Brand stories are exactly that, stories about your company, product or service – your brand. It’s a story that tells the world what your brand represents, where it came from and who its lead characters are. And who doesn’t love a good story?
Brands stories activate emotions and communicate values. Using your website to social media to ad campaigns, your brand story dictates how you are perceived by the world and most importantly your target audience.
Every brand needs to tell a story that sets them apart from their competition and leaves customers wanting more. It should convince people to buy your product or use your service and inspire them to be part of your brand. Every element of your brand needs to play their part in winning potential customers over.
The heart of a great brand story is that it needs to be true and therefore relatable. The narrative will most likely evolve over time in order to stay aligned with the product, market, culture, and the audience. Regardless, people need to feel the authenticity behind your brand story.
When you start breaking down your story, you need to remember that the consumer is the protagonist in the story, not your brand. Your brand plays the supporting role, like the hero’s best friend, that’s there to make their life better and always has their back.
Brand storytelling is effectively modern marketing. By breathing life into your brand by setting a scene of origin and destination, you are creating longevity for your brand. You are also providing your audience with a context for the rest of your marketing plan. All of a sudden your quality logo starts making sense. Your passionate and concise mission statement starts coming alive and becomes more than just words on your website. The goal is to include your audience in your brand’s journey and tell a story that is relatable, whilst creating an eye-catching backdrop.
Let’s look at the do’s and don’ts of creating your brand story:
Brand storytelling dos:
• Remember that your brand is telling a story whether you like it or not, so help shape it.
• Give you products and services an identity; give them the best chance to play their supporting roles effectively.
• Invite your audience to connect with your brand, and feel like they part of your team – because they are!
• Make sure your internal team believes in your brand’s story.
• Have an introduction, a crisis and resolution in your story.
Brand storytelling don’ts:
• Use old fashioned sales pitches – it’s far too predictable and ruins the ending!
• Refuse to let your story evolve – a story that doesn’t evolve becomes extinct.
• Refuse to let your audience take you on a new journey – remember they the heroes of your story.
Ultimately, your brand story needs to provide a hub for highly-persuasive, positive content that customers can cling to. This all leads to better ROI of advertising campaigns, higher conversion rates, and a loyal customer base that will come back to your brand time and again.
Take a look at some examples of great brand stories. At Image Matters, we like to think of ourselves as your trendy best friend who makes sure you always look your best when you go out on that dinner date or business meeting. We make sure we are honest with you and tell you when your clothes don’t fit or don’t match. We are the best friend your company needs to have its back.
