What are 22 times more memorable than statistics and facts on their own? A story.
This means if I were to tell you a story right now, you have more of a chance remembering whatever storyline I came up with rather than the staggering opening fact of this article. You’d be 22 times more likely to remember the plot, twists and turns, and details because it was unraveled like a story. In order to create a strong marketing strategy, it’s important to know the importance of brand storytelling and why you should invest the time into creating a plan. So let’s dive in, shall we?!
Brand storytelling has been a bit of a buzzword these days in the marketing and branding sphere, and for good reason, it lays out your brand’s narrative. Every impactful marketing campaign has a story embedded in it. While the strong visuals, creative graphics, punchy taglines, and catchy music may be memorable: it’s the storyline that leaves its imprint on the viewer’s mind, whether they realize it or not. Brand stories are not only in your face, but it’s also working behind the scenes creating a direct connection between the viewers’ brain to the branded content. Creating this connection is worth the time investment in building your story in the right way.
Create a Narrative
For entrepreneurs and small business owners alike, creating content can seem too time-consuming to think through. If you put an actual plan in place, it’s much easier to follow through on consistent content creation. I recommend creating an outline of your brand narrative so that when you are creating content, you can easily weave a common thread throughout your various pieces you’re making, whether it’s a blog post, social media, or web copy. By creating a common narrative for your brand, you’ll start to show your audience the story you’ve been wanting to share. If you have a reason behind the brand narrative, you’ll be able to easily create a call to action for your audience to act on without seeming salesy.
Be Authentic
Today’s consumers can spot a fake a mile away, so don’t even try to mimic someone else! Maintaining authenticity as a brand goes a long way. Instead of simply following industry standards or copying your neighboring competitor, think about you and your ideal audience. What do you love about the field you’re in? What would enrich and benefit your target audience’s lives? What makes your offering so special? Combine these factors: and you’ve got a recipe for success. Just remember to leave your fingerprint on it instead of trying to copy someone else’s. A consumer is more likely to make a purchase from a brand being authentic than one that seems fake or simply following the crowd.
Share the Heart Behind Your Business
By sharing your story, your “why” behind your business, and what drives you everyday as a business owner, you’re building a connection with potential customers. Building that link and connection is invaluable in the long run. If your audience sees something that relates to your business, they’re more likely to think of your brand. They’re also more likely to share your brand with friends and family because you’ve increased overall brand awareness with a consistent storyline. Consistency is key! Investing time in a consistent brand story will pay off time and time again, because building this connection will forever stay with the consumer. When they see your product or need something you offer, they’ll remember the story you produced and think of you first when they’re ready to buy. What’s even more awesome about that? You’ll be ready for them with the perfectly aligned product or service, ready to go, when they come looking for your business’s offering!
Storytelling & Content Creation are BFF’s
As you’re planning your narrative, think about the marketing strategy behind it. What angle do you want to highlight the most, and what do you want the takeaway to be? Create an outline deciphering how you’ll lay this out over time. Remember, this is your business & your strategy. Make it yours and think about what is important to you as a business owner.
Now, create content concepts that map out these ideas and see if they resonate with you and your target audience. Once you are confident in the ideas you’ve laid out, create pieces of content to share with your people across marketing platforms. Remember that each concept and piece of content you use should be able to be repurposed into multiple different pieces of content across platforms to save you time. For example, if you write a blog post with one specific theme, think of how you can take that same topic and create an Instagram post, use it for email marketing outreach, and a pin on Pinterest. Getting creative with repurposing content will also benefit your brand storytelling efforts as it creates consistency across the board for your storyline as it pops up on the various platforms you post on. You’ll start to see why content creation + storytelling are besties.
How Would Your Business Change if it had a Consistent Storyline?
Increased brand awareness, simplified content creation, and a stronger connection with your audience is just a small glimpse of how brand storytelling will affect your business in a big way. By taking the time to create a game plan to consistently share your story with your audience, you’ll start to see a major impact on your sales and an increase in your following as well. The question is: how do you think sharing your brand story will affect your business?
What’s your story? Have you implemented brand storytelling in your business? Do you think it’s worth the time investment? I’d love to hear about the strategies you’ve put into place and how it’s affected your business! Comment below and let me know!
