St. Louis, MO – August 2021 - The number one mistake most brands make with their marketing and communications is overlooking the basics. The practical and tactical. I see it all the time.

The marketing and communications team focuses so much on being creative and thinking outside the box that they end up missing the elements that really drive success – basic commonsense execution. Keeping it simple.

I’ve done it myself too many times. Overthinking and overlooking.

What do I mean by the practical and tactical? I’m talking about connecting the dots. Making sure that your communication or marketing achieves the objective you desire by connecting the dots with your customers or intended audience.

The best way to protect yourself from making the mistake of overlooking the basics is to ask some basic questions.

What is the purpose of the communication? Why are you communicating? You must be able to answer that question or you shouldn’t be communicating. The answer to that basic question provides the simple roadmap – the triple AA trip tick or google map to get to your destination.

Who are you trying to reach? Who is the intended audience? You must know who the audience is or you shouldn’t communicate. The success of communication is measured by the audience response. Your intent doesn’t matter. So to start, you must know who you are trying to reach with your story.

Then ask: How will you be reaching them? If your goal is to connect with your audience on LinkedIn, will your link work? Will they be able to watch, view or read what you share?

I think it is wonderful to get a traditional media outlet to cover your story, but will your intended audience see it when it is published? If you share a link after it is published, will your intended audience get a pay wall? If your whole goal is to reach your audience directly through the internet or social media, traditional media may not be the best way to do it.

Okay. Let’s say you know your purpose and you know your intended audience. The next question is what is your message?

What do you want them to know? Is it simple and straight forward enough?

Your audience will only be able to retain one or two messages. Three at the most. Don’t try to cram too much into your story, your press release or your marketing or communication. It will fall flat and miss the mark if you pile on with too many messages. I see this way too often with video.

I understand why those who buy scripted video storytelling try to cram too much into the video. They are spending half their marketing budget on this one video thinking it will have this amazing magical impact. It likely won’t.

This is a marathon, not a sprint. I am not a big fan of spending $10,000 - $20,000 on a single video for your website. I believe you are better off using that budget to tell four to eight video stories.

I firmly believe you need to be consistently communicating with your audience over time. Helping them with news they can use and are searching for online. Keep your video messaging down to 1-2 messages…three at the max.

Telling an amazing story is absolutely the best way to be remembered. Human brains are hard-wired by our DNA to respond to story. It is how we learn and remember.

Consistently telling great stories is a way to grow your business in ways you never imaged was possible. Telling an authentic story with a video you share on your website is a good way to grow.

But not just any story. You need to be SMART about those stories.

SMART is mnemonic I created to remember some of these simple and basic communication best practices that should guide your storytelling. I used mnemonics in law school to remember legal rules before my law school exams. It helped me pass the bar exam.

Today the mnemonic that is part of my business name helps me stay focused on helping my clients get the most from their storytelling.

SMART stands for S- Strategic Purpose; M – Message; A-Audience; R – Relatable; T- Told

It isn’t just about telling a story. It is about telling a story that connects with your intended audience in a way that builds a deeper relationship with that audience. It is about building trust and connecting at a deeper, more meaningful level.

Some of that connecting is the warm and fuzzy kind. Some of it comes down to the practical and tactical things that businesses too often overlook.

Practical & Tactical Things You Should Consider

·Do you have a blog on your website to share this story?

·Have you included a great video?

·Does your written post with that video runs more than 350 words so it will drive organic traffic to your website?

·Have you developed a good email list and newsletter that allows you to share your stories?

oDo you have someone making sure you are keeping your email list up to date?

·Do you have someone managing your social media so they share it via all your channels?

·Have you included simple contact information on your website and blog so your customer can get in touch with you?

·Have you asked your employees to reshare your social media posts?

·Do you use consistent hashtags and meta data tag your posts so people can find it and join the conversation online?

We live in the Google era. Everyone uses search now. It is part of the fabric of our lives. It is also part of your buyers journey. I don’t care if you are B2C, B2B, B2G or some other B to whatever, I will bet big time that your prospective customer is out there online right now. They are looking for basic information as part of the process of buying. The journey starts with just getting information. Then it advances to identifying who can help them solve their problem. Who will they trust to help them?

If you have a website, you can connect with anyone anywhere in the world. Especially your prospective customers.

You can answer those prospective customer search queries through simple, authentic video storytelling and blogging. It is a practical and tactical approach that works if you are StorySMART about it. It is time for you to #getStorySMART about growing your business online.