How to Create a Compelling Brand Story
Your brand story takes you from just another commodity to memorable and desirable. And if you’re wondering how to go about building your brand story, we’ve pulled together everything you need.
Humans are wired for story. Before the age of the written language, all stories were communicated verbally. And they were passing on critical information that we needed for our survival. So, it was in our best interest (as a species) to ensure that we listened and remembered those stories. It was these stories that helped humans survive and thrive.
While we don’t necessarily need stories to teach us how to avoid being hunted by predators anymore, that in-built mechanism for remembering details that we’ve learned in story form is still with us. And that’s why brand stories are so important.
What is a Brand Story?
On its surface, your brand story is just that—the story of your brand. But without a well-developed story, you’re just another commodity. Another thing just like the last thing and the next thing. Utterly unmemorable. Absolutely replaceable.
Your brand story frames your scarcity. It dictates your value and gets people thinking beyond the functionality of ‘services’ and ‘products’ and into engagement and loyalty. They buy from you because they want to… because they want to align with you and your brand. And that’s what makes it so very important.
But the next question then becomes, how to create a compelling brand story.
Building Your Brand Story
Nail the Fundamentals
When it comes to building your brand story, the first step is to ensure you’ve got your fundamentals nailed down. Ask yourself:
Why did you start the business?
What is your purpose?
How do you contribute to your industry?
What do you want your audience to feel about your brand?
How will you identify with consumers?
Set the Framework—Conflict + Resolution + Status Quo
Once you’ve understood your fundamentals, you need to put them into a framework. When it comes to the framework for building your brand story, there are three elements you need to keep in mind:
Status Quo—The status quo is simply the way things are—or were—before you faced a conflict. For most brands, this will also highlight the problem you saw that ultimately led to your solution.
Conflict—At their heart, the best stories are about overcoming adversity and solving a problem. But too many businesses are afraid of showing their ‘warts’. They believe that consumers will be put off. But that’s a huge misconception. Everything has flaws. Nothing is perfect. And frankly, people don’t relate to perfection. They relate to the journey of overcoming adversity.
Resolution—The resolution of your brand story is simply your solution. What do you do? Or, how you help solve the problem. This is what gives your audience their emotional payoff and brings in the engagement with your consumers.
Take a look at this video working with Brand Experiences we created for Revision Mentor to see how they made excellent use of status quo, conflict and resolution in building their brand story video.
Be Authentically You
As you’re conceptualising your brand story, it’s vital that you approach it from an authentic place. If your speaking career began by falling off a stage, tell that. But in the same light, if you’re running a multi-million, global organisation that began with a team of the brightest minds of this generation, start with that.
People will relate to your story because it’s your story. Never try to force it into a box that doesn’t fit.
Simple is Best
Simple brand stories are the best. Apple’s brand story was its founding ethos—power to the people through technology. That human-focus has led to users developing an almost cult-like relationship with the brand. Apple users are one big tribe… and every one of them feels like they’re part of that brand. And it all comes from that single simple central approach they took to building their brand story.
Your brand story should be simple, too.
Incorporate (Authentic) Emotion
Emotions in your brand story help establish a personal connection with your audience. It makes customers notice, remember and engage with your brand. And research shows that customers that are emotionally connected to a brand have a 306% higher lifetime value.
This video for AviatorJob shows how emotion can create a compelling brand story.
Digital Storytelling Delivers and Engages
As you begin building your brand story, you’ll likely start by writing it down. Fantastic. But now you have to consider, how will you get your brand story out to potential consumers? Blog posts, socials? What about visuals—imagery and, better yet, film.
Digital storytelling—images and film—work incredibly well. And that’s because visual trumps all your other senses. Research shows that if you tell someone something they only remember about 10% of what you’ve told them three days later. But if you show them something, they’ll retain 65% of that same information over the same period.
Visual storytelling has other benefits, too:
It reduces the amount of time it takes for someone to understand.
Makes it easier to process complicated or complex information
And increases retention.
Using mediums like film, can help you leverage these benefits and get your brand story out to potential customers in a meaningful, memorable way.
Read: What is Brand Video and Why Do You Need One
Ready to Get Started Building Your Brand Story’? We’re here to help.
Creating a compelling brand story is an important part of building your brand. But with these tips you’re well on your way. Of course, we’d love to help you get that story out to your audience. Get in touch. We’re here to help!