NEAFP Logo

Recent Blog Posts

view all

Alpaca Coloring Pages

Alpaca Fact Series

Business Resources

 

 

Article: Harnessing the Power of Storytelling to Promote your Alpaca Business

07/17/2020
by NEAFP Co

Storytelling is not restricted to books or movies, though you’d probably agree that a good story can make or break either! A good story can also bolster your marketing efforts and showcase your business. Don’t dust off the typewriter just yet, however, as today’s audiences are looking for stories that span multiple platforms beyond the written word. Using storytelling or emotional branding can be an extremely effective marketing tool, and we’re certain that alpaca farmers have many stories to tell!

Your story can showcase the values of your business, farm and products to your potential biggest fans. When people resonate with you on a value level, they will be much more willing to support your business. Consider your values as a business owner and an alpaca farmer and how you can showcase those to your potential audiences. With e-commerce becoming even more prevalent this year, the connection that people would normally make face-to-face at a market is occurring more frequently online. Now, the conversations you've had in person, educating the public about alpacas and their fiber, can be translated into the digital world through storytelling.
 

What Makes a Good Story?

How can you harness the power of storytelling to promote your business? Begin by considering what makes a good story.
 


Odds are that you remember at least one of your favorite childhood stories: Perhaps it was a fairy tale that taught a valuable lesson or simplify a complex concept, or maybe it was a narrative meant to inspire change in the reader.

Most stories have a number of commonalities that make them easily consumable: they are easy to understand, memorable, believable, useful, or inspiring. These aspects of traditional storytelling can translate to the story you want to tell about your business.
 

 

Where and how can you tell your story?


At NEAFP, we tell our story in various mediums across a number of different platforms. We use text, photographs, and videos on our website, blogs, and social media accounts to tell the story of our business, the products, and the animals and farms that make it all possible.
 

We encourage you to think outside the box with these storytelling methods:

Text-Based

Have you ever found yourself scrolling through someone’s blog like it was a good book you couldn’t put down? Text-based storytellers dominate on blog posts, websites, and throughout other forms of social media. Of course, they may also grab audiences in more traditional forms like articles or essays.

Image-Based

They say a picture says a thousand words: a good one can certainly do so for your business! Whether it’s an infographic, illustration, or photograph that grabs the attention of your audience, images are the storytelling device of choice on many social media platforms, such as Instagram.

Video-Based

Whether shared on your social media page, website, or directly to YouTube, a video is a great way to tell your story because it combines audiovisual elements. Music, speech, and video footage can combine to create a narrative that resonates with your audience.
 

What are some examples of successful storytelling?


Companies both big and small utilize different forms of storytelling to captivate and interact with their audiences.
 

Text-Based Storyteller: Bee Haven Acres
 

Bee Haven Acres is a blog run by farmer Bee Haven Bev, who documents daily farm life in great detail. Her posts include detailed textual descriptions along with photographs that give a feel for the passing of the seasons on the farm, and the people and animals who are a part of the farm. Her writing style, coupled with her almost daily updates, makes for a very intimate reading experience.
 

Image-Based Storyteller: Shinola Detroit
 

Shinola Detroit is a luxury goods company based in Detroit, MI that manufactures watches, bicycles, and leather goods, among other artisan products. A quick look at their Instagram tells you that their identity is intertwined with their Detroit roots. This story comes across in the photos that they share, that feature not just the products, but the city and members of the community.
 

Video-Based Storyteller: Warby Parker
 

Warby Parker’s “How Warby Parker Glasses Are Made” tells the viewer not only the problem their company set out to solve in it’s creation, but also how their product is made in great detail. The video goes, step-by-step through the process of creating affordable, high quality glasses.
 

What is YOUR Story?


So alpaca farmers, what is YOUR story? As you continue to update your websites, and post to social media start thinking about sharing the following:
 

  • How and why did you start your farm/business?
  • What made you decide to raise alpacas?
  • What are your favorite aspects of alpaca ownership?
  • What is the story behind your favorite alpaca products?
  • How has your farm and or business helped you and your family?


We've compiled a list of these and other helpful questions into a worksheet to get you to start thinking about the story you want to tell you customers!

***Download a free full-sized PDF version here!***

There are numerous aspects of your business that you can approach from a storytelling perspective. Audiences are eager to learn more about the how and why of your business, and interact with you as you tell that story, so get brainstorming!

 

We hope that these Business Resource Blog Posts have been helpful.
Is there a topic you'd like us to cover in a future post? Write to us at support@neafp.com