In today’s day and age, the attention of the consumer is at a premium.
Thousands of brands play out daily battles for seconds of attention in a costly and often demoralising battle.
This prompts the big question: how can we stand out?
Brand storytelling is a marketing tactic rapidly gaining momentum.
It’s an increasingly popular approach that taps into the age-old method of connecting to people through storytelling.
It’s been proven as an effective way to grab attention, increase engagement and create connections which keep customers coming back to you.
In this article, we’ll look at what brand storytelling is, why it’s so useful and how you can use it to drive your brand forward.
What Is Brand Storytelling?
“Brand storytelling recounts the events of how your company began and how that story is what drives you today.”- Hubspot
Brand storytelling is the way you tell the world the story behind your brand.
It’s the cohesive narrative that joins together the facts of your brand with the emotions it evokes.
When done correctly, it acts as a storytelling process that connects your customers to the values your brand represents.
These connections help:
- Build brand awareness.
- Draw attention to your marketing channels.
- Establish trust with your audience.
It’s no wonder then that brand storytelling is becoming an increasingly popular and benefit-enabling approach in the marketing world.
In today’s world, people don’t want to be inundated with boring sales hype about your brand.
However, if you can introduce your service or product as cogs of a larger story which carries meaning… well then, you could be on the cusp of something special.
Let’s look at why brand storytelling is such a powerful tool.
Why Is Brand Storytelling Important?
“Storytelling is the game. It’s why Nike is Nike, it’s why Apple is Apple, it’s why Walt Disney built Disney World and it’s how Vince McMahon made a billion dollars.” – Gary Vaynerchuck
You might still be wondering just how exactly telling a story can have such a powerful impact on your brand.
So, let’s discover the benefits that brand storytelling can deliver.
Stand Out From The Crowd
Today’s marketplace is a funny one.
On one hand, the potential is enormous. The vast landscape of the internet combined with today’s immensely popular social channels has given us huge scope to reach enormous audiences with our brand.
But on the other hand, it’s still crowded. Content is being created every single day in unfathomable numbers. Competition is everywhere and doesn’t necessarily have to be in your industry. You see, thousands of brands are fighting for the same thing- seconds of your customer’s attention.
These same customers are being hammered with heavy-handed sales tactics so often, that even if you get in front of their eyes, your content may not secure the engagement you seek.
So, how do you stand out?
Brand storytelling can help grab your audience’s attention, capture their imagination, create connections and establish trust.
By humanising your brand you no longer appear as a grabby company eager for sales. Instead, you can cultivate an image that reflects your story. This gives your brand personality and softens the edges of your content. By doing that, straight away you’re breaking through all the mental blocks your average consumer has in place to deal with the array of ads.
By telling your story, you become more than a product, you become something greater.
Let’s see how exactly this happens next.
Humans Are Built To Love Stories
Humans are built to use stories to make sense of the world. Think about the old fables which taught people values.
Stories allow us to share information in a way that creates an emotional connection. This helps us make information memorable.
This is why you can use it to make people gain an understanding of your brand.
Stories don’t just increase trust in your brand. Studies have shown that stories are a whopping 22 times more memorable than facts.
By creating memorable connections, not only are you engaging your reader but you’re also far more likely to be remembered later on than your competition.
People love stories. Create a story that reflects your mission and consistently highlights your values throughout. Do this and you’re well on the way to boosting your brand’s reputation.
Keep giving the people what they want, and you can go on to build this next benefit.
Build A Loyal Customer Base
What you want this experience to look like is up to you but remember, that if your customer likes it, they’ll buy into it. Resulting in you building trust and enhancing your reputation.
Loyal customers who advocate your brand are known as brand evangelists. These people will act as free marketing for you and your business as they’ll engage with your content and share it when they can.
The more brand evangelists you have, the longer reach your brand acquires, and ultimately, the more your brand will grow.
How To Utilise Brand Storytelling
In order for brand storytelling to be effective, you need to stick to a consistently proven formula.
Let’s see what the best practices are how you can use them for your own brand.
1. Ask Yourself The Key Questions
- Tell a story that’s true to you.
- Reflect your values.
- Showcase your personality.
- Ensure consistency across channels.
2. Show Your Personality
It’s up to you how you want to be perceived but remember, you’re using it to build trust.
So give people someone they can put their trust in.
3. Keep Your Story Simple
Brand stories need to be simple in order to be impactful.
And what’s the most famous framework in storytelling…?
A beginning, a middle and an end.
Beginning: Explain the problem you want to solve.
Middle: Tell people how you solved it.
End: Talk with enthusiasm and passion about the success it produced.
Remember that your “ending” is not the end. Instead, make it a new beginning as you keep people engaged in your brand’s journey.
4. Make A Positive Impact
Reap the rewards of making a positive impact.
Brand storytelling creates awareness, boosts engagement, establishes trust and cultivates a following.
All this goes up another level if you can also make a difference.
Making a difference means putting efforts into ventures that aren’t profit-driven- for example, supporting a cause.
Be charitable, spread awareness and show you care about something more than just profit. This will increase trust and ultimately, drive sales.
According to Forbes, the top 10 most empathetic companies are also the fastest-growing in the world…
5. Create Connections With Customers
We’ve already seen how storytelling helps increase engagement.
To make this work you need to come across as relatable, understandable and likeable to your audience.
To achieve that you need to communicate the ideals that your customers share.
Ex: Sell Kombucha? Let your mantra be wellbeing driven as you passionately talk about your mission to make people healthier.
Connect with your customers and you’re well on the way to becoming an established brand.
Final Word
Brand storytelling is one of the most powerful tools you can use to build your brand.
If you can give your brand a voice that reflects your values and showcases your personality, then you’re making massive strides in becoming established.
Struggling to create your story?
Then get in touch with us at The Founder Factory.
We offer top-class strategic advice as well as a host of content-creation services to help your brand take off.
It’s time to level up your content game.
