“The shortest distance between a human being and the truth is a story”- Anthony de Mello
Imagine this scenario. You are contemplating a trip to the Napa Valley for wine tasting. When you search the web you come across awesome and scenic pictures of vineyards. However, there are no relevant information regarding the types of wines, history of the vineyard or notes on the variety of the grapes grown. Wouldn’t you think twice before visiting the Napa wine tasting festival?
Words are as powerful as the picture and they matter. The brands that narrate or tell their story along with the visuals win the hearts of the consumers. Storytelling helps build everlasting relationship with the customer and gradually create a community of followers. The story that you create lets the world know what your passions are and serves as platform of communication.
The words that you use to tell your story spark emotions and allowing the listener to experience and create an emotional connection with the brand. Storytelling is the voice of your business where you are conversing with your customers with regard the challenges you faced, and the solutions you used to overcome these challenges. Customers are looking forward to know what happens behind the screen and sharing all the behind the scene happenings while you are growing your business will bring them closer to you.
The steps you need to consider while creating a story
- Decide on the characters of your story- Remember that the characters of the story represent your brand. They can be a fictional character, your mentor, or even your employees who represent the values as well as the qualities of your brand. The characters should be not only interesting and whom your target audience can relate with.
- The values and beliefs your company stands for- The content and the visuals of the story should express the values and beliefs of your business. The social causes or issues that you brand cares about most and stands up for. Finally what your brand can do to change the world.
- Give a structure to your story- The events are the context of your story. They explain what’s happening and why it’s happening so. A story that is chronologically structured will hold the attention of the audience.
- Content creation- Use the appropriate words and relevant terms that have the power to move the targeted audience emotionally by giving them the cosmic feel and touch through which they can connect with your brand. The content should be able to express what your brand is standing for.
- Market the story- The story should reach your target audience. There are various social media platforms and news channels through which you can promote your story.
Critical elements of Brand Storytelling
The following elements are important and critical to storytelling. The reason is a listener understands what you do and your goals; he also understands how your brand is beneficial to him. A story should invoke decision making thought in him.
- Who we are- An entrepreneur should speak about the challenges faced while starting his brand and speak about who he is and his humble beginnings. People love to listen to success stories about other people. Therefore, if the story is authentic, it will have a profound influence on his potential customers than the information about his product or service.
- What we do- When sharing this part of the story, ensure that the content is engaging, lucid and thought-provoking. People are interested in knowing what you do behind the scene. The most important part is your story should spell out the benefit the listener would get from using your brand. And that should make him contemplate about whether to buy your brand or not.
- Why we do it- The “why” part of your brand story is what differentiates your brand from that of your competitors. Today’s consumers are not only interested in “what” part of the story they want to know the “why” part too. They would promote the brand via various social media channels if your brand has a social cause attached to it.
- How we do it- This element will help to build a relationship, create trust and credibility between your brand and a potential customer.
- Proof of achievement- The potential customers would want to know how your brand benefitted other customers. You can tell the story about how one of your customers was facing some difficult and how by using your product or service, he was able to overcome that. When you spell out the benefits the customer reaped, it will enable the listener to relate to the customer in the story.
If you are able to include all the critical elements in your storytelling, the following are the benefits that you will reap in the long run. Take away of effective story telling
- Brand awareness- Those who have not heard of your brand will come to know about it.
- Creates an image in the eyes of the people- Captivating images with effective narrative styles will work wonders in capturing the minds of the millions. Info graphics speaks volume about your brand.
- Stories motivate- When your story has truth in it with realistic challenges and solutions, it motivates people to move closer towards your brand. They take a step towards making decisions about your product/service.
Consider investing in storytelling techniques as long term investment. When you have a story with a strong and powerful base that talks about the benefits and application of your products/services, people instead of talking about your brand, they share stories of your brand with each other. It creates not only brand awareness but also increases the credibility of your firm.
