Brand storytelling is one of the most effective ways to build brand awareness, promote your company as an employer of choice and generate leads. As a result, more businesses are leveraging their own brand story to help drive sales and attract new customers.
However, not everyone who attempts to tell their brand story succeeds. In fact, many fail miserably because they don’t understand how to tell their brand story in a way that’s authentic, interesting, and—perhaps most importantly—effective. But with the right techniques and strategies, you can make sure your brand storytelling is successful.
1. Know Your Audience
At the most basic level, you need to know who you’re trying to tell your brand story to. This information will help you determine which story elements to include, the language you use, and the mediums through which you share your story.
Omid Semino, CEO and Founder of Diamond Mansion says, “Before you can tell your brand story, you need to know who you’re telling it to. Creating buyer personas is a great way to get to know your target audience and figure out what kinds of stories they’ll be most interested in.”
If you’re targeting Millennials, you’ll want your brand story to convey a sense of adventure. If your target audience is Baby Boomers, you’ll want to focus on stability and reliability. All businesses have multiple audiences, such as employees, investors, customers, and partners.
When communicating your brand story to each of these groups, it’s important to understand their interests, their needs and their language. Keep in mind, though, that your brand story isn’t just for external audiences—it’s also for your internal teams. Employees who understand the brand story are more likely to be engaged and committed to the company’s mission.
2. Define Your Objectives
Before you begin telling your brand story, you need to know what you’re trying to accomplish. Every brand story has multiple objectives, but the two most important are generating awareness and driving sales.
You should also consider how you want to be perceived by the public and your customers, as this will affect the content and mediums you choose to share your story. Awareness is the foundation of all marketing. It’s the process of making potential customers aware of your brand and what it has to offer. This can be achieved through storytelling, public relations, or events.
Brand Recognition: When customers are able to associate your brand with a specific product or service, they’re more likely to make a purchase.
Company Positioning: By creating a narrative around your company, you can position yourself as an industry leader and make it easier for potential customers to select your products.
Competitive Advantage: By telling your company’s story, you can make your competitors less appealing.
Customer Loyalty: Sharing your story with customers helps to build loyalty and create brand advocates. Customers who understand your story are more likely to purchase from you again and recommend your product.
Lead Generation: By promoting your brand story during key sales cycles, such as Black Friday, you can increase leads and generate sales.
Product Differentiation: Your brand story can make your product stand out from the competition.
“What do you want your story to achieve?” asks Rachel Roff, Founder and CEO of Urban Skin Rx. “Are you looking to build brand awareness, establish your brand as an industry leader, or something else entirely? Once you know your objectives, you can start crafting a story that will help you achieve them.”
3. Keep It Short and Simple
The best storytellers know that the key to a brand story is brevity. Successful brand storytelling doesn’t require that you write a novel. You don’t have to include every detail of your business history, mission statement, and brand values.
Instead, focus on the elements that are most relevant to your audience. Your brand story should be simple enough so that anyone can understand it—particularly people who have never heard of your company before.
“Your brand story should be easy to understand and remember,” says Justin Olson, Chief Marketing Officer at Fast Pace Health. “Don’t try to cram too much into it—focus on one or two key points that you want your audience to take away.”
4. Integrate Storytelling Into Your Strategy
Brand storytelling is often an afterthought for businesses—something they include as an after-hours activity. However, the most effective strategy is to integrate storytelling into your marketing strategy. Every piece of content you create should include your brand story.
You should weave your story into marketing materials, such as your website, blog posts, product descriptions, and press releases. This will make your story more compelling.
Your brand story should be consistent, whether you’re talking to your employees or customers. When telling your brand story, you should include these five elements:
Purpose: What does your company do? What value do you provide to customers?
Problem: What problem do you solve for customers?
Solution: How does your company solve this problem? What makes your product different from the competition?
People: Who works for your company? What do they bring to the table?
Process: What are the steps you take to provide your solution?
“Weaving storytelling into your overall marketing strategy is essential for success,” says Lindsay Malu Kido, CEO of Empower Pleasure. “Your story should be present across all channels, from your website to social media to your email marketing.”
5. Leverage Visual Media
Visual media—images, video, or infographics—can help you to tell your brand story more effectively. Visual content helps you to connect with customers on an emotional level, which can help build brand awareness and lead generation.
According to Annu Daniel, CEO of Elohim Company, “Humans are visual creatures, so it’s no surprise that incorporating visuals into your story can be incredibly effective. Try using infographics, images, and even videos to bring your story to life.”
6. Create a Content Marketing Plan
Creating a content marketing plan is a great way to integrate your brand story into your marketing efforts. A content marketing plan will help you to identify the stories you want to tell, the mediums through which to share the story, and the best times to do so.
“Your content marketing strategy should be the foundation of your brand story,” suggests Max Ade, CEO of Pickleheads. “Without a plan, it will be difficult to stay on track and ensure that your story is being told consistently.”
7. Leverage Social Media Effectively
Social media can be an effective way to tell your brand story by repurposing content and interacting with your customers.
Repurpose Your Content: Take a look at your content marketing plan and find ways to repurpose your content for social media. Create a social media content calendar and integrate your brand story into each post.
Interact With Your Customers: Social media allows you to interact with customers on a deeper level. You can respond to questions, host live chats, and host contests to help you develop your story.
Develop an Editorial Calendar: Just like you’d create a content marketing calendar, you can do the same for social media. When you have a social media editorial calendar, you’ll be able to more effectively share your story online.
“Social media changed everything when it comes to storytelling,” says Nick Wallace, Co-Founder, President and Chief Farm Officer at 99 Counties. “It’s now possible to reach a wider audience than ever before and tell your story in a way that is interactive and engaging.”
So if you aren’t taking advantage of social media to tell your brand’s story, you’re missing out.
8. Hold Events to Engage With Current and Potential Customers
While brand storytelling and content marketing are great ways to engage with customers, you also need to take a more hands-on approach to engage with potential and current customers. There are a variety of events you can hold to better connect with your audience and tell your brand story. These include
Open Houses: Open houses are a great way to engage with potential customers and give them an in-person view of your business. You can also use the event as an opportunity to tell your brand story.
Host Seminars: You can hold seminars to share industry knowledge or discuss your solutions with customers. You can also use the event as a chance to promote your brand story.
Grow Your Network: Join networking groups and attend events to meet new people and grow your network. You can use these events as platforms to tell your brand story.
“Our company has been able to grow exponentially thanks to the events we’ve held,” says Maegan Griffin, Founder, CEO and nurse practitioner at Skin Pharm. “Our network of potential customers has grown, and we’ve been able to establish ourselves as a thought leader in our industry.”
9. Create a Comprehensive Brand Story Strategy
Building a successful brand story doesn’t happen overnight. In fact, it’s something that requires careful planning and an ongoing commitment. That’s why you should build a brand story strategy that encompasses all aspects of your marketing strategy.
For example, you can create a brand story mission statement, and core values to help inform your overall strategy. Your brand story strategy can also include a mission statement, core values, and target personas.
A mission statement is a broad statement that roughly outlines your goals, while core values are an in-depth look at the specific traits that make up your company and are at the heart of your business. Target personas, meanwhile, are an in-depth look at the people you want to reach with your brand story.
“In today’s competitive marketplace, it’s more important than ever to have a comprehensive brand story strategy,” says Brianna Bitton, Co-Founder of O POSITIV. “This strategy should include everything from your mission and values to your target audience and objectives.”
10. Mention Product Benefits
Brands often make the mistake of focusing almost exclusively on their story and ignoring the products and services that make up their core offering. However, this is a mistake since it’s important to mention the benefits of your product or service, as well.
“You always want consumers to know how your product or service can benefit them,” says Karden Rabin, Co-Founder of CFS School. “Including this information in your brand story will help to further engage potential customers and convince them to do business with you.”
You can do this in written and visual content, such as product descriptions and social media posts. You can also do it in person if you’re hosting an event, such as a pop-up shop.
Conclusion
Crafting a compelling brand story is essential for any business that wants to succeed in today’s competitive marketplace. By following the ten strategies outlined above, you can make sure that your story is told effectively and achieves its objectives.
