By Isabelle Bryan
It takes time and hard work to build your brand and get it in front of an audience. But focusing on putting your brand in front of as many eyes as possible is not always enough. You have to find the right audience, and you have to share the right message. One that will convince them that you, and your products, deserve their money and attention.
Our team at Marketing Choices is here to help. We can assist you in telling your brand’s story in order to grow your business. But first, you have to understand what goes into a brand narrative and determine the story you want to tell.
Understanding Brand Storytelling Before Crafting a Marketing Plan
To tell your brand story, you need to discuss more than your brand’s origin and history. Those are important aspects, of course, but they are not the only ones to consider. You also need to share elements of your brand such as your impact, staff, and services. Make sure your audience knows who you are, why they should care about you, and what you have to offer.
But remember: You have to know the shape of your story before you tell it. If you are unclear regarding your brand’s mission, values, or target audience, your story may not achieve its goal. Instead, it could be inaccurate, uncompelling, and geared towards the wrong audience—or worse, no audience at all.
Identifying Your Brand’s Origin, Mission, Values, and Target Audience
1. Brand Origin
When sharing your brand’s history, consider including:
- How your experiences led you to create your brand
- The spark that inspired you
- What got you to start your company
- The setbacks you faced, how you overcame them, and the ways in which they changed your brand
- The company’s journey to becoming its current incarnation
- Your current successes
2. Mission Statement
This tells your audience what you are doing and how and why you are doing it. It should be short, accurate, and to the point while still connecting with the audience. Consider:
- Who you are speaking to
- What your brand offers to consumers
- Your company’s short- and long-term goals
- The values held by your brand
- What makes you unique when compared to other companies
3. Brand Values
Your values tell consumers what you stand for, and should align with those of your target audience. Try thinking about:
- What your audience is looking for in a company
- Traits you do and do not want audiences associating with your brand
- Things that are important and motivational to your company
- Your strengths as a brand, according to both you and your audience
- The aspects of your company that set you apart from your competitors
4. Target Audience
Before you can do any of this, however, you need to know who you are talking to. Additionally, you need to know how to talk to them. And that means identifying and segmenting your target audience. Methods of doing this may include:
- Determining your ideal audience. Consider traits including age, income, interests, values, and purchase intentions.
- Using data to identify current customers and their buying habits
- Sending surveys to your customers to determine what products they liked or would want to see more of
- Discovering holes in competitor approaches and offering solutions they do not
The Importance of Utilizing Strong Narrative Elements in Your Marketing Strategy
When telling your brand story, using core narrative elements can help your story resonate with your audience. These include:
- A good plot structure. This includes a beginning (character and plot introduction), middle (conflict), and end (resolution).
- Fleshed-out characters. Discuss company founders, as well as any other individuals who have shaped the brand.
- A setting. Help the audience understand where and when the story is taking place.
- The kind of conflict you faced. Were you challenged by yourself, others, or a wider concept like social norms?
- What point of view you are writing from. That is, first, second, or third person.
- The theme of your story. What do you want the audience to take from it?
A good story uses these elements to connect with its audience. But how does this happen, and why is it that we love stories so much?
When it comes to our brains, stories can affect us in more ways than one. Areas of the brain, particularly those associated with our emotions, may light up when presented with a narrative. Relating to or being invested in a character can allow us to develop an emotional connection with them. And when hearing a story live, our brain waves may actually synchronize with those of the person telling it. We may even remember messages and details better, be persuaded more easily, and develop increased empathy through powerful stories.
But the story has to be engaging. The reader has to care if they are to take anything from what you are telling them. That is why good narrative elements are so important. Without a plot structure, interesting characters, or a clear conflict, your story may be flat.
Building a Brand Narrative For Your Target Audience
There is no one way to go about crafting your brand story. While certain elements like narrative structure are relatively necessary, others are up to you. These potential additions to your brand story include:
- Humanizing your brand. Allow consumers to connect with your mission, values, and team rather than an unknowable company name and logo.
- A call to action. This may be making a purchase, visiting a website, or otherwise supporting the brand.
- Sharing what makes your brand unique in order to set yourself apart from competitors
- Utilizing visual elements such as images and videos on your website and social media to engage audiences
- Incorporating user-generated content such as articles, testimonials, and social media posts. This may show potential audiences the positive impact you have made and help you gain new customers.
Above all, remember to be authentic. Share your brand’s challenges as well as its successes. Let your audience get to know your leadership. Discuss your brand’s past as well as its future. Avoid jumping on trends and changing your company’s identity on a whim or saying one thing but doing another. By being open, honest, and true to your brand’s values, you can build a real connection with your audience.
Telling Your Brand Story With Marketing Choices
Telling your brand story takes time and thought. You cannot rush the development of company values or your future goals. If you want to gain—and keep—audience trust and attention, you need to be authentic and honest. Telling emotionless stories, going back on statements, and distancing yourself from audiences will almost certainly cause customers to lose interest.
Creating a marketing strategy, managing your campaigns, and tracking the success of your marketing objectives can be a difficult task. But we at Marketing Choices are here to help handle your content marketing and advertising needs. Our team of smart, social, and creative people deliver colorful, creative, and relevant solutions for our client’s marketing plans. To learn more about our services, you can contact us through our website. We look forward to helping you through your marketing journey.
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