Building Genuine Connections: A Guide on How to Craft a Compelling Brand Story

20 Jan ‘21

In: Branding & Visual Design, / By: Ripe Media

Everyone wants to feel connected to each other and they seek it everywhere, even when it’s from a brand to a consumer.

What many companies don’t realize is that creating a brand story that makes customers interested in what you do can make or break their business. But how? A brand story is a way to make your company stand out from the crowd and let customers want to interact with your products.

If you want to create a story for a brand that is compelling, meaningful, and make customers feel like they know what your company is about, read this guide on creating a compelling brand story.

What is Brand Storytelling?

Remember reading a book that caught your attention, stirred your emotions, and kept you engaged in what was happening? Brand storytelling works in the same way. Just like how your favorite author creates characters, a plot, and an ending for a book, good brand storytelling will tell your brand’s story effectively and make customers want to engage with your services.

In one of their articles, Harvard Business Review gave an example of a retailer who, through their brand story, had their number of emotionally connected customers jump from 21% to 26%. When brand storytelling goes right, it can place your brand in a position to attract more customers and increase sales in the long term.

Before You Start, Know Your Company’s Story

How can you write a brand story if you don’t know the story behind your own brand?

Before explaining what your company is about, you need to go back to the basics.

• Who is your company?
• What do you do?
• What does the company care about?
• Why does what the company does matter?

If your company has a great reputation in your industry, this is also a good place to make it known.

Most importantly, don’t only tell the highlights of your company’s history. Customers want to see how your brand has grown and how you want it to continue into the future.

Brainstorm Your Branding Strategy

No matter what, your brand story needs to be interesting. You can be straightforward in your delivery of the brand story or be creative in your messaging. Even if what the company does is simple, there is an interesting story that can be fleshed out and uniquely told.

Even if you don’t know how to uncover that great story, it can be helpful to brainstorm ideas that can make your branding appear original and fresh. Start by asking these questions:

• Why are we telling this story?
• What unique angle should be used?
• What values are shown?
• What does the target audience take away from this?

Once you brainstorm, you will have a number of story ideas that you can use for your branding strategy to your advantage.

Be careful though: if your ideas don’t feel like an extension of the brand, it will not help your brand story come to fruition.

Make It Simple

One of the most common mistakes in brand storytelling is trying to say too much. In the literary world, there’s an easy phrase to remember: show, don’t tell.

If you know your company history, but don’t know how to present it well, think of it as a storybook:

• Beginning: explain the problem
• Middle: what was the solution and how the problem was solved
• Ending: Success after the problem has been solved

A narrative that is compelling must be crafted so that people can easily understand what your product or brand is about. While complexity can be okay in a story, for a brand, you want to get to the point quickly about what your company is about.

Embrace A Persona

For some companies, embracing a persona within their branding strategy can be one way to make their story If this fits your brand, a persona could be the right move to make.

The way to craft a persona is to give your target audience a demonstration as to how your company behaves and let others know what kind of brand story you want to tell. Are they conservative or bold? Do they want to fit with the wise or speak to the young? That is all up to the persona and what you want it to be.

Don’t Keep the Brand Story to the “About Us” Page

Often, brands make the mistake of leaving their brand story in only one area of their company’s website. The good thing about a brand story is that it does not have to stay in one place: it can be shared everywhere the company wants it to be known. This can be especially helpful on their products, social media profiles, or anywhere else your brand has public awareness.

If you have a successful enough story, customers in your target audience – and perhaps even larger than that – will also start spreading it through word-of-mouth.

Create the Right Brand Story For Your Company

Building your brand while crafting a brand story that fits your business is no small task. Customers long for a connection to a brand that is relatable, engaging, and relevant to their interests. When you create a successful brand story, you give a worthwhile way for your brand to grow.

We are one of the industry leaders in small business branding. If you are in need of revamping your brand story for your small company or startup, contact us today and let us help you.

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