Brand storytelling has become one of those buzzword marketing techniques of late that far too many people talk about yet too few implement successfully. Unfortunately, far too many brands still don't get it—that they have the opportunity to share memorable stories, but most just don't. But even still, it's not that they have nothing compelling to say.
Most companies boast fascinating backstories, success stories, and behind-the-scenes moments that could help them connect on higher levels; it's more about how they share what they want with the world. It's about understanding connection points, using the right mediums, crafting better narratives, using universal elements, offering consistency between connections, and measuring long-term impacts.
Connection Points That Matter
First and foremost, successful brand storytelling recognizes what's important for the people on the receiving end. This should be common knowledge by now—but so many brands get lost in translation trying to tell their stories that they forget to make them relevant to people who need them most.
The brands that resonate most deeply are those that tell their stakeholders (customers, investors, etc.) as the hero—not the brand. The hero has problems to overcome, goals to achieve, and lives to transform. Therefore, when it's time to boast and promote compassion, other people take center stage through achievement.
This does not mean that emotional triggers won't be planted. They will—but in ways that won't come off as ruthless and insensitive. People can tell when a ploy is in place. Therefore, the strongest emotional connections come from truly authentic moments of struggle, growth and development or subsequent successes alongside actual stakeholders along the way.
The Right Medium for Your Message
Certain stories work in certain forms; savvy brands recognize what's best and go with it. What may work in a long blog post won't work in a 30-second video—and in the same breath, what may work as a visual component on social media may come across as shallow in audio format like a podcast or vice versa.
Video storytelling has emerged as a popular component through visual-auditory-narrative connection creation efforts combined—and when brands work with the best video production team around, they can tell stories they've long wanted to across multiple platforms for audiences and relatable sub-audiences alike.
Written formats give audiences the opportunity to digest material over time before responding and social media gives audiences less time to respond but greater need to make the moments stick with emotional impact—each format has its own rhythm through which brands must adhere via their storytelling efforts.
What Makes Stories Memorable
Most brand efforts are washed out amid thousands of other stories perceived daily on minimal storytelling efforts about wanting your money—and offering something in return. But certain aspects make them memorable in time—brands need to recognize what these are through successful operation efforts!
Memorable stories have a certain arc to them—conflict arises out of something and is resolved through some means of challenge—that makes for a good arc with beginning, middle, and end satisfaction levels. It's also all about specificity over generalization—helping a customer achieve something sounds great but helping a specific type of customer get from point A to point B through specific means creates connection!
The best also come with specific twists and turns that are unexpected but in pleasant ways—an unusual means of solving a problem that gets ahead of competitors, a behind-the-scenes look at culture rarely seen or customer stories that either shock or surprise are all effective narratives.
Consistency Is Key
Finally, brand storytelling won't work if the story isn't told every step along the way. For example, if the story they tell through marketing is lost when customer service comes into play, where's the communication?
Too many companies have strong brand stories up front but forget them halfway down their path for success—if someone's told a story all about what it means to work there for an answer only to find a company culture that disbands all momentum with customer service problems galore creates more skepticism than trust!
They best channel their brand through all efforts, hiring practices, customer support initiatives and product development. These factors all reinforce their one specific story from the get-go!
Who Measures Success?
Finally, gauging whether successful stories resonate requires effort beyond what's conventional when it comes to marketing storytelling. Engagement allows brands to gauge whether it's worth it to go further with their narratives or save their virtual breath—but people have momentum from those figures without much else!
The brands that master storytelling understand it's not about creating perfect narratives but about sharing authentic experiences that reflect their audience's own aspirations and challenges. When done right, brand storytelling becomes a bridge between companies and customers that goes far beyond any single transaction or interaction.
