Top 5 Powerful Storytelling Tips to Build a Brand That People Care About
Marketing isn't what it used to be anymore. Gone are the days where you can just tell your audience what you do, how it works, and why they should buy. Storytelling is becoming increasingly popular and will continue to do so. Here are some of my guidelines when guiding my clients with building an authentic brand that can stand the test of time.
1. Create Your “Brand Story” & Identify Your Target Audience
Why does your business exist? What is the bigger vision beyond just the numbers? What are the values you and your company represent? Who are your ideal customers? Creating a “brand story” helps you develop a persona for your company, and inadvertently builds a roadmap for your marketing strategies to follow. Having a clear persona and roadmap will be much easier for content creation, and more consistent too which will naturally boost your SEO at the same time.
Remember, a brand story isn’t a glorified About page. It isn’t just about the “what”, the “how”, or the “history” behind your company. It’s about your mission, your passion, your vision, and ultimately, your “why you do what you do”. Also, you can’t please everyone in the world, so really think about the target audience you want to serve and pour your heart and soul to them.
2. Titles Are Everything
As there are more distractions around us than ever before from social media, advertisements and so forth, titles can be a make-or-break. People are less likely to read what you have to share if you don’t use captivating, fascinating titles. A simple rule of thumb would be to ask yourself if you would be compelled to click onto the story you just wrote. If your honest answer is no, then why would anyone else?
Titles like “How to _____” or “Top 5 _____” or “Secrets to _____” can be very effective. People like hearing secrets, tricks, top tips, how-to’s, or certain amount of steps to accomplish something.
3. Be Authentic & Be Vulnerable
We live in a materialistic society where everything is portrayed to be perfect. Just browse on Instagram and Pinterest and you will know what I mean. But let’s face it, we all know we are imperfect human beings, so why only show the glory and hide the tears?
In a world where most people feel other people are “getting” them for something, our society is starving for authenticity. I encourage you to not only be authentic, but to be vulnerable and show the other perspective. Show the imperfect side. Share the mishaps, the mistakes, the tough and bumpy journey and end off with your reflections, what you have learned and how you will make it better. This technique alone will automatically build trust to your brand far quicker than coming up with snazzy slogans. Why? Because people can relate to you.
When people can relate to you, that’s when they will start paying more attention to you, your brand and what you stand for.
4. Don’t Just Tell. Show Them!
Pictures are worth a thousand words. Videos are worth a thousand pictures. Actions are worth a thousand videos.
Actions mean far more than a set of pristine paragraphs about your “why”, or pretty pictures supporting your blog posts. Your audience wants to know if you are congruent with your brand, so what better way than to show them with tangible actions? Start a charity, volunteer at your local communities, offer free lessons, do something that aligns with your company values.
And share those stories to the world.
5. Don’t Forget About Yourself.
What do you mean myself? Yes I’m talking to you. It’s very easy to look up somebody online these days, so make sure you are consistently living and breathing the same values you share with your “brand story”. The best metric is to ask yourself: “Can I share my personal social media with anybody? Or do I have to hide a few things?” If latter, then there’s some work to do. Personal branding is just as important as company branding, and the tips presented here can be applied to your personal brand as well.
When you live and breathe as one identity where your personal values and goals are aligned with your company’s vision and values, that’s when magic happens. Let’s stop wearing multiple identity masks and start representing the one and only you!
I hope you find value in these tips as much as our clients do. We believe that every brand deserves a "Brand Story", and it is through storytelling that truly connects what you have to offer to the people that resonates.