As the competition in the business landscape grows, finding a competitive advantage is more challenging than ever. You cannot expect to compete with product features and pricing because several brands will probably have similar ones. However, the brand story is one factor that can set you apart in the market. It makes you different because every business has a unique background, vision, and values.
But only having unique attributes isn’t enough, as you also need to highlight them to engage the audience and build trust for your product and business. Everything boils down to creating compelling stories, but most brands take a random approach to it. However, mastering the skill of storytelling is easier than you imagine. Let us share some actionable storytelling tips that brands can rely on.
Table of Contents
Know your audience
The target audience matters the most when it comes to creating a story to introduce and promote a brand. But marketers often lose track here as they focus on their product or brand instead of the audience. Remember that your buyers should be at the center of the narrative, with their pain points, expectations, and needs getting all the attention. Also, every member of the target audience is not the same. Consider segmenting them into different buyer personas and categories. Brainstorm ideas for each group and reach out with personalized narratives that address their needs and problems.
Consider your positioning
You will probably have a positioning in the market unless launching a startup. Your story should replicate your current identity and elements like your core values, vision, and tone of voice. Find out what buyers think of your business, and consider whether you want to stick with this identity. You may change or develop it over time according to the current trends, competitor positioning, and customer expectations. But ensure that you have a clear picture of your business positioning from the outset because your story must match it.
Understand your purpose
After building the initial pillars of your storytelling strategy (audience and brand identity), you must understand the purpose of your campaign. Businesses run campaigns for various purposes, such as reinforcing their position in the mind of existing customers, capturing the attention of new buyers, setting themselves apart from competitors, or launching a new offering in the market. The most effective stories follow the end goal of turning followers into leads and loyal customers.
Leverage storybranding
Brand stories shouldn’t just be random narratives raving about their products and services. Marketers often make the mistake of taking a selling perspective instead of connecting with buyers through genuine narratives that show how their products address consumer problems. Experts recommend leveraging storybrand marketing to create perfect ones that push potential buyers subtly down the conversion funnel. The concept considers the customer the hero of the story and their problem is the theme. The seller steps in as a guide who finds ways to solve the problem and builds trust in the brand and its offering. The entire flow follows a detailed script that shows empathy toward the consumer and an intention to resolve their problem.
Create an honest and authentic content strategy
Your narrative should follow an honest and authentic content strategy. However, marketers often fail to do it because they get too enthusiastic to launch a plan. Putting it on paper is an even better idea because it lets you evaluate and improve over time. You may want to rework your strategy when customer expectations or competitor strategies change. But remember to stay genuine, no matter what. Keep the customer and your identity in mind when creating or reworking your content strategy. Also, ensure that your stories are human so that they appeal to the audience.
Ensure consistency
Besides being honest and authentic with storytelling, brands must also ensure consistency. After all, you must show up the same way every time and across all customer touchpoints if you want people to recognize and connect with your brand. Moreover, consistency breeds comfort as your brand looks familiar to the audience. Consider your identity elements like colors, logo, and tone of voice, as your reference points. Build a narrative around these elements, and stick with them unless you wish to change them down the line.
Match your story with the channel
While brand stories should be consistent, they should also match the channel where they are showcased. For example, you cannot expect an extra-long video to engage Instagram audiences, although it may be apt for YouTube. Likewise, an infographic may render too small on a blog because visitors expect in-depth information on the channel. Remember that different promotional channels require different kinds of storytelling. Not adapting your narratives elevates the risk of crashing and burning, no matter how great a content piece is. Reworking your storytelling strategy channel-wise is the best approach.
Prioritize shareability
Any marketing campaign works only if people spread the word about a brand and its products or services. You can achieve the goal by creating shareable stories that customers feel like sharing with their friends and acquaintances. Everything boils down to striking an emotional chord with the viewers because it is the only reason they will want to share your narrative ahead. The effort is worthwhile because word-of-mouth is far more effective and less expensive than conventional promotions. So you must definitely go the extra mile to understand what clicks.
Educate, entertain, and inspire
Buyers are smarter than ever, and they can see through a brand’s tactics. You cannot expect them to trust your word and buy your product or service only due to a great advertising campaign. The best approach to make your content connect with the audience is by educating, entertaining, and inspiring them with your stories. The approach shows that you are an expert in the niche, care about the buyers, and want to give them the best. It enables you to establish strong bonds that boost buyer retention for the long haul.
Dig deep into data
Another surefire tip to ace brand storytelling is by paying attention to what works and what doesn’t. The best way to do it is by digging deep into data to identify your best stories and campaigns. Surprisingly, the data in your campaign spreadsheets is nothing less than storytelling gold, provided you are ready to follow it diligently. You can get valuable trends and customer insights from it, and use them to create compelling narratives in the future. Your campaigns become more data-driven with this approach, so you have better chances of impressing potential buyers.
Storytelling is the mainstay of selling in the competitive landscape, where product features and pricing are no longer the key differentiators. But you cannot expect random narratives to connect with the audience and compel them to buy. A strategic approach can help you create actionable stories that replicate your identity and resonate with consumer expectations. Most importantly, focus on buyers and their pain points instead of your brand and offering. While there are no shortcuts to compelling storytelling, you can definitely rely on storybrand marketing to give your best. Also, stay ahead of data to learn more about the best stories with the potential to get buyers on your side and retain them for good.
I am a passionate, adventurous, and insatiate learner who loves to write about the latest technology trends. My experience working in an MNC has motivated me to understand that there are certain niche requirements for writing strategically about brands’ messages towards people’s interests which I’ve mastered over time through trial and error of many projects under various clients across diverse industries. It is my honest effort to put my experiences and knowledge of industry towards readers.
