Stories are weaved within our human DNA and always have been. From verbal communications to engravings on cave walls, storytelling has been with us forever. We have told stories on the radio, television, and today’s social media sites in more recent times. As we continue to evolve, so will our forms of communicating.
Through our marketing undertakings, storytelling is probably one of the most important ways to convey messages about our brands and build our businesses. So let’s take a closer look at brand storytelling to understand its impact on a business’s success fully.
If you are one of those people who happens to be a branding expert, I’m sure you have taken on everything from design to messages you want to send out to all internet viewers. In reality, you should hire an experienced, reliable corporate branding agency to help free up some of your time. A professional company should be able to build a brand image that accurately reflects your business. Also, the branding studio should understand storytelling inside and out.
Brand Storytelling Is Critical For Your Business
As mentioned earlier, storytelling is in our DNA. According to various studies, storytelling teaches us social fundamentals and promotes social cooperation. Therefore, storytellers can increase their chances of being chosen as social partners and gain more incredible support.
Storytelling Engages Audiences
Marketers know they are seen as meddlers in people’s lives. No one asks for or wants the tons of advertisements they experience every day on television and spend a great deal of time trying to figure out how to unload marketing from their lives. Unfortunately, if you are running a business, you must get the word out to consumers. We spend a lot of time flattering ourselves to our audiences and hope they don’t turn on us.
Storytelling is one way to keep your audience happy and at bay. People, in general, are more naturally interested in watching or reading something vs. listening to a bunch of stats or endless features. Once a potential customer becomes interested in a brand, the closer the owner is to making a sale. Storytelling is a critical part of making decisions, so starting with a story will entice people faster than simply announcing how much money they can save.
Stories Produce Sales
Stories can not only increase interest in people but also increase sales. Granted, you are in this for making sales but having word spread about your product doesn’t hurt. Therefore, storytelling can produce more sales while increasing your audience’s interest.
You would almost think that buyers would simply compare one product against another and then make their final decisions. Unfortunately, that’s just not the case. Buyers have a habit of ignoring the benefits and will just choose the product based on other factors such as one product has a name they are familiar with, they just assume it will be the better choice. This is where storytelling can be quite critical. It can grab an audience emotionally, changing their minds. So, if there is a story behind your business that plays on the audience’s emotions, you might move to the front of the pack and make more sales.
Storytelling Can Make A Brand Standout
Stories can play a very significant role when you are competing with others in your industry. Chances are, all of you are saying the same thing about a product that probably most of you are selling.
Your challenge is to get enough people to choose your product over the others but to make that happen, you must stand out from the crowd, and one way you can make that happen is through storytelling. Keep in mind, just like everyone has a personal life story, so does every business. So even though all of you in a given industry might have many things in common, you must create an account that will make your brand stand out.
Become A Part Of The Story
Everyone wants to belong to something at some point in time. As the storyteller, you have the instinct to be a part of the story you are telling. Storytelling can be beneficial to take advantage of the situation because you are selling a concept. Storytelling is an enormous part of how we associate with each other. Stories engage the right side of our brains which sets off our imagination. When we become immersed in a story, our vision will start to participate in the narrative and gain from this.
When you create a story around a brand, it allows the brand to attract potential buyers to the buying process. You are no longer just selling a product or service; you are selling a lifestyle concept, making people feel they are a member of an exclusive club. There are “lifestyles” being sold every day. Products and services are not being sold. Experiences are being sold. Buyers are not purchasing the product because it might be the best on the market, but instead, it makes them feel like they belong to something bigger. If you can develop a story for your brand that convinces buyers they are buying an experience vs. a product, you will be miles ahead of everyone, so you had better protect and tend it above and beyond all else.
None of this applies to just potential customers but also employees. When people are looking for a new career or job, they want something that makes them feel they are a part of something bigger. They want to fight the good fight. They want to make a difference in the world. So your brand story should offer something inspiring as long as it’s real and not phony.
The Final Word
Whether you are selling a service, a product, or a concept, make sure your story is real. You can’t just make up a fictional story; everyone from buyers to prospects to investors will see right through it. Your account must reflect something true about your brand, which will, in turn, remember something true about your business. The best way to ensure credibility is to set the foundation of your brand in the personality and history of your founder, your president, or even your customers.
In this day and age, one thing is sure of an overcrowded marketplace: customers and potential buyers are not just buying from just anyone. They are buying what they feel connected with. Therefore, storytelling is more than just a part of your business. Make sure you have a great brand design agency covering your back to handle all your branding needs. And above and beyond, do not forget your brand story, which will be critical to your success.
