Every successful brand you’re aware of has intentionally designed and structured their story, deliberately weaving-in elements to conjure emotion, drive a sense of community which all results in loyalty.
Take Dave for example, Dave the local chippy. He’ll sit in your local pub and tell his story to anyone and everyone who will listen. It’s usually a rags to riches classic. Dave struggled at school, did you know that Dave left school with not a single GSCE and not a Scooby of how he could make a living?! But, you see our Dave, he’s a grafter. At this point, there’s usually mention of a mentor who gave him the opportunity, trained him, taught him all there is to know about carpentry, hooked him up with some clients. Ever since then Dave’s been grafting, day in day out, and now, well now Dave gets to live his best life and tell you his story on a Friday afternoon over a pint of larger and a packet of crisps.
That’s Dave’s brand, his story. It tells us the why. So when you’ve got a planter that needs building, a kitchen that needs fitting, or a door that needs hanging – who you gonna call? You’re gonna call Dave! Because Dave is human, you’ve connected with Dave and you believe in him.
When done well, brand storytelling is the difference between your clients picking you over your competitor. As the old marketing adage goes, “facts tell, stories sell”. We forgot to mention, you can’t fake it either. Telling your brand story begins with finding your truth. Authenticity is key here, once you understand who you are and what drives you as a business, convert it into your messaging on every channel!
You need to be developing your messaging beyond features and benefits, you’re not just selling carpentry, you’re Dave, you’re local and friendly, you’ve come a long way, and what you don’t know about carpentry isn’t worth knowing! When your customer understands the impact of your product or service, that’s when you’re going to increase sales.
We’ve put together 4 building blocks to form an effective brand narrative.
- Character. Stories are about someone or something. In brand messaging, the main character can be you, your business, or your service/product.
- Plot. Stories usually comprise a series of events. This doesn’t mean these events have to happen linearly, but there should be a beginning and a middle, you’re still writing the end.
- Meaning. Your audience is going to want to take something away from the story. Your brand story’s meaning should connect to your audience’s life in some way.
- Emotional involvement. A great story latches onto our emotions and turns the audience into active participants. They become part of the story. If you create a story your audience can relate to you, you become shareable, bingo!
It all starts with understanding the story of your business—why you exist and what makes you excited to spring out of bed in the morning.
There we have it, they all lived happily ever after … especially Dave.
The end.
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