Brand storytelling is what you add to your content marketing strategy to make it work. It’s the soul of your brand and its mission that is jotted down into words and communicated to people through your content.
It’s plain and simple, figure out your brand story and core values, communicate it to people with passion, and show them the story behind the product, the motivation, the struggles, the challenges, and the breakthroughs. Because that’s what people connect with.
The great venture capitalist Ben Horowitz perfectly highlighted the importance of brand storytelling when he said:
“You can have a great product, but a compelling story puts the company into motion. If you don’t have a great story it’s hard to get people motivated to join you, to work on the product, and to get people to invest in the product.”
Why Brand Storytelling is Essential?
Money is a hard-earned resource. So, when people set out to spend it, they make sure they are buying more than just a product. Your customers are not interested in the cutting-edge technology used to manufacture the product or the revolutionary formula used in the product, they are interested in what your brand stands for, what are its core values, why you believe in the product, and how your product can add value to their lives.
As a brand you need a story that people want to be a part of, your brand story should not be about your products or services, it should be about your values and mission, and your customer should be the hero of that story. Most brands start on the wrong foot with their brand story by highlighting their product and their features and then start whining about why their marketing efforts are going down the drain. That’s because the focal point has never been your product, it has always been your customer and what they can do with your product. The day you realize that is the day your ROIs are gonna shoot through the roof.
Look at the most successful brands and how they present themselves in their go-to-market activities like SEO, SEM, SMM, and Social media marketing, you will realize the authenticity of the point made earlier.
You can visit our detailed post on go-to-market strategies for brands to get a deeper understanding of the content.
People don’t buy Nike shoes for design or comfort, they buy them for the legacy. Jordans are sold out within minutes of the launch, not because people have had the chance to wear them and test them for comfort, looks, and design, but because they carry the legacy of Michael Jordan with them.
Let’s take another example:
Consider a scenario where you are visiting a famous restaurant chain to have dinner with your family. It’s a happy evening for you and you’ve been looking forward to it. You get a table there and get seated, you order your food and drinks and they are served. You really like the taste of the food, but midway through your meal, you accidentally hit your drink and it falls on the floor shattering the glass into pieces.
Now there are two possibilities, first is that the manager arrives at your table and tells you that you have to pay for the damages. You feel really embarrassed looking at the manager’s frown although it was a mistake and your evening has been ruined.
Second, the manager arrives at your table and immediately asks whether you’re hurt. He comforts you with a smile and immediately calls someone from housekeeping to clean all the mess. And on top of that, he offers you another drink to make sure your evening stays jovial.
The first scenario conveys a message that the restaurant chain is more concerned about the profits than the customer, while in the second scenario the restaurant chain makes it pretty clear that the customer is the king and they value their customers more than the profits.
Which reaction do you think tells a favorable story about the restaurant chain? The answer would be pretty obvious at this point.
You can research brands like Adidas, Apple, Bose, Beats, and Tesla to see how you can strengthen the image of your product, or service through a compelling brand story.
How to figure out your brand story?
Brand storytelling is all about how you communicate your story to the audience in an exciting way and involve them in your story.
Think about your brand story first, do you actually have a story that accurately defines your brand values and your passion? Or is it one of those stories that are just a highlight reel of a product and its features?
Your brand values are the qualities that are most appreciated among your best employees. The qualities that bring in the best clients, the qualities that bring in the best feedback, and the qualities that let you stay ahead of the competition. If your sales rep uses everything in his arsenal to close one of the best clients to stay on top. Then excellence is one of your core values. Just observe the best practices around you that add to the stature of the brand and make you happy. Your passion lies at the intersection of these values.
To make it easier for you to figure out your brand story, here are 6 questions you can ask yourself as a brand.
- What is the reason for your existence?
- What is your history?
- Who is your main character?
- What’s your corporate mission?
- What are the challenges?
Answer them and you will be really close to your story, all that’s left for you is to put them in the right order and create a narrative that incorporates everything.
Framework for Brand Storytelling
You can use the 3-step framework designed by Marshall Ganz, who teaches storytelling at Harvard to put together your brand story.
1. Start with “Self”
The first step towards your brand story is to start with “self”. It is a state of deep introspection where you share certain life experiences and challenges that establish specific personal values in you.
And how these values helped you conquer challenges as a brand. A great example of this is the homecoming speech by Sundar Pichai that he delivered at his alma mater IIT Kharagpur where he revealed how his life was as a teenager and how his father had to sacrifice everything just to buy him a ticket to the USA so that he can go there and pursue his higher studies.
Everybody goes through challenges and the natural intent to see someone conquer challenges and rise in the face of adversity is the primary reason why the audience connects with these stories.
2. Move to “Us”
The next step in brand storytelling is to involve everyone in your brand story and make it an “Us” story rather than a “Me” story. This step involves taking your values and then connecting them with the values of others by weaving your story into the passion, and life experiences of your audience.
An excellent illustration of this is the Burt Shavitz biography found on the website of Burt’s Bees. From the moment Burt and Roxanne first met and how they founded their firm, the journey takes us to the point where their tale becomes the “story of us” – of the business, their customers and goods, and the values they shared.
3. Add a “Now”
The final step in the process is to add a call to action for people who resonate with your story and wish to be a part of it. It’s an integral part of the brand storytelling process as it involves including people in your brand story and making them a part of the journey.
A great example of this is how Kickstarter invites people to work with them. When you visit the jobs section on Kickstarter’s website, it gives you a brief on what it feels like to work at Kickstarter and how they cherish every contribution made by every team member. And right after the section where they list the job openings, there’s an entire section about how Kickstarter works toward its mission to bring creative projects to life. And how they nurture your projects even when you are not a part of the team.
Examples of Brand Storytelling
Here are some brands that have mastered the art of brand storytelling.
Apple
Apple has always been a sign of luxury and excellence. Because they have always treated their customers as superheroes and their products as their superpowers. They have always been conscious of the way they present themselves to the audience and created an unbending figure of reliability and opulence that never wavers.
Nike
Nike has a strong image in the world of sports. It has partnered with sports celebrities like Michael Jordan, Lebron James, and Serena Williams who have made it big despite the odds being stacked against them. It has always presented itself as a brand that empowers you and lets you face your challenges head-on. Nike tells you to “Just Do It” even if the challenges seem too big to conquer.
Nike’s Instagram page is filled with inspirational stories of athletes who have fought their way through the biggest challenges and inspired millions.
Adidas
Adidas has a similar image to Nike in the sports world. It is a direct competitor to Nike and portrays itself as the choice of the champions. It sells the narrative that people who love to win choose Adidas and that challenges never end, it’s just how far you’re willing to go. Adidas has partnered with some of the icons of the sports world like Paul Pogba, Lionel Messi, and Mohamed Salah.
TL;DR
Brand storytelling is what you add to your content marketing strategy to make it work. It’s the soul of your brand and its mission that is jotted down into words and communicated to people through your content. A powerful brand needs to have a powerful brand story.
- Brand storytelling is essential because it lets you present a story to an audience that they can connect with.
- Remember that the hero of this story is always your audience, not your product.
- People buy the story, not the product. You can’t sell your product by talking about your product, you have to talk about how your product adds value.
- The first step to figuring out your brand story is to figure out the core values of your brand.
- The core values of your brand are the values that are most appreciated among your best employees.
- The intersection of these core values is the passion of your brand.
- Once you have figured out the core values of your brand.
- You can use the three-step process devised by Marshall Ganz who teaches storytelling at Harvard.
- The first step in the process is to figure out your values, the second step is to connect these values to the broader values of your audience through your story, and the last step is to give people a clear CTA to join your story.
- Some of the best examples of brands with an immaculate stories are Nike, Apple, and Adidas.
