I am so excited to see you here! Now, we all have a story. A story of who we are, where we came from, events that made us who we are today and so much more. I sat down with Jen Casey, a business strategist for wellness coaches and host of the Social Media to Sales Podcast, to understand how you can use your story to stand out and increase engagement on social media!
If you are wondering how you can create and craft your story, we have you covered! A lot of time we create an image of ourselves that is very cookie-cutter because we say what we think we have to share. That was me! I said everything I thought I was supposed to say but I left out what made me, me.
Jen shared that her story was cookie-cutter and so were the women she worked with, pretending everything in their lives was amazing. But honestly, that’s not how it is, that's not true and it's not inspiring because it's not authentic. Jen said that “people will highlight the good stuff but then they just kind of brush over the bad stuff.” Talk about your story, share it, but be sure to give details. Give more to people so they can connect with you as a person. Give people a visual of your story that they can’t forget. That is what will make you memorable.
I challenge you to look at your story. With every sentence how can you go deeper? Put a Jen Casey twist on it and go underneath what you are trying to say!! Your story is so unique to you and it's no one else’s. Your story is special, so don't hide it!
How do you know what parts to include and what to leave out?
- You do not need to include every single detail!
- Jen shared the option of creating a timeline story. If you have a lot of little stories, note down when it happened and being able to refer back to that in the future allowing you to bring your story full circle.
- “Giving people the timeline and putting the year and the month..and then one sentence. That works really well on social media.”
Jen said something that I absolutely LOVED, “Whenever you are writing out your story, the very first time give yourself permission to be a beginner and allow yourself to frame it as this my first draft, this is not the finished product.” She's right, it doesn't need to be perfect the first time you write out your story. Allow yourself to edit it and change it as you go.
- Adapt your story to your audience.
- Know who you are talking to before you speak at an event, jump on a podcast or do an interview.
- What will benefit your audience the most? “Which one is the most relevant to the topic I’m talking about. Or when you're on social media, what is the emotion that i want to evoke today what point do I want to make today…and what story is going to support that?”
You have to be your best testimonial and if your story doesn't show that you really are walking the walk and not just talking that is huge…it will get people to say she is the person I want to work with, she is the person i want to hire and the products i will buy. Your story can be SO powerful, “People are not buying coaching, they are buying coaches.”
Common mistakes Jen sees that people make
- People get stuck in the feeling.
- They leave people in the ditch of that “rock bottom moment” and don't share how they got out if it.
- Jen mentions a 3-part strategy in which you share where you are now, that rock bottom moment, and the message and wisdom you gained from that experience.
- People forget to give a call to action. Do you wand them to check out your challenge? Comment below? Share with someone that this may resonate with?
How do you share stories about serious events in your life?
- When it comes to more intense, emotional topics Jen says, “make sure you are healed from it, before you start sharing it.”
- If you haven’t given yourself the time you need to heal, people will reach out to you on something you may not be ready for.
- Make sure you are able to help people from what you have learned from that experience before you share it.
- Include the details that relate to you, how it changed you and what you gained from it.
You won’t be able to help people if you haven’t gotten through it yourself. You have to be okay talking about it over and over and over. If something bad happened to you that you just don’t want to share, you don’t have to! Be comfortable with yourself and know the stories you are capable of sharing from a good place. If you want to connect more with Jen on social media, you can find her by @heyjencasey!
If you want more from Jen Casey she is one of the speakers at She's Building Her Empire Live! You won't want to miss it! Looking to connect with other female entrepreneurs looking to build their relationships, guess where they will be? SBHE Live! Join us in Milwaukee, April 24-26, https://shesbuildingherempire.com/live
Join the after party in my free Facebook group to keep the conversation going – https://www.facebook.com/groups/shesbuildingherempire
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