I just returned from my high school reunion, where I had conversations with dozens of classmates at the peak of their careers.

It was the stories of artists whose professions include writing, performing original music that were most interesting. When asked what drives them, all said it was “creating their art,” which I interpret to be personal expression through their chosen craft.

Not to take anything away from the rest of us, it occured to me the same is true for business owners and employees alike. Whether we think of it that way or not, our work is our art. To have the opportunity to practice that art, our future customers need a preview of what it is like to work with us, and that often first happens online.

Marketing is A Meaningful Audition

Effective online marketing is an audition of everything meaningful that may sway a buyer to choose your business over another. In other words, marketing today is much more than content and its promotion.

Conveying your uniqueness is not easy, because buyers have ideas about who you are and what you do based upon accumulated knowledge and life experiences that create filters and expectations.

I learned many of my classmates consider me to be a motivational speaker, probably because it’s a general category with which most people are familiar. While I do my share of keynote presentations, they are predominantly educational with an element of inspiration, but not necessarily motivational. Some people have no problem understanding this. In fact, it comes naturally and those people are very lucky. But for the other 75% of us we are out buying Explainer Videos by the dozen and that is OK too. As long as you get it.

My challenge, like yours, is to use marketing to achieve clarity. The surest way to do that is with stories that are relatable, and therefore memorable.

If you have been to a reunion of any kind, you know that stories are the means with which we communicate and relate. So, when it comes to making your marketing, get creative. Develop a strategy for telling the stories your buyers need to hear or see to understand your solutions are the right ones for them.

What are the right stories? The ones that ring true.

To achieve clarity with prospective buyers, your stories have to take a stand. Looking back, I realize my stories should have addressed the difference between the common understanding of a professional speaker as a motivator, and what I do as an educator that inspires.

How about you and your business?

About the Author:  Jeff Korhan, MBA, is the author of Built-In Social: Essential Social Marketing Practices for Every Small Business and host of This Old New Business podcast.

He helps mainstream businesses adapt their traditional growth practices to a digital world. Connect with Jeff on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Google+