What's Your Brand's Story?

What’s Your Brand’s Story?

Luckygirliegirl .

Storytelling might be the greatest asset everyone can use. A great story can do anything from saving someone’s life — in a criminal court case, for example — to instilling brand loyalty. That’s because people don’t make decisions based merely on facts, we use our hearts as much or more than our heads when we choose to act.

A great story always connects with the empathetic, emotional part of a person. Make it personal and people respond favorably.

Think about ZOOM video conferencing. Prior to the pandemic most people had never heard of ZOOM much less used it. Almost overnight the online tool and app became the go-to form of communication for everyone. Schools, businesses, friends, family, and co-working arrangements, all embraced ZOOM as the tool for communicating and continuing to get things done.

But the target group ZOOM was designed for wasn’t the only group of people that used the video platform. People started to become creative… having watch parties, live poker tournaments, music jam sessions, online karaoke parties, happy hours online, and all kinds of other creative ways to connect with people during a time when in-person connections were impossible. In other words, the story changed —you could connect with whomever you were missing and you could adapt the service to suit your needs — and because people were forced into a new means of connecting, ZOOM transformed into a verb as ubiquitous as Google.

Story matters. We know Apple was founded in a garage… Amazon and Microsoft as well. Those origin stories connect with people then it becomes about the product/service delivering something that connects on an emotional level as well.

When thinking about your business and the story (or message) you want to convey, anchor it with a few items.

Who is the target audience?

Prior to the pandemic, ZOOM was a tool aimed at business people who needed to meet in a convenient and easy-to-execute way. Now, ZOOM is for just about anyone who has a need to connect. Who is your story aimed at?

How can you move your audience emotionally?

What does your product or service solve and how can that illicit an impactful emotional response? Great storytelling is personal and yours should be as well. If your product is great for the environment and your target audience cares about that then you would be a fool to omit that information from your story. Know who your audience is so you can craft a story they will care about.

Entertain your audience.

Make people laugh, cry, or feel something. Give them a reason to embrace what your product/service is about. It isn’t enough for your company to use only the finest ingredients or build sustainable products. Let us know why that matters, why that choice was made, hopefully in a way that engages us.

Avoid overthinking your story by drafting the story and then testing it on people. Refine it until you get the desired response. Storytelling is hard work. Getting it ju-u-u-ust right requires some effort but the payoff is worth it. If you can really connect with folks who then become your client or customer, they are more likely to remain loyal to you or your brand.

Put some thought into the ongoing story your brand is telling with each marketing campaign that you launch.

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If you’d like me to review your upcoming marketing campaign or the story your brand is telling, then contact me for a free 30-minute consultation. You’d be surprised how much we can accomplish in just 30 minutes.