Building brands through storytelling – a powerful marketing tool

Once you are clear about your positioning and your style, you can start building your story. It’s then about your ability to make an emotional connection between your brand and your audience.

Branded storytelling can have a massive influence on whether your customer will buy from you or not. It allows you to create a chosen narrative around your brand’s values and establish a personality that your audience wants to get closer to. You basically want to create that cool kid in class that everyone wants to be friends with. The definition of ‘cool’ depends on your audience.

Read the blog Beginners Guide to branding if you need a refresh on the basics of what a brand is.

Facts and figures may be powerful in some cases but they only activate two parts of the brain – comprehension and language. However, brand stories can also trigger movement, touch, scent, sounds, colours and shapes. Your potential customer will thereby connect your business’s factual components to its purpose and values, making you stand out from the competition. It might sound complicated but in simple terms, if you’ve paid no attention to it, you won’t get their attention!

It’s up to you to trigger emotional responses to get your customers to take action. The Deloitte Global Millennial Survey found that Millennials and Generation Z consumers are more likely to purchase products aligned with their values. The Millennials are the generation likely to spend, so it’s worth putting some effort into this if you haven’t already.

“Emotions trigger decisions – logic does not inspire anyone to take action.”

The Digital Marketing Institute states that 45% of a brand’s image can be attributed to what it says and how it says it. So, with this in mind, get personal, connect and resonate with your audience.

Who are you, what are your values, and what is your brand positioning? If you don’t have a clear picture of who you are, you won’t be able to create a consistent story. If you don’t have a consistent story, your audience won’t want to listen to you or follow your journey.

Once you are clear about your positioning and your style, you can start building your story. Along the way, it’s equally important to be aware of what you are not. A clear brand strategy and guidelines will be your backbone throughout.

So, how can you create a compelling story for your brand?

• Don’t make it too hard to understand – we are bombarded with information daily. So, to get people’s attention, get to the point and make it enjoyable to read.
• Include something relevant and relatable to your audience – What makes your audience tick – is it a married analytical woman with her own business, or a single father working long hours with kids at school? You need to know your target market for successful storytelling.
• Be descriptive – provide details about the business and how you can solve people’s problems. Your key motivator is how your brand can help your audience have a happier and better future.
• Identify your main audience and focus on them and their opinions. It’s not about what you think; it’s about what they believe.
• Pay attention to the details and make it personal – perhaps you have a fun hobby (drinking tea and champagne) or a great random skill (ehh I’ll get back to you on this one, but let’s go with crafts for now) you can share with your customers. They want to see it and be part of your journey.
• Talk about what inspires and drives you – who or what is your inspiration? Is it that you want to be financially independent, or do you want to keep your grandmother’s skills alive via handmade products? Share your journey.
• Use video – this is one of the most compelling storytelling and brand positioning tools out there today. If you can get your customers and clients to give you testimonials, especially in video form you are onto a winner! Alternatively, share your story on video, as you have to write a lot of words to get the same reach. (yes, I know, I know. I’m not quite yet there myself but as with kids, the same rule applies. Do as I say, not what I do 🙂

Once you have written your brand story, go through it and ask yourself these key questions:

1. Are you taking your customers on a clear customer journey?
2. Is there a clear path from your first interactions with your audience to a sale? – you should guide your customers and ensure there is a clear call to action at every step.
3. Are you providing good enough customer service so your customers feel that you care?
4. What do you do to ensure your customers/clients feel unique? This can be as simple as a confirmation email, a follow-up call, a text message or a social media shout-out. Whatever it is, make sure it feels personal and part of your story and who you are as a brand.
5. Think about how your business has changed from the day you started. Is your key offering still the same – have you evolved?
6. Are you offering more or different services or products now? Ensure you review and refine constantly to ensure your customers are clear about what you do.
7. Ensure you involve your audience in your journey – they would love to be a part of it.

Building brands through storytelling takes your audience on the ideal journey and works towards the destination of loyalty resulting in new brand ambassadors.

In today’s digital marketing world, storytelling is a powerful tool. The ability to create your own story about your brand’s values and establish a personality that resonates with an audience can be a massive influence. So, take the time to craft your story so that it speaks directly to who you are as a brand and why your customers should care.

Let’s hear your story!