Brand storytelling is a powerful way to connect with your audience, communicate your values, and persuade them to take action. But how do you craft a compelling story that resonates with your ideal customers and showcases your unique selling proposition? In this article, you'll learn some tips and techniques to improve your brand storytelling skills and impress your potential employers.
Brand storytelling is the art and science of creating narratives that convey your brand's personality, mission, and benefits. It's not just about telling facts or features, but about evoking emotions and inspiring actions. Brand storytelling can be applied to various channels and formats, such as your website, blog, social media, videos, podcasts, emails, and more. The goal is to engage your audience, build trust, and differentiate yourself from the competition.
"Your brand is not what you sell, it's the story you tell." - Scott Bedbury Brand storytelling is the strategic art of communicating the inherent value of a brand by showcasing its narrative & elucidating why it stands as a hero amidst competitors. This storytelling approach goes beyond highlighting product features, fostering a connection that cultivates loyalty & preference. The idea is to ensure that customers are not just consumers but advocates who identify with the brand on an emotional level. Example Coca-Cola's brand storytelling often revolves around themes of happiness, sharing & togetherness. Their holiday campaigns focus on bringing people together through shared moments. This transforms the experience into a shared journey!
Brand storytelling is important because it helps you stand out in a crowded and noisy market. People are bombarded with thousands of messages every day, and they have limited attention spans and memory. By telling a story that captures their interest, you can make them remember you and feel more connected to you. Brand storytelling also helps you establish your brand identity and voice, which are essential for creating a consistent and memorable impression. Additionally, brand storytelling can influence your audience's decision-making process, as people tend to buy from brands that they like, trust, and relate to.
What is a brand? Why do you drink Coke and not some random soda? Why is McDonalds recognised world wide? Because they all have a story which differentiates them from the clutter. That’s why brand storytelling is super important. It helps you have people who resonate with your brand value and ultimately become brand loyalist.
El storytelling es todo, la capacidad de contar historias es más que necesaria en la redacción publicitaria para poder conectar con nuestra audiencia, sin embargo hay que tener 2 cosas muy presentes a la hora de sentarse a escribir una buena historia: 1. Storytelling no es sinónimo de escribir mucho, hay anuncios que tienen 3 o 4 palabras y cuentan historias que conectan bastante bien, pero también existen otros que cuentan historias en 2 o 3 minutos y son igual de efectivos. 2. Hay que apelar al tono de la marca para reforzar el storytelling, si nuestro territorio es la felicidad como el de Coca Cola, por ejemplo, no deberíamos contar historias que se salgan de ese lugar, escribamos con consistencia y construyamos un sistema modular.
Creating a brand story requires research, creativity, and strategy. To begin, define your target audience and identify your brand purpose. Then, craft your brand message to communicate the main idea or promise to your audience. After that, choose your brand story elements to incorporate your message into the story and make it relevant, authentic, and engaging. Finally, select the channels and formats to tell your story - the best platforms and mediums to reach your audience and convey your message. Adapting your story to different contexts and audiences is also key.
One thing I have found helpful is to know the vision of your founder. Why did he create this brand. What was the motive behind it. Get to the bottom of it! Once you know the reason of brand’s existence, you can surely connect it with the right audience.
If you want to improve your brand storytelling skills, practice, feedback, and experimentation are key. To get started, read and analyze other brand stories from your niche or industry. Note what makes them appealing, memorable, and persuasive. Then write and edit your own stories for different scenarios and purposes. Ask for feedback from others and incorporate their suggestions. Finally, use various tools and methods to track and measure how your brand stories perform in terms of traffic, engagement, conversion, and retention. By doing so, you can learn from the results and make improvements accordingly.
Showcasing your brand storytelling experience is an effective way to demonstrate your value and skills to potential employers. You can create a portfolio that displays your range, versatility, and creativity. Include different channels, formats, and objectives, and explain the context, process, and results of each story. Utilize social media platforms to share your brand stories with your network and followers. Highlight your achievements, challenges, and learnings while inviting feedback and discussion. Incorporate your brand stories into your resume and cover letter to highlight your accomplishments and impact. Use quantifiable metrics and specific examples to showcase how your brand stories helped you achieve goals and solve problems.
Use your most passionate customers to convey the story of the brand. Encourage them to share their key values, beliefs. Let others be inspired by their stories. They are the real brand ambassadors and deserve to be listened to.
One of the best-kept secrets in brand storytelling is the timeless concept of brand archetypes, inspired by the work of Carl Jung. These universal characters rooted in human experiences offer a solid framework to build a brand that resonates with a target audience. Find the right archetype(s), shape your brand around it, align your messaging, and watch your tribe follow naturally. For example, in my industry, Bioniq stands out as a pioneer in supplement innovation, embodying the Creator (they went beyond traditional supplement forms) and Ruler (they dominate the industry with their unique formulas) archetypes. Just from their website, from copy to design, you instantly get the energy of these archetypes which attracts their ideal clients.