People relate to stories. They feel them and it’s science.
Good storytelling has the power to inspire, influence, and connect.
As a business owner, you also have a compelling story to tell: your brand story.
Strong brand stories build trust with your prospects, increase engagement and brand awareness, and lead to more loyal customers - all these are crucial for your company’s success.
Before we dig into details, let’s establish what brand storytelling is.
A brand story is pretty much exactly what it sounds like-the story of your brand.
It describes everything from the inception of the company to the reason it exists and where it wants to go in the future.
It’s not simply the names and dates, but, the history of what you’ve done since you were founded.
It’s the motivation behind that founding, the “why” behind your existence.
Your brand storytelling is a key ‘relationship-building tool.’
Your story should be a look into who you are as a business and be something you and your entire team embrace passionately.
Even though, you may include every good thing about your company - it’s actually about your customers and the value you offer to them.
They are the real heroes of your story.
Your brand is the supporting cast.
The development of your approach to your brand storytelling should reflect this aspect.
Why Does Brand Storytelling Matter?
It is proven that stories not only affect our behavior - they influence our biology.
Storytelling holds power, and thus, can greatly impact your customers and in turn your business.
Story is an engaging narrative.
Because our brain is naturally wired to respond to engaging and well-crafted narratives, you can leverage your brand story to positively impact your customers and your business.
Pl. remember, that brand storytelling is a little different from your brand’s story.
Instead of focusing only on telling the story of your brand’s history, brand storytelling brings certain brand elements or certain unique characteristics to life through storytelling mechanisms.
Let us check how storytelling help your brand:
- It grabs your customer’s attention
We have realized that in our day today’s life we invariably come across all kind of advertisements and marketing gimmicks and many of them even not good enough to draw our slightest attention.
You would know that many people on their social media put ad-blockers. It means, most people are looking for ways to decrease the amount of marketing in their lives.
However, as a businessman, you always need to set your word out and keep evolving with different techniques and tactics to draw your customer’s attention, and try to see that at least they don’t hate your way of marketing.
As we know that stories and emotions are a huge part of our decision-making process and to do that you need to grab the attention of your customers.
- Your story sets you apart
Depending on your industry, there could be many similar businesses saying roughly the similar things about almost the same products or services.
In such a scenario, you could just hope that enough people pick you over the rest so that you can stay in business.
But, it’s a bad marketing strategy.
Setting yourself apart from the competition is a must.
You can do that is through storytelling.
Just like each person has a different life story, every business is unique, although, they appear to share almost the same traits from the outside.
No matter the kind of industry or the size of the business, the story you tell makes you unique and sets you apart.
- Being a part of a story is enticing
Everyone wants to be a part of something and your prospect customers also want to relate themselves with something.
It is natural because we all are human and humans are social animals.
When we build a story around a brand, it gives the brand the ability to “recruit” prospects to its cause.
Your customers are not just buying a product or a service! in an essence they are joining a team or living a lifestyle.
This holds good for so-called “lifestyle brands,” which have evolved their brand and story to the point where they’re not selling a product or service as much as they are selling themselves as an experience.
Customers also, are not buying because the product is the best, but because it makes them a part of the club, tribe or community.
Every business and their brand story need to reach to this point.
Nike is a perfect example of a lifestyle brand that customers choose over and over again because, they want to be part of the ‘#justdoit’ culture.
Not only this philosophy is applied to customers alone, but it is also true for new recruits in your business.
No person chooses an employer because they want to feel like just a cog in a wheel.
They want to be a part of something, fighting for a cause and doing work that really matters.
Your brand story can provide this meaning, as long as it’s real.
Let me stress upon one important point about brand storytelling.
“Say only what you mean.”
Your brand story has to be real. Your brand story should not sound like a fiction. You can’t simply invent something from nothing- because everyone you’re trying to sell to, from customers and prospects to investors and talent, will be able to see through it.
Your story has to reflect something that’s inherently true about your brand which in turn has to reflect something that’s inherently true about your business.
It’s very very important!
Remember: Storytelling isn’t just about what you say - it’s how you say it.
The way you communicate your message will make all the difference for your brand.
You need to engage your prospects with your story and not just remain as a listener.
How can you craft a narrative that resonates?
Start with the basics.
Define your core values.
- Who are you?
- What do you do?
- Who do you do it for?
- Why do you do it?
- How do you do it?
- What does your future look like?
Know Your Target Audience.
Take some time to map out who you’re going after.
Knowing who you’re trying to talk with is critical for crafting an effective and powerful brand story and storytelling.
Choose Your Format
Your brand story should be strategically infused and incorporated into everything you share in the form of —
- your content marketing,
- your communication with customers,
- your social media posts,
- your website, etc.
It should guide everything you do and it has to be an essential part of your marketing strategy.
Gathering prospects around your virtual campfire and drawing them in with captivating and inspiring storytelling is a vital part of your business.
The content of your brand narrative - and how you share it - will determine the relationships you cultivate with your future prospects and the effectiveness of the connections you build.
I am a business coach and startup coach and have been working with various startups within and outside India on various challenges. Creating a brand story for my clients is not unfamiliar to me. In view of this I would like to say:
It’s time to learn to be a master storyteller because your brand’s story is valuable.
Category:Business
Written by Nitin Mistry
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