More or less all of us have heard about the word Brand Storytelling. What is all about it?
Thousands of brands around the world looking for attention. It’s getting more difficult for newer or lesser-known companies to stand out.
Yes, you could always ride the waves of trending topics. Nothing wrong with posting an usual video that gets thousands of views, offering discounts that creates those spilkes in sales.
Doing these things can work to catch people’s interest — at least until something new comes along.
However, when establishing yourself as a brand, you want to be more than just a passing fancy. You need to catch your audience’s attention, hold it and keep them engaged.
The best way to do this? Brand storytelling.
WHAT IS BRAND STORYTELLING?
Brand storytelling refers to the process of shaping a company or brand’s identity by using the power of narration or storytelling techniques.
Companies utilise brand storytelling to connect and engage with their customers. They do this by developing a narrative or story to create a lasting impact on their audience.
WHY STORYTELLING IS IMPORTANT?
Storytelling will enrich the brand’s Digital Marketing approaches. Its easier now to circulate those stories almost for free through various channels. These stories create an emotional response from the audience. It helps the brand build a meaningful connection with their audience.
According to Edelman’s 2014 Brandshare study, 87% of customers desire to develop meaningful relationships with brands.
However, 66% of those surveyed concluded otherwise. The claimed that their relationships with brands is not a two-way street. Customers cannot interact with the brand as much as they want to.
Brand storytelling assists in establishing a genuine bond with consumers. It closes the the gap with customers who are seeking emotional connections.
However, for this to occur, brands must be open enough to share enough to give customers a sense of journey as well.
Examples of memorable brand stories
A very good example of a powerful brand storytelling campaign is the Dove’s Real Beauty Sketches. To date, it has already garnered nearly 70 million views on YouTube since its release in 2013. The concept of beauty is subjective. But most women still find themselves trying to fit into stereotypes. Its am authentic, raw, and powerful realisation.
GoPro has an About Us section that talks about the usual things — how it all started and how the company grew. But the real focus of the ‘story’ here is the special acknowledgement. That it’s the users themselves who contribute to the interest in and the innovation behind GoPro products. This is perfectly encapsulated in their video version of the GoPro About Us page.
Virgin America’s (integrated with Alaska Airlines since 2018) humorous and unusual approach on brand storytelling is notable. They made a 6-hour-long video on ‘Blah Airlines’.
Here, they employ contrast to emphasise how Virgin America ‘makes flying good again,’ unlike Blah. They used dummies in the video and put these in a typical airline situation to illustrate. It displays the mediocrity of Blah Airlines’ service — something ordinary travelers can easily identify with.
Brand storytelling is actually about putting the focus on the real hero of the story: your customers.
In doing so, you’re able to communicate that your brand values are the same as theirs. You’re telling them that you know their problems, pain points, needs, and aspirations. And you seek to solve, address or provide through the products or services you offer.
WHAT KIND OF STORIES TO TELL
Your brand stories should have a personal touch and spark the interest of your audience. You may attempt to tell them about your company’s history, your inspirations, and how you hope to change the world through your brand.
The story must be engaging and factual. You may try to make the customer the main protagonist with your company as the supporting character that offers a solution.
Brand story telling in social media is one of the best practices. Use the sections of Facebook and other social media pages to share the story which is related to your brand. An intersection story is way better than a boring typical about us section.
Another significant tool you can use is testimonials. It can make a lasting impact on customers and may improve their brand loyalty. Here’s a list of stories that you might consider telling:
Brand story: Tell your story, the root of your brand’s existence. You may elaborate on how it came to be, the journey it took to move from a small position to becoming a brand.
Founder’s story: Another way to get customers to interact with your brand is through telling the founder’s story.
Brand history: Discuss how your brand evolved, the challenges it faced, and the efforts it took to overcome them.
Brand values story: Share what your brand stands for and how it wishes to leave a positive impact on the world.
People story: Sharing the founders’, employee’s, and customers’ stories helps to elevate the brand and make it a more trustworthy one since people trust humans more than any product.
MAKE STORYTELLING PART OF YOUR MARKETING STRATEGY
You need to make brand storytelling a core element of your marketing strategy.
You can use it to:
- Make a powerful business pitch
- Influence the way people perceive your brand
- Introduce or reintroduce your company or business
- Showcase your brand personality
- Trigger an emotional response in your audience
- Portray the human side of your brand
- Complement social media marketing
Best of all, you can connect directly with your audience. Then you encourage them to engage. And see how they respond to your brand through effective storytelling. This way, you gain not only their business but also their goodwill, trust, and loyalty.
CONCLUSION
As Roger Schank says, ‘Humans are not ideally set up to understand logic; they are ideally set up to understand stories.’
And every professional should understand that humans tend to listen more carefully and remember more when they hear a story.
Having a compelling story makes your brand come alive. Because they help form the bond between your organization and its customer.
Engaging your company with your target audience and presenting itself in an interesting way to prospective customers.
But, most importantly, a good story will help in winning the hearts of your audience. It will form bonds that will last for a lifetime.
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