The Power of Storytelling

Stories are the fabric that weaves our world together, that connects us, and that are passed down from generation to generation.  Stories evoke emotion, and create a narrative through line that move people.  When you move people,  you and your story become more memorable.

When you tie stories to your brand, your brand becomes more memorable.  If you haven’t yet added stories or storytelling as a strategy for your brand, this is your nudge and inspiration to start now.

Brand Story Strategies

Let’s talk about 3 Brand Story Strategies you can implement in your business:

1 - YOUR STORY

Your Personal Journey

As entrepreneurs we are often mirrors of our audience, meaning we’ve been through the challenges they’re currently facing and have a story of triumph to tell because we figured it out.

Telling your personal story as it relates to the products and/or services you offer is one of the best ways to establish Know, Like & Trust with your audience.  They see that you deeply understand what they’re going through and what’s keeping them up at night and your story gives them hope that there’s a solution and you can share that solution with them.

For example, let’s say a Health & Nutrition Coach for 40+ Women shares her story of going through menopause, unbalanced hormones, and weight gain with her changing body.  She tells her audience exactly what she was struggling with, the endless research she did, the naturopaths she went to, and the trial and error in diet, nutrition and supplements until she found what really worked.  She lost the excess weight, regulated her nervous system (no more mood swings!), and figured out how to not only feel good in her body again, but to feel vital, alive and the best she’s ever felt.

If you were a 40+ woman going through something similar, wouldn’t you want to know the secret to her success?  YES!  Wouldn’t you trust her more because she went through all the challenges you’re facing and found a solution that works?  YES!

And while I didn’t write out a full brand story with emotional hooks and an actual storytelling vibe in the example I just gave, can you imagine that when this coach actually shares her story it would resonate with her audience and move them on an emotional level because it’s like she can see inside their minds and bodies and knows exactly what’s going on with you right now?  YES.

Your Experience & Credibility Story

Depending on your brand, perhaps you have incredible expertise in a certain area and that’s what you’re building your brand around to be the strategist, consultant, service provider, coach, or online educator helping your audience do that thing you’re great at.

In this case, sharing your story of experience and why they should trust you when it comes to this subject might be one of the stories you want to share for you brand because it helps set you up as the go-to expert in your field.

For example, let’s say you started your own video production business and your target audience is entrepreneurs, authors and thought leaders putting on events who want to capture the content and the experience of the event, producing videos to use in marketing future events.  Your background is in producing marketing content for huge events including Olympics, Monday Night Football, concert tours for Taylor Swift and Beyonce.  

When you share your experience with entrepreneurs, and share specific stories about those events that are relevant to the kind of video marketing they’re hoping to create for theirs, that’s gold.  It sets up you as an expert, it helps you gain trust and credibility and when you whip out those fun behind the scenes stories about events and people they look up to and know, even better.

2 - YOUR CLIENTS’ SUCCESS STORIES

Happy clients with successful results have a story to tell about their journey in working with you, or using your product, or experiencing your expertise.  Use these stories!  You can write them in the form of full case studies, write them as blog posts, social media posts…use them everywhere.

As a matter of fact, when I’m describing ANY kind of Brand Story Strategy, the goal would be to tell these stories ubiquitously - - - across every kind of marketing platform you have and use to reach your audience.  Whether you share these stories in your newsletter, Instagram reels, YouTube video, TikTok, as a LinkedIn article or a snappy Thread, when you have a great story to tell, share it everywhere.

While sharing your personal journey and your story of experience absolutely helps your brand, your credibility automatically rises in the eyes of your audience when you share how you helped your clients and they hear about it in their words - either written or via video.

How many times have you shopped online and bought something without reading customer reviews? Whether it’s a car, a piece of furniture, a computer, a new fall wreath for your front door, or even underwear…you’re typically looking to see what other people thought of that thing you’re thinking of buying.  Right?

Translate that buying behavior into your brand, and pull out those client reviews, testimonials, but better yet, tell the STORY of where your client or customer started, the results they achieved, and how it made their life better.

I’m going to repeat that last part because it’s vital to really telling a story that resonates - TELL THEM HOW IT MADE THEIR LIFE BETTER.\

3 - BENEFIT + CHALLENGE DRIVEN STORIES

What do I mean by tell stories that are driven by benefits or challenges?  When you develop your brand  strategy foundation, you identify your niche and then you unearth your audience’s pain points, challenges, goals and desires.  From that information, you create a list of brand benefits - all those juicy takeaways your audience is seeking in the results you promise.  You also understand the specific frustrations and obstacles your audience is experiencing right now.

When you know these two sides of the coin - what’s plaguing them and what their dream result is - you can begin excavating stories that play up these same feelings and desires to get to the point of what you want to share.

Or, if you understand even more about your audience, including their likes, dislikes, what they’re into, memories or nostalgia you can touch on, things you know they’d relate to, or in the moment pop culture references, use those as story segues to talking about the products & services you offer.

Here’s a story example I recently shared in an email when I was in the middle of launching my online course, The Brandpolish Academy:

Subject: That time the really cute guy turned out dull as dishwater

Preview: Can you relate?

That fantastic smile…

The great bod…

Ryan Gosling?  Uhhhh no…(I wish).  [This was a GIPHY of Ryan Gosling taking off his shirt on repeat and revealing those delicious abs]

This was back in the day when I worked at Disney, and I saw this hottie around the studio lot for a few weeks and we always said hello.

Finally, he asked me out and about 5 minutes into the date I realized…

Wow, there’s nothing underneath the surface here.

Yeah, he’s so cute, but that’s it.

After I realized he was dull as dishwater and we had nothing in common…like AT ALL…I ended the date early and never looked back.

You know how you have to know more about someone before you know if they’re meant for you?

This is exactly how I feel about branding.

I do NOT believe in creating a brand that looks pretty, but has no substance.

If you want to attract your “meant-for-you” dreamy clients?  You need to show them what’s beneath the surface of your brand.

Literally, what you believe in.  What you’re about.  How you're different.  What you value.  How you approach the genius work you do, or products you create and offer.

And it has to RESONATE with your audience for it to work.

The email continued into talking about why Brandpolish Academy can help them accomplish those things for their brand.  Do you see how a story can hook someone’s attention, make it more memorable, and then have them understand even quicker how what you offer makes so much sense for what they want to create or achieve?

IN SUMMARY

Tell stories.  I recommend trying all 3 Brand Story Strategies - every brand has multiple ways they can infuse story into their marketing to better connect with their audience.  Whether you share your journey, tell a story that touches on your experience, bring a client’s successful results into the spotlight, or whip out a story that you know will resonate that segues perfectly into what you offer, start sharing stories and see the benefits it will have for your brand and your audience.

NEED MORE HELP DEVELOPING YOUR BRAND STRATEGY?

That’s why I’m here!  You might want to start infusing stories into your brand but you’re not sure which stories are the right ones?  Then, it probably means we need to further define your target audience and what you want your brand to be known for.  

Book a BRAND CONSULT CALL here and let’s chat about your brand and what it looks like for me to help develop your solid brand strategy foundation.