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In today's highly competitive business world, it's not enough to just sell a product or service and expect consumers to blindly buy them.
The world of branding and e-commerce has evolved and continues to. As such, consumers are now more informed and smarter (or should that be 'savvy') than they ever were and because of that demand more from the brands they engage with, including yours.
To build that all-important loyalty means you have to do more, be smarter and go further than your competition.
Consumers want to connect with brands on a deeper level, and one of the best ways to do that is through brand storytelling.
A compelling brand story can capture the imagination of consumers, evoke emotions within them, and ultimately build brand loyalty for the long term.
In this blog, I'll draw upon my two decades of marketing experience to explore the importance of brand storytelling and how to use it to connect with your audience and build a brand that people fall in love with.
What is Brand Storytelling?
Simply put, brand storytelling is the art of creating a narrative around your brand that connects with your audience.
It's about sharing your brand's journey, its values, and its vision in a way that resonates with your target market.
Brand storytelling is not just about selling products or services, but it's about creating an emotional connection with your customers to drive sales and engagement.
That might come from your personal journey, how you developed the product you sell or why you started a business in the first place, but there are a million other stories out there and every one is unique. Yours included.
When done correctly, storytelling can help differentiate your brand from your competitors and build a loyal customer base, one that buys into not only what you do, but how and why you do it.
Why is Brand Storytelling Important?
Brand storytelling is important for several reasons.
Firstly, it can help differentiate your brand from your competitors, and that's never a bad thing in such a competitive marketplace.
Even if you sell the same products or deliver similar services, everyone needs a differentiator, a USP, to help consumers understand why you're different from your competitors and, more importantly, why they should align themselves with you and not the others.
In today's crowded market, consumers are bombarded with marketing messages from a multitude of directions, whether that's their social media, emails or online advertising.
If you want your business to stand out, you need to have a unique story that captures their attention and makes them want to learn more about your brand.
Secondly, brand storytelling can help build trust with your audience. When you share your brand's journey, values, and vision, it humanises your brand and makes it more relatable.
Just as if you were meeting another person socially; if you shared interests, liked the same things or had the same values, chances are you'd connect with them more than if you had nothing in common.
Consumers are more likely to trust a brand that they feel understands them and shares their values.
Thirdly, brand storytelling can create an emotional connection with your audience.
Emotions are a powerful driver when it comes to consumer behaviour, and if you can evoke the right emotions in your storytelling, you can create a bond with your customers that goes beyond just a transactional relationship.
How to Use Storytelling to Connect with Your Audience and Build Brand Loyalty
Now that we understand the importance of brand storytelling, let's look at how you can use storytelling to connect with your audience and build brand loyalty.
1. Know Your Audience
The first step in effective brand storytelling is to know your audience, not just their simple demographics.
When it comes to brand storytelling and driving narratives, you need to go a little deeper than that.
Ask yourself who are they. What are their pain points? What interests them? What are their aspirations? What kind of stories would resonate with them?
You will obviously know your audience better than I will, but whatever answers you come up with, the fact is that the more you understand your audience, the more targeted and effective your storytelling will be because you'll be able to speak to them on a deeper level.
2. Identify Your Brand's Values and Mission
Once you're confident that you know your audience, you need to identify your own brand's values and mission.
As a business and as a brand, what do you stand for? What is your purpose? What impact do you want to have on the world? Your brand's values and mission should be at the heart of your storytelling.
It doesn't matter whether you sell the simplest product or produce something potentially life-changing for customers, knowing who you are will go a long way.
3. Use the Hero's Journey
Even if that term is new to you, it's not a new concept. The 'hero's journey' is a storytelling framework that has been used for centuries in literature and film.
If you look at it in terms of narrative, conventional storytelling, then it's a story old as time and you'll recognise it immediately if you've seen almost any movie or read any fiction.
The hero starts off living their normal life. They then experience 'something' that throws them into extreme discomfort. Then they head out on an adventure in order to discover what they need to learn and ultimately come back to help other people with that newfound knowledge.
It's also a powerful way to tell a compelling story that resonates with your audience because it makes explaining complicated ideas intuitive and easy for people to understand.
I appreciate that doesn't sound like it relates to business and marketing, but it really does.
Think of Apple which uses the Hero's Journey in almost all of its marketing.
Apple positions itself as being driven by 'heroes' who constantly challenge the status quo, creating incredible products that make our lives easier. They go out into the world, finding pain points we all feel and create technology, whether that's computers, phones, tablets or watches that helps us all.
It may not be quite as simple as that, but, in the abstract, it makes it easier to understand so I'm sure you can now see how they use it to their advantage.
The hero's journey has several key elements, including the call to adventure, the journey, and the return.
When crafting your own hero's journey, ask yourself who is the hero in your brand's story. What do they want? What's standing in their way? What do they need to succeed and who do they have in their team?
By using this framework, you can start to create a narrative that takes your audience on a memorable journey with your brand and one that lives happily ever after.
4. Be Authentic
Authenticity is crucial in brand storytelling. Your audience can tell when you're not being genuine, and it can be a huge turn-off.
Instead, be true to your brand's values and mission, and don't be afraid to be vulnerable.
The rise of social media has increased our belief that, when we're online, we have to put on an act or portray ourselves inauthentically, or as someone else wants us to be, rather than just being ourselves. That's just as true when you're building a brand.
When you're authentic, you build trust and create a deeper connection with your audience by just being yourself.
Share your failures and challenges, as well as your successes. Too often people and businesses struggle with being authentic, so rise above and be the best version of yourself.
5. Use Multiple Channels
Brand storytelling doesn't just have to happen in isolation on your website or just in your marketing materials.
You can, and should, use multiple channels to tell your brand's story, including social media, email marketing campaigns, and even your packaging.
By using multiple channels, you can reach a wider audience and reinforce your brand's message, expanding your audience and reaching new people, but don't just charge in.
Before you embark on any journey on any channel, make sure you have your story straight and understand what any platform can bring.
Too many businesses are quick to adopt a platform or marketing channel without fully understanding it first.
Depending on the channel, parts of your story may work better on one than another, the story as a whole might elicit different reactions depending on how it's told, but it needs to be the same story.
Stories are best told when there is a coherent message running throughout that engages the brain as well as the heart and soul.
Conclusion
"All Jesus did that day was tell stories—a long storytelling afternoon. His storytelling fulfilled the prophecy: I will open my mouth and tell stories; I will bring out into the open things hidden since the world’s first day." - Matthew 13:34-35
For many consumers, the products that they buy and the services they consume are an extension of who they are.
They will align themselves with brands that, they believe, epitomise their own identity and share their values. The products themselves are often secondary.
They want to feel like they're part of a larger community, one that shares their ideals, and if it's your brand they want to align with, then you have to define your brand story and reinforce it with your storytelling.
Whatever story you're telling, it needs to run through your content marketing whether that's on your website, your social media channels or your email marketing. Keep a consistent message and a tone of voice that runs through them all.
Brand storytelling can be used by anyone, but only you can tell your story. It can build a brand, connect to customers and differentiate your brand from everyone else. It can be a story told by people around the world and one that always has a happy ending.
How did you craft your own brand's story? What's the hero's journey that you started? We'd love to know the impact it had on your business. Leave us a comment below and tell us all about it.
If you need any help with your own brand storytelling or messaging, then take a look at our web page on this very subject and then get in touch using the form below to see how we can start a story that really builds something that lasts. #BelieveInSuccess
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