WHAT IS STORYTELLING
Storytelling is the process of using facts and narrative to transmit a message to your target audience.
Brand storytelling can be defined as the narrative that meshes together the facts and emotions that your brand evokes. This narrative shares the story behind your brand and gives your clients reasons why they should buy your product.
THE POWER OF STORYTELLING
We are living In a fast-paced and digitally-driven world. Consequently, the convenience of the internet and the exponential increase of social media platforms have rarefied human connections.
Facing this environment and its swift competition, businesses have to be different and can’t remain a faceless entity. Thus, in order to survive, businesses must reach out to their audience, engage them and create long lasting relationships.
Through storytelling, you are able to personify your brand making it all the more relevant to your target audience. Ultimately, generating an emotional connection and brand loyalty.
Brand storytelling has to be an essential tool in your communications kit; because through its use, you will be able to maximize your business’s visibility, profit, and impact.
Here are 3 reasons why you should considering storytelling in your communications strategies:
“People will soon forget what you said. They will never forget how you made them feel“ – Maya Angelou
Powerful words from a powerful woman. But this is exactly the point of storytelling. By sharing your brand’s story with your audience in a certain way, you are establishing a connection, causing an emotional reaction and with the right audience, generating loyalty.
In today’s crowded digital marketplace; where millions of businesses compete for their customers’ attentions, each second of the day; the brand that delivers the right content in the right way will maximize their results.
It’s no longer enough to have a great product or service, you need to know how to tell your story in a way that differentiates you from your competition. Don’t just throw numbers and facts at your audience, but focus on making your brand unforgettable and authentic. Wrap your message into a story that captivates people and provokes an emotional response. Use that narrative to tell your brand’s history, mission, values and successes.
Know your audience
When you’re designing your message think about who your audience is and what they expect from you and your product or service. Bring out the mission, values, and philosophy and start gathering a tribe around those concepts.
Use your story to start a conversation, engage, involve your audience in your business activities. Be as original as you can be and turn your brand into an experience for your audience. This will make them follow you, engage and remain loyal.
Storytelling is organic
Although certain aspects of your narrative are unmovable pillars like your mission, values or history. Remember that some are ever-evolving and that storytelling must be organic and able to adapt to these changes and to new audiences. These changes often occur when brands introduce new out-of-the box collections or when they revamp their image.
A good example is Louis Vuitton. It has long been considered a classic leather goods brand, but in 2013, the brand came out with their first series of collaborations with artists; which called out to a different audience. Without changing their core message, they adapted their storytelling to reach out to this younger, hipper demographics with success.
Storytelling is not a process nor a technique. Storytelling is considered an art, and so it requires creativity, vision, and practice. But once you’ve mastered this skill it can make a major difference for your brand.