Being a writer, words are everything to me. That’s not true for the rest of the world, though. Words will always have a sacred place, thankfully. However, visuals get the point across much faster. Whether it is a graph, chart, a stunning photo, or an abstract painting, visuals communicate words without actually saying or writing them. Studies have shown that we retain about 80% of what we see compared to 10-20% of what we read or hear. That is a hard figure to ignore when deciding on how you want to promote your brand because that is a really drastic difference.
Think of your brand story as your reputation. It’s what all the secrets, dirty looks, and what people say about your company behind your back. It can be fabulous, or it can be awful. If you don’t have a memorable brand story, then you’ll blend in with the rest of the world. You’ll be just another tiny cog in the gigantic machine cranking away. Visual communication can be a way to set yourself apart from the the giant machine.
Imagine you’re browsing a website. You’re reading along, you scroll down, you keep scrolling, and you keep scrolling. It’s a blob of text, text, and even more text. Unless, you’re really engrossed in it, are you going to read all of that? I doubt it. People want visuals! It’s the same thing during presentations. You need visuals to communicate what is going on. There are easy to use CRMs on the market that can generate charts for you. No matter what, though, it can’t just be a wall of text. Movies and television are all about showing and not telling. It’s the same thing for your business. Show, don’t tell.
Use marketing automation software to generate interest in your brand story. Send out email campaigns showing a short story with animations or use descriptive words. Books even show you what is happening in the story with use of superior adjectives. Look at these two sentences:
“The Mets blew another game by making outrageous minor league mistakes that shouldn’t happen at a major league level.”
“The Mets blew another game and lost.”
Which gives you a better understanding of what happened? Clearly, the first sentence really shows you what happens with its use of descriptors. Understanding the crucial use of descriptors is extremely important when telling your brand story on social media or email campaigns because you have a limited use of space. A good CRM for small businesses should give you a social media feature you can post images or blurbs to enhance your brand story. No, it will help you show your brand story. Make sure you use it effectively. Make sure you’re using outstanding descriptors and eye catching visuals to grab your audience’s attention. Make it force them to look at your company, and have no reason to go somewhere else. Remember, your brand story is the same as your reputation. Build it up how you want.
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