Brand stories are narratives that connect your customers with your values, vision, and purpose. They can inspire trust, loyalty, and engagement, and differentiate you from your competitors. But how do you craft a compelling brand story that resonates with your audience? Here are some examples of successful brand stories and how you can create one for your own business.
Your brand story should communicate what you stand for, why you exist, and how you help your customers. It should be consistent, authentic, and relevant to your target market. For example, TOMS shoes has a simple but powerful brand story: for every pair of shoes they sell, they donate a pair to a child in need. This message appeals to their socially conscious customers and reflects their mission of improving lives.
Adding sustainability to your narrative from all of it's parts gives you so much more creative ways to tell your story. We easily just think that sustainability is just an ecological (E) matter, but it does have S(social) and G(governance ) also. Adding these to your narrative maybe with perspectives of products or employer branding gives a great opportunity to tell your story.
Your brand's mission statement is what defines your brand. It's a brief statement that explains why you do what you do. A great example of a brand with a mission statement is Tesla. They started out as an electric car company in 2003. They wanted to show that you don't have to sacrifice anything to drive an electric car. They believe in clean, sustainable energy and protecting the environment. That's a great way to communicate your brand purpose and connect it to something bigger.
There are different ways to tell your brand story, depending on your goals, audience, and channels. You can use text, images, videos, podcasts, blogs, social media, or a combination of these. The key is to choose a format that suits your style, tone, and message, and that engages your customers emotionally. For example, Airbnb uses videos to showcase the stories of their hosts and guests, highlighting the diversity, community, and adventure of their brand.
Most important thing while choosing the story format is creating brand guidelines for your company. Your brand's visual identity is probably the first thing people see, and it's also something your customers and prospects will keep seeing. Since most of us spend a lot of time online every day, it's likely to be on your website, in search results, or on social media.
A story arc is the structure of your narrative, which usually consists of three parts: the beginning, the middle, and the end. The beginning introduces the characters, the setting, and the problem. The middle shows the conflict, the challenges, and the actions. The end resolves the problem, shows the outcome, and delivers the message. For example, Dove's Real Beauty campaign uses a story arc to challenge the stereotypes of beauty, show the struggles of women with self-esteem, and empower them to embrace their natural beauty.
To make your brand story more captivating, you can incorporate some storytelling techniques into it, such as a catchy opening that grabs the attention of your audience and makes them curious to know more. Additionally, you can include a problem or challenge that your customers face or that your brand overcomes. Furthermore, you can provide a solution or benefit that your brand provides or that your customers achieve, as well as a clear and specific action that you want your audience to take after hearing your story. For example, Nike's Just Do It campaign uses these techniques to motivate and inspire people to overcome the barriers and doubts they face in sports. The call to action is "Just Do It."
Before you launch your brand story, you should test it with your customers, employees, and partners, and get their feedback. You should also measure the impact of your story on your key metrics, such as awareness, engagement, conversion, and retention. Based on the results, you should refine your story to make it more effective, relevant, and memorable.