7 Principles of Compelling Brand Storytelling You Must Know

SarahHughes

February 1, 2023

July 27, 2023

Long gone are days when brands solely focused on highlighting the awesome features and showed how they were better than others. No one wants to be sold to in today’s digital landscape, which means you need to go for a smooth and subtle marketing method. We’ll dive more in-depth into all those essentials, but first, let’s start with the basics of brand storytelling.

What Is Brand Storytelling and How Bad Does Your Brand Need It?

A brand story is basically a narrative that talks about your company in an interesting way. It usually contains several elements such as characters, challenges, and emotions to make it more relatable and engaging.

Here’s an example from Burt’s Bees that nailed their brand storytelling:

They introduce the man behind the brand in this mini-documentary. From the story, their customers not only learn about the brand, but they also get to know that Burt’s philosophies and lifestyle influence the product they make.

At this point, you may ask, “But, how bad does my brand need it?”

If your brand aims to stay relevant in the ever-growing market and build a meaningful relationship with its customers, then it’s crucial.

Among all the social media platforms, YouTube is a home for videos. So, when it comes to expanding the reach and getting more eyeballs on the content, more and more businesses jump into the YouTube marketing bandwagon.

Essential Guides to Create a Compelling Brand Story

Now that we have answered the question of “why,” let’s move on to the all-important “how” part. How do you create a compelling and attention-grabbing brand story?

Be Authentic

When it comes to brand storytelling, authenticity is key. Your stories must be rooted in reality and the truth – after all, modern savvy customers can always sniff out a lie from a mile away.

If your story sounds too scripted or forced, it will come across as inauthentic, which will only turn off potential customers. Showcase your brand personality by being relatable, candid, and transparent. Remember that your brand personality is what makes you different from the rest, so make sure it shines through your stories.

Make It Personal

Telling your brand story in a personal way is one of the best ways to make it more engaging. This can be done by sharing stories about your company’s founding, the people behind it, or even customer experiences.

Think about how you can make it relatable to your target audience and show them that there are real humans behind your brand. This will make them more likely to connect and form a bond with your company.

Keep It Short and Sweet

No one wants to read a long, drawn-out story – especially on the internet. So, when crafting your brand story, make sure to keep it short, sweet, and concise.

Investing in visual content like videos or pictures can help you to convey your stories more concisely and straightforwardly. They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, and it certainly holds true when it comes to brand storytelling.

People are more likely to engage with and remember visual content rather than plain texts. That said, you can check out the latest video marketing checklist to ensure that you craft story-driven videos that engage potential customers.

Keep It Consistent

Your brand story should be consistent across all your marketing channels. This means that whether someone is reading your website, listening to a podcast, or watching a commercial, they should be able to recognize and connect it back to your brand.

This can be achieved by maintaining the same tone and message throughout all your content. Consistency will help to build a strong brand identity for your company and make it more memorable to your audiences.

Make It About Your Audience, Not You

When telling your brand story, make sure that it’s always about your audience and not about you. This means that you should be focusing on what your company can do for them rather than what they can do for you. Your brand story is a way to showcase your values and how you can help to solve your customers’ problems. So, make sure that you’re always putting them first.

Use Emotional Language

When telling your brand story, it’s important to use emotional language that will connect with your potential customers. This means that you should be aiming to evoke feelings like happiness, sadness, love, anger, and excitement.

Emotions are a powerful way to engage your audiences and can be very persuasive when it comes to getting them to take action.

When a potential customer feels emotionally connected to your brand, then they are more likely to be loyal and buy from you.

Create a Journey

Your brand story should take your audience on a journey. It should have a beginning, middle, and end – just like any good story.

The beginning should introduce your brand and what it’s all about. The middle should share the challenges and obstacles that your company has faced (and overcome). And the end should show how your company has helped your customers and what the future holds for them.

Wrapping Up

Telling a compelling brand story is essential for any company looking to connect with its target audience. With the essential principles of brand storytelling mentioned above, you now understand what you should bring to the table to create an effective and engaging brand story. One thing to bear in mind here is that a good brand story is not one that tells too much and is drawn-out but one that’s personal, relatable, short, sweet, and consistent.

About the Author

Andre Oentoro is the founder of Breadnbeyond, an award-winning explainer video company. He helps businesses increase conversion rates, close more sales, and get positive ROI from explainer videos (in that order).

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Brand storytelling is essential for any company looking to connect with its target audience. Here are 7 principles you must know.

Andre Oentoro

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