How to Craft A Story-Driven Brand
How To Craft A Story-Driven Brand
In today’s digitally driven society, humanity is becoming the new premium. The internet constantly rewards us with automation, convenience and instant gratification, making empathy and the human touch increasingly more scarce and sought after.
In the today’s business environment businesses can no longer afford to be faceless entities. To survive, businesses need to connect with the audience they wish to serve and engage with them on a much deeper level than seen before. That’s where storytelling comes in.
Storytelling is an essential marketing tool for brands looking to ground their business strategy with messaging that is memorable, emotionally engaging, and last but not the least, profitable. In addition to giving your customers reasons why they should buy a product or service, businesses need to start sharing the story behind their brand, why it exists, and why this matters, consistently across all communication. Today’s consumers do care and they want to be associated with brands that do work that matters for people who care.
“A story can go where quantitative analysis is denied admission: our hearts. Data can persuade people, but it doesn’t inspire them to act; to do that, you need to wrap your vision in a story that fires the imagination and stirs the soul.”
- Harrison Monarth, New York Times bestselling author of The Confident Speaker
Storytelling will not only increase your brand favorability in your audience’s eyes, it can also be up to 22 times more memorable than facts.
According to Bernadette Jiwa, author of Story-driven, a company is either competition-driven or story-driven.
“The competition-driven company is reactive to the marketplace and prioritises beating its competitors and racking up profits. It identifies with the capitalist ideal and is intent on keeping score. The people who lead competition-driven organisations seek to dominate the market and maximise shareholder value. They care about increasing market share, boosting the single bottom line and raising their status as ‘the leader’ in their category. Their goal is to win. In contrast, the story-driven company is responsive to customers and prioritises having a clear sense of purpose and identity. It makes little reference to the competition and is intent on creating an impact.”
A story-driven business doesn’t simply exist to turn a profit—they are contributing to your community, the wellbeing of their teams and the betterment of the world, sometimes indirectly.
“Great companies have something in common: they don’t try to matter by winning. They win by mattering. Great companies rise to our expectations by being who they said they would be. “
- Bernadette Jiwa, Story-driven
Story-driven businesses have a positive impact on their customers and society. They thrive by making the connection between their purpose and prosperity. Their goal is to make a difference - to change the world for the better. To disrupt, to reshuffle the pecking order, to create something that’ll improve their audience’s lives, if not the whole world’s.
So, how do you craft a story-driven brand?
Know Who You Are And Be Authentic
We as individuals and brands often forget to show more of who we are, rather than finding ways to be a version of the competition. We don’t devote enough time and resources to reflecting on how we can resonate with the right people—just as we are.
The first step in creating a story is to get very clear on your vision. Think of your brand as a legacy – what do you want to leave behind?
Your story has the potential to be more than superficial marketing veneer applied in order to sell average products or to manipulate people into making decisions they later regret—both of which marketing often, sadly, consigns ‘story’ to.
“People don't buy what you do; they buy why you do it. And what you do simply proves what you believe”
― Simon Sinek, Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action
Ask yourself the following questions:
What do you want to be remembered for?Why did you/they feel compelled to start this business?Who do you want to help?What were you/they trying to fix?Why did you/they care about this particular problem?What are your core values for your audience to connect with?What is the message you want to transmit to your audience, and what do you never want them to forget?
Write a list of your core values. It’s often helpful to start with the word ‘I’ or ‘we’ followed by a verb—we act, believe, succeed, care, behave, deliver and so on.
Consider the emotion you want to evoke in your audience every time they interact with your brand. Your audience may forget what you say, but they will not forget how you made them feel (which is important because emotions drive purchase more than logic).
Know The People You Wish To Serve
Identify your target audience. Who exactly do you want to influence?
“The most important lesson I can share about brand marketing is this: you definitely, certainly, and surely don’t have enough time and money to build a brand for everyone. You can’t. Don’t try. Be specific. Be very specific.”
― Seth Godin, This Is Marketing: You Can't Be Seen Until You Learn to See
Paint a picture of the people your business brand is speaking to, and create personas if necessary. What do they like, what are their quirks, what keeps them up at night, and what gets them going? Then, take it a step further: what are the belief systems, philosophy, and lifestyle that they subscribe to and feel passionate about sharing? The idea is to uncover a tension – that is, a psychological itch that this audience needs to scratch – and then resolve that tension through the telling of a story.
Create Content That Authentically Tells Your Story
When you reach out to potential customers, you’re making a promise. You need customers to listen to and trust that promise. Without trust, there’s no promise. If the customer does trust your promise, tension is created. They wonder what happens if the product doesn’t work or if they’ll become someone they don’t like. In the workplace, people will fear the boss won’t like the product.
Your identity can ground you—serving as a reminder to be intentional about the work you do and deliberate about creating the future you want to see.
Any content created – whether it be social media posts, blog, or website copy – should funnel back up to the vision and core values
“Persistent, consistent, and frequent stories, delivered to an aligned audience, will earn attention, trust, and action.”
- Seth Godin in This is Marketing
When developing a content strategy, it’s important to remember that earning brand loyalty and moving people to action goes far beyond telling a beautiful story... it’s also about authenticity. To create a story that is emotionally powerful, relatable, and gets results, don’t be afraid to reveal the heart and soul of your brand: that’s what will ultimately get people’s attention.
Use your story to create a deep emotional connection: start conversations, ask for engagement (no strings attached), involve your audience in what you do as a business. Turn your brand into an experience they can consume -- that’s what will turn customers who pay for your product/services because they need to fix a problem into a rabid tribe that will support your success, follow along, be loyal, and comes back for more.
What do you think of story-driven vs. competition-driven brands? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
