Brand storytelling is a buzz term, so you’re likely to hear it more and more every day.
In the last decade, the concept has taken off, and now everyone is giving it a go. I would bet the Marketers and Creatives on your team probably toss it out regularly when pitching their ideas to you.
But you ought to know, brand storytelling isn’t really about you. It’s all about your audience.
Great brand storytelling is rooted in the relationship these stories establish with your targeted audience. When done well, this type of marketing creates deep, lasting connections with your customers through shared ideals, values, and the idea they can see elements of themselves (or who they want to be) reflected in your brand persona.
If you have wondered what separates spectacular brand storytelling from the mundane, here are some basic principles to follow:
Aspirational
Some of the best brand storytelling is done with the aspirational content that creates a vision of who the customer could be if they align with your brand.
What does that mean?
Think of Nike; they do aspirational storytelling better than anyone else. When you buy their products, you are buying into the belief their shoes or workout gear turns you into an athlete on par with your favorite NBA stars.
Be Bold
Bold brand stories resonate and make memorable impressions. Commit 100% to the brand identity you want and don’t be afraid to go out there swinging.
Almost a decade ago, Old Spice achieved (in my opinion) the boldest brand identity shift possible with the “Smell Like a Man” campaign and they knocked it out the park. If you want to shake up your brand and create a new identity, take a page from their book and go bold.
Consider Your Audience
Since brand storytelling is all about the audience, consider deeply who you want to connect with. You can’t galvanize everyone to act with the same message, so narrow down the group you want to reach and craft your brand persona to speak directly to them.
Don’t Talk Over Them
This happens a lot more often than you think. In a brand’s quest to present themselves as the industry leader or the ultimate innovator they can sometimes talk over the audience, rather than to them.
Know who you want to resonate with, and remember, even the New York Times (read by doctors, lawyers, architects, and scientists) write to the 8th-grade reading level.
Elevate Your Messaging
The best messaging is the kind you cannot see. It’s a blog post you read all the way through without realizing was click-bait or the spam email with a subject line too tempting not to open that somehow got you to donate to a new cause.
Embed your messages in content that is truly enjoyable to read or watch—that elevates it and gets your ideas across without beating your audience over the head.
Forget How You’ve Done It in the Past
Go back to that Old Spice campaign for inspiration. That creative team took a brand totally entrenched in our public consciousness as our grandpa’s cologne and blew it away. Hell, after watching the first commercial, I even bought some Old Spice for my fella (and I was 25 when it launched).
Just because you’ve always told one story in the past doesn’t mean you can’t reinvent yourself.
Go for It
You must go for it all the way—half measures don’t work.
Old Spice committed 100% to their new identity, and because of that (along with it being hilarious, fun to watch, and near-universally appealing in its ridiculousness), the brand persona shift worked.
Hang Back
If you’re not 100% sure you want to take on a new brand identity—don’t do it. You don’t want to confuse or alienate your audience, so it’s either all the way, or it’s a no go.
Ideas Can Come from Anywhere
Look for inspiration everywhere. Mine your audience for inconsequential details, play with different brand personas and storytelling techniques until you find what works. If the typical brand archetypes don’t fit who you want to be, make up your own.
Just Be Consistent
Again, you don’t want to confuse or alienate your audience. If you’re the sage, stay the sage (don’t take a side step into the hero for one particular piece of collateral).
For brand storytelling to work, you must be consistent in how you present your brand persona.
Keep the Momentum Going
Once you’ve established who you are (or who you want to be), increase your messaging with each new opportunity to stay connected with your audience.
Lose the Fear
You can’t half commit to a brand persona or a brand story. So, lose the fear of failure right now.
There’s a chance, if you’re an established brand, your audience might revolt if you suddenly change something they are used to, but you can’t back down and you must weather the storm that follows.
Muster Up Some Courage
People don’t always take to change well. For every Old Spice, there’s a company that tried—and failed—to execute brand storytelling well.
But if a brand doesn’t have the courage to try new ideas, they can’t innovate, and their brand message—regardless of how well it is established in the public consciousness—will eventually become stale.
No Risks, No Reward
If you don’t take risks, you can’t reap the rewards. Don’t be afraid of failure—even the biggest, most respected brands have messed up a few times, too.
Read this great Business Insider article exploring some of the biggest branding flops in recent years and how these companies bounced back.
Opinions Count
When you’re telling a brand story, you’re trying to connect with a certain audience. So, their opinions count.
Do your research before you make a change or establish a brand identity—and be prepared for the potential responses you’ll receive. If you ask the right questions in the development stage, you’ll be well prepared for when your story goes live.
Push for More and Keep Pushing
Go big or go home, right? Don’t accept the first iteration of your brand story that your team presents.
Push and keep pushing to ensure your team has explored every option available to represent your brand story. Great ideas—or exceptional content—doesn’t usually happen on the first try.
Quit Trying to Speak to Everyone
You must accept this principle to reach the audience you want to connect with authentically. If you try to craft a story that appeals to everyone, you’ll probably end up appealing to no one.
Don’t develop your brand story in a silo—you want as many opinions as possible to ensure you’ve considered every variable—but know who you really want to reach. And focus on them.
Respect the People You Aim to Reach
Authentic brand storytelling not only respects the audience it’s speaking to, but it also galvanizes them to action by reflecting the same morals, ideals, and values of the people in your audience.
Your content can only do that if you show your audience respect by committing your brand to the causes and themes that represent them.
Stop Copying Others
It’s fine to admire another brand’s storytelling techniques or even take a play from their book once and a while.
But don’t copy verbatim from them or lift identical messaging points. You want to be your brand and own your difference, so too much copying will destroy your best storytelling efforts.
Turn Your Audience into Ambassadors
The thing about brand storytelling—and the reason why it has become such a buzz term—is because when done well, it turns your audience into ambassadors for your brand.
Great brand storytelling (Nike, Apple, Susan G. Komen) creates a cult following; people so invested in your brand they spread your message for you. They are so passionate they live, breathe, and eat your brand every day.
And when your audience is spreading your message for you, it’ll resonate even more powerfully with the wider world.
Understand What Works & Why it Works
When you’ve hit upon a brand story that works, evaluate what about it is making your audience excited.
Do the research, send out surveys, ask over social media. Find out what element of your brand story is the most powerful and play it up!
Venture into New Territory
Brand stories resonate when your audience gets excited. Moreover, venturing into new territory your competition hasn’t moved into yet will set you apart.
What does that mean? It means think creatively and try to identify the next big thing…before it’s a big thing.
Maybe you’re a B2B company that wants to try speaking directly to consumers, or perhaps you’re a very conservative financial institution that wants to be the first to launch a successful viral video—whatever it is, don’t be afraid to step out into the unknown.
Wing It if You Must
When you venture into new territory, you may be out of your depth. And that’s okay. Fake it till you make it and perhaps look into bringing in new people who can help you make the most of your new space.
X Marks the Spot
Once you’ve figured out the sweet spot with your audience, stay there—just not forever. To be relevant, you should keep growing that brand persona and your storytelling techniques.
Zero in on Your Difference
Great brand storytelling is about being a leader for the audience you are trying to reach.
For that to work, you need to be a real innovator in your industry, and you need to know what sets you apart from the pack. Once you’ve zeroed in on your difference, lead from your place of expertise.
Rhiannon Pickus 