discover new revenue feeds. Having a social media manager with 20 years of business experience allows you to grow your business while not losing sight of the day to day because the team at JRH Graphics identifies opportunities to grow and nurtures those opportunities in conjunction with your team.

    JRH Graphics helps you build your business via social media. We help you define a story that will engage by highlighting this story and your differentiators on social media. This establishes you and your business as a leader in your field. This works to activate your social media networks and local business networks. Once your network has been activated you begin establishing a collaborative relationship with them, allowing you to both grow your businesses and networks.

    Our Clients are Proof

    Jonathan has been a huge support for our small business. When we brought him on as our PR guy we also got a business consultant that truly cares about the success of our business. He is smart, savvy, innovative, and a risk taker that we trust completely. He has helped grow our business and introduced us to new revenue streams that have proved lucrative.

    -Cody Alexander, Urban Jungle DC

    JRH Graphics will help you become the smart, savvy, innovative business that takes the right risks and see the benefits.

    Jonathan is fantastic support for my small business – he’s helped me scale quickly and helped me achieve so much through social media and engaging with a broader audience.

    -Lea Berry, Berry Coaching and Consulting 

    We will help you scale quickly and reach your goals via the power of social media.

    Choose JRH Graphics and grow your business.

    Social Media Management Plus with JRH Graphics

    With JRH Graphics you get a social media manager and much more. The knowledge and experience. The drive to push to be better. A stubborn man who refuses to take no for an answer. Creative line pusher. Dedicated partner. JRH Graphics is part of your team!

  • Brand Storytelling Matters: Tips for A Powerful Story

    Brand Storytelling Creates Connections

    Stories create connections, which an essential part of doing business today. Businesses can no longer remain faceless entities and be successful. In order to survive a business needs to find a way to connect with its audience, in order to thrive they need to pull on heartstrings and engage at a much deeper level than ever before. If a business isn’t making an emotional connection between its brand and its audience then they risk failure.

    This is where your brand story comes in. It gives your business a human touch. Your brand story should weave together facts and feelings. It should include your why. Why you do what you do and why you believe it matters. It should also tell your audience why they should care about what you do.

    Selling the Universal Emotion Not the Product

    I remember when I first started doing marketing work a mentor saying to me, you aren’t selling a mattress you are selling a good night’s sleep. I was very confused as he dropped this piece of wisdom on my head and walked away because I wasn’t selling mattresses I was selling books. But the more I did social media and marketing the more I understood you are not selling products you are selling the emotional connections and the universal feelings. Nobody knows how your mattress feels, but everyone knows the amazing feeling of waking up feeling revived after a good nights sleep.

    Be Heard in the Crowded Marketplace

    Great brand storytelling allows you to be heard in a crowded marketplace. Now more than ever there are more people making things, and offering services. The marketplace is overcrowded. Some products and services are even great. So what makes you different? Why do I choose you and not your competition? How do you stand out? Your brand story is how you stand out.

    Brand Storytelling is Powerful

    When crafting your brand story think about what you want your business to be known for. When everything else is said and done what do you want people to say when they think about your business? What is the single most important message you want to deliver? Once you have that message in mind figure out a way to wrap that message into a story that your audience will connect with and you are now on the road to having a brand story that will connect.

    Your story is the most powerful and flexible tool in your toolbelt. It should act as a compass that guides your business in all that you do.

    Aspects of a Powerful Brand Story

    So what are some things necessary to have a powerful brand story? That’s the thing with storytelling, it is not an exact science and there is not an exact formula. But we all know a good story when we hear a good story. So in my effort to figure out some things needed for a good story, I watched a lot of Ted Talks and searched around the internet for great sites on storytelling like echostories.com. I discovered great nuggets of wisdom, things that many of us already believe to be true. Unfortunately, I did not discover the silver bullet… the surefire way to have a story that connects with your audience. So since I can’t give you that yet here are a few tips.

    Get Emotional

    Inject emotion into your presentation with stories. The objective of a story is to make your audience feel something. Happy, Sad, distraught, hopeful. It doesn’t matter what emotion the story brings about per se as the emotion creates a connection. Tell the story of how your product saved a life, the story of how your business gave you a purpose, that great story about how you helped a mother connect with an estranged child. Take this commercial for example…

    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

    Did You Feel Something?

    No matter how you feel on the issue, I guarantee that ad for Verizon (btw) made you feel something. It injected emotion into its advertisement and that emotion made for a powerful commercial and made you feel some kind of way. Verizon is saying in this commercial that part of its brand story is the power of communication to bring people together. That love can always call back using Verizon phone service. The beauty of this for Verizon, is they didn’t even have to spell out the connection. By simply having the Verizon logo at the end of that spot creates the connection the emotions you felt there are tied to Verizon, and you want to go connect or reconnect with somebody using a Verizon phone! Yes, it just as easily could have been Sprint or Metro PCS but it wasn’t.

    Make A Connection with Your Audience

    The other thing that made the Verizon advertisement so powerful is the connection that they made with the audience. The story they are telling is aimed at those celebrating Pride in the month of June. It was created in partnership with PFLAG, a National organization that unities families and allies with people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer. They knew their audience. They knew that many people who identify as LGBTQ have struggled with coming out in their lives. This struggle is universal in the community so they were able to connect with the audience by being aware of, and sensitive to this universal truth. As a business, be aware of your audience and your followers. Is your brand story or aspect of a brand story something that they will connect with? If it is not, should it be part of your story?

    At First This Then That

    Change is a fundamental portion of a story including your brand story. At first, this was the truth, that is why our founder created (brand name) and now this is the truth. Apple is famous for using this in its story and in presentations. This is computing now, but with this brand new Mac we have challenged the status quo and this is what computing will look like! And those of you who are like me and want things to be easier, newer, better, and not the status quo eat it up. This then that creates suspense and excitement, both emotions and emotions create connections. And if you watch a lot of Apple product reveals you notice that they draw out the suspense to the point where your body is physically reacting to it. Ah the beauty of storytelling… when listening to a good story your body reacts like it is there and it releases hormones and endorphins. You are literally feeling the emotions and it does not matter that it is a new computer that has nothing to do with it, the feeling is what matters.

    Don’t Forget Your Why

    A key aspect of your brand story is your why. Why is it that you do what you do and why should your audience care? You need to wrap these into that emotional story to create the connection between the product/service, the emotions, and your overall brand. The why is not to make a profit, as Simon Sinek says that is just a result. The why is… why do you get out of the bed in the morning? What is it about your business or work that gets you excited? Why is your business special? That is what will connect with people and make your brand story special. I can’t tell you what your why is… you need to dig deep for that. Just remember that your story is the most amazing thing about you and your business so don’t be afraid to say what you believe. Highlight your values. And create a brand story that is awesome and will connect with your audience and beyond.[

    Simon Sinek Start With The Why

    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I hope these tips help as you begin to work on your story and make brand storytelling a hard skill in your business. If you need help with any of this check out some of our other resources or contact Jonathan at jhoward@jrhgraphics.com.

    May we also recommend taking a look at this blog post.

  • Have I Got A Story For You: Using Stories On Social Media

    Why Stories?

    500 million people use stories every day. Stories are a great way to interact with your audience, experiment with content, and reach a wider subsection of the social media population. In 2018, a Facebook representative even said the increase in the Stories format is on a path to surpass feeds as the primary way people share things with their friends sometime next year (2019).

    So, yeah… stories are no longer a place for throwaway content that has no real staying power. Stories are no longer just silly quotes, drunk nights, and delicious dishes. Stories matter! You can use stories to highlight your products, services, and features. Explore stories as a channel to highlight the more playful side of your brand. Use multiple slide stories to launch a new product or tell a customer’s story. There are many different ways to utilize the Stories format.

    If you want to build strong relationships with your audience. Increase your overall engagement and get more eyes on what you offer, then Stories is going to be an essential tool! Just remember, while Stories can be more informal… as a business, everything you share on Stories should also be brand appropriate.

    Story Basics

    The Instagram Help Page has a lot of great FAQ’s with very detailed answers if you have any questions about the basics of Stories on Instagram. I am just including a few. All of the functionality between Instagram Stories and Facebook Stories is very similar so if you know one you pretty much can figure out the other. If you have questions you can always drop me a line and I will do my best to help out!

    Sharing a Photo or Video to Stories

    To share a photo or video to your story using the Instagram app:

    1. Tap  in the top left of your screen or swipe right from anywhere in Feed.
    2. Tap  at the bottom of the screen to take a photo, or tap and hold to record a video. To choose a photo or video from your phone’s library or gallery, swipe up anywhere on the screen.
    3. Tap  or  to draw, add text or a sticker to your photo or video. To remove text or a sticker, drag and drop it on  at the bottom of the screen.
    4. When you’re ready to share, tap Your Story in the bottom left.
    5. Stories disappear from your profile, Feed and Direct inbox after 24 hours, unless you add them to your profile as highlights.

    How can I tell who’s seen my Instagram Story?

    To look at who’s seen your story, open your story and swipe up on the screen. You’ll see the number as well as the usernames of the people who have seen each photo or video in your story. Only you are able to look at who’s seen your story.

    How do I @ Mention Someone In My Story?

    Tap   in the top left of your screen or swipe right from anywhere in Feed
    Take a photo or video, then tap
    Type @ followed immediately by their username, then select the person you’d like to mention
    When you mention someone in your story, their username will appear in your story with an underline. Anyone who can see your story can tap it to go to their profile.

    Viewing Stories

    When you watch someone’s story, you can skip forward, backward and pause:

    1. Tap on the left of the screen to go back to the previous photo or video, or on the right to go to the next one
    2. Swipe right or left to skip between people’s stories
    3. Tap and hold the screen to pause on a photo or video

    Again, the Instagram Help Page has a lot of great FAQ’s so it is linked as a resource and you can always email me. jhoward@jrhgraphics.com.

    Ways to Use Your Stories to Get The Biggest Bang for Your Buck

    Good use of Stories across platforms not only leads to good numbers for your Stories but also increased visibility, more brand recognition, and a more engaged group of followers. From Live Stories, to video, photos, polls, questions, boomerangs, quizzes. product stickers and much more the possible ways to engage your followers and build a greater following is endless. Play around with the options and see what is brand appropriate and works for your business. Review results regularly and proactively adapt as necessary.  Here are some things to keep in mind.

    Cohesive but Not Identical

    Your stories should “speak” to your feed posts and vice versa. Your brand identity should match, logos, fonts and phrases should be apparent,  but it is very rare that you would want to post something on both your feed and story using the same image and copy. Remember you Stories are a little bit more informal and fun, more day to day whereas your feed is a more refined and mature entity. I always think of Stories as the AAA Team and the Feed is the Major Leagues. You have some awesome players in Triple-A but they aren’t quite a Major League player. When they get to the Majors they need to learn to run with the big boys! They can do it they just need to get a bit more refined.

    However, they can still work together as well. For instance, if you are running a big sale before a Holiday, you can run a feed post that advertises the sale and then during the sale, highlight certain items that will be on sale in stories. Maybe even show happy customers buying these amazing deals and leaving with smiles on their faces!

    Tap into the Power of Social Media with @ Mentions

    Social media is all about connections, which means that Stories are a great place to recognize those you have collaborated with, those that have given you props, and other businesses you like because an @ Mention in a story only ties you to a particular user for 24 hours. Plus the person receiving the @ Mention will love the recognition!

    Sneaky Pro Tip: You can hide @ Mentions behind pictures if you like. They will still see the mention it just won’t be entirely visible.

    Use the Added Interactive Features… But Don’t Overuse Them

    Stickers, GIFS, Polls, Boomerangs there are so many things that you can integrate into a story to make it more engaging. Just don’t overuse these features. I promise you that we all love a boomerang of your cat… once in a while but if we see 5 of them every day, we will skip your stories for many months to come.

    But using the features that solicit feedback and engage your followers is a great way to grow. Try them out, see what you like and what your followers engage with.

    You can also tag stories with locations and hashtags which gets your story sometimes featured in a “location story” or “hashtag story”

    They Are Called Stories for A Reason- Tell A Story

    Will a series of random photos added to your story engage followers old and new? Possibly. A good visual does tend to have power especially on Instagram but what if your visuals were great and they all worked together to tell a story? HOMERUN and second baseball reference in this blog. Put your visual storytelling skills to the test and weave together some great visuals with a few well-placed items of text and see if you can’t create a powerful brand story, product reveal or another engaging piece of content.

    Recently, the engagement and reach on my Stories has been increasing but I was still seeing a big drop off after the first few Stories. On average I would drop 31% of impressions and a similar percentage in reach every 3 consecutive slides. But this Thursday I flexed my storytelling muscles and created a narrative about a project I was working on that continued over 15 slides (btw too long go shorter). But amazingly, after all, 15 slides I had a drop off of just 11%!JTBBJTNDaWZyYW1lJTIwd2lkdGglM0QlMjI1NjAlMjIlMjBoZWlnaHQlM0QlMjIzMTUlMjIlMjBzcmMlM0QlMjJodHRwcyUzQSUyRiUyRnd3dy55b3V0dWJlLmNvbSUyRmVtYmVkJTJGTkdOOGJIUDN0bTQlMjIlMjBmcmFtZWJvcmRlciUzRCUyMjAlMjIlMjBhbGxvdyUzRCUyMmFjY2VsZXJvbWV0ZXIlM0IlMjBhdXRvcGxheSUzQiUyMGVuY3J5cHRlZC1tZWRpYSUzQiUyMGd5cm9zY29wZSUzQiUyMHBpY3R1cmUtaW4tcGljdHVyZSUyMiUyMGFsbG93ZnVsbHNjcmVlbiUzRSUzQyUyRmlmcmFtZSUzRSUwQQ==

    Streamline Your Story Creation

    You want Stories to be on Brand. But they disappear after 24 hours. So why no create reusable templates for some of your regular content. You could spend hours each week creating appealing content that will disappear in less time than it took you to perfect it or you could create templates that were brand appropriate with a visible logo and proper colors. Then they are easy to reuse, week after week. This is an awesome tip especially if you like our next one.

    Treat Stories Like A TV Channel and Schedule Content for Specific Days

    Plan out your social media content and theme it together. Followers will know when to expect content to be released and if you are releasing great content every let’s say Thursday, you are essentially creating “Must See IG!” Get it! It could be as simple as New Products Monday. New Blog Post Tuesday. Wednesday is Food Feature. So on and so on. Or another option is to ask a question on Monday. Post a funny story on Tuesday. Ask followers for input Wednesday. But creating and engaging with content becomes easier when you know what is coming.

    Consistency is Essential You Are Building Trust

    Stories are another way to get your followers to like, know, engage with, and trust your business. Consistency is an essential part of this trust building. Customers can’t get to know you if you aren’t posting consistently. The less consistently you post the lesser chance you have of seeing growth on social media. Use stories to your advantage by being consistent and see how consistency can provide a real advantage against your inconsistent competitor. Consistency will help you build brand recognition online and offline faster. Inconsistent messaging leads to gaps in memory of your brand and general confusion about your brand.

    Remember that if you post consistently but messaging is off-brand, or not clearly branded for your company you may be harming yourself despite your best efforts.

    You Worked Hard for Those 10K Followers

    If you worked hard for those 10K and you are able to put a Call to Action in your Stories… Do it! Don’t waste them but use them. The “swipe up” feature in Instagram’s Stories is an amazing way to direct traffic to your site. Just one simple swipe up and boom. Just don’t overuse it, if you have a call to action on every story people are quickly going to ignore it and that defeats the purpose of such a powerful feature.

    Tips from The Pros (and Me)

    So while writing this blog I figured I would reach out to some friends to get some tips from the real Pros on what you should and shouldn’t do on the Stories platform… But before we get to the real Pros… I get to go!

    JRH Graphics

    1. Keep it short, sweet and valuable- always keep in mind what your follower may get out of any content you share.
    2. Minimize text and maximize visual storytelling. Stronger less interrupted images for bigger impact
    3. Please don’t put a Call to Action in every frame

    Blonde in the District

    1. While stories are a more informal representation of your brand, they are still a representation of your brand. So its important that you are always on brand.
    2. Don’t make your stories too long, people lose interest and you lose engagement.
    3. However tempting, don’t go off on a rant in your stories. Even a brand appropriate rant. (DM Jonathan and rant to him)

    www.blondeinthedistrict.com

    Stitch & Rivet

    1. Do a project with your followers and get them invested and involved over the course of the project (story).
    2. It’s called Stories. Don’t forget to tell a story!
    3. Go to @stitchandrivet on Instagram and check out the Military Duffle highlight for Storytelling in A Story Done right

    https://www.shopstitchandrivet.com/

    This is Made in DC

    1. Pay attention to your overall appearance and cohesion of story from one frame to the next. Even in a single frame that is important
    2. Keep it fun and playful. Many times they include a cool GIF!

    http://thisismadeindc.com/

    Wrapping It All Up

    The success of the Stories Format is not a surprise to anyone in the marketing world. Stories are the perfect medium to tell the story of a brand in bitesize, easy to digest parts. Branding and Marketing are all based on the concept of storytelling so why wouldn’t a usable and versatile tool like the Stories platform win? Stories help businesses tell their story. Stories (the ones the businesses tell) sell. Actually, Stories (the ones on social media) also sell! Use them, experiment, but stay active and engaging.

    Share your wins and losses as well as pro tips with us we would love to hear from you! And look for some Instagram Story hack videos from Jonathan this week on his Instagram Stories of course!