How to turn your story into marketing that works.
"No story lives unless someone wants to listen. The stories we love best do live in us forever. So whether you come back by page or by the big screen, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home.” - J.K. Rowling.
Since the beginning of time, storytelling has been an integral part of what makes us human. Our history as a species is, in many ways, the evolution of how we tell our stories and communicate, from cave paintings and oral traditions to the printing press, radio, television, and the internet.
In a generation, People seek emotional connections with brands in times when they are tired of being preached and sold to. But how can you foster that relationship? Telling your brand's story is a great way to start. You can humanize your brand and express who you are, what you do, and how you can help others by telling a narrative. The better you are at this, the more you will be capable of standing out and claim your position in the market.
What's a brand story, and what's Brand Storytelling?
Brand storytelling is using a narrative to connect your brand to customers, with a focus on linking what you stand for to the values you share with your customers.
A brand story is made up of all that you are and all that you do. From the company’s history, mission, inspiration, goals & audience. It’s why you exist. Compelling stories engage consumers, elicit emotion and foster loyalty, forging a meaningful relationship that goes far beyond product and service. One of the most significant roadblocks to telling your brand story is a lack of awareness of who you are, what you do, what you care about, and why it matters. It's tough to communicate the appropriate story in the correct way without this clarity.
Understand your own story.
The Power of Storytelling
Storytelling isn't new; it dates back thousands of years. It works because it's a natural human tendency that we all have. Humans have constructed entire civilizations and cultures around stories that link them.
There are certain aspects of stories that have a significant impact on consumers. However, there is no instruction manual.
So, when it comes to marketing, the fundamentals are the same. Understand your audience's wants and pain spots, then tell them a tale you know they'll enjoy.
Determine the goals of your storytelling and draw inspiration from your company's mission, vision, and purpose. And, of course, pay attention to what your target audience has previously said about your company.
All stories are important. Stories have been used to oppress and condemn people. Stories, on the other hand, can be utilized to empower and humanize people. People's dignity might be shattered by stories. However, stories have the power to restore a person's dignity.
Stories don't just spark people's interest in your company—though that would be beneficial —they also allow your customers to spread the word about your company even if they don't buy anything. But you're only interested in the sales. Fortunately, tale increases sales as well as general attention.
Buyers would simply assess the benefits and drawbacks of each choice on the market and select the one that best meets their needs if they approached sales logically. But we all know that isn't the case. Some buyers disregard the advantages of a superior product in favor of the one that their intuition tells them they should buy. Or sometimes there are multiple solutions that are all equally effective, and the buyer is simply compelled to choose one.
What makes a compelling brand story?
It is possible to learn how to tell stories, and learning the guidelines can help us produce fascinating stories. When executed properly, a strong brand narrative should accomplish the following.
1) Demonstrate how the product or service will make the consumer's life better. It doesn't have to be a drastic adjustment; it just has to be a step forward.
2) Make an emotional impact. Humans are driven by emotion, whether we like it or not. People purchase items because of the emotional effect or benefit they provide.
3) Maintain contact with the audience. The individuals you're selling to are involved in the tale.
4) Tell it how it is. The best brand stories convince consumers that the tale they're telling is actually about the brand's objective.
Cases of Brand Storytelling that Hit just the mark and proved to be effective.
1) Whirlpool
Whirlpool, a home appliance company, had uncovered one cause for the 4,000 students that drop out of school every day in the United States.
Households can not afford to get their garments cleaned.
Whirlpool launched the Care Counts campaign to support and communicate a meaningful brand story, focused on installing washing machines and dryers in schools to enhance the attendance of impoverished pupils.
Over the course of a year, the participating schools identified students who needed clean clothes and anonymously tracked their loads of laundry, as well as their attendance and grades.
The brand discovered that when they were given access to washers and dryers, 90 percent of the tracked at-risk students improved their attendance rates, with 89 percent boosting their class engagement.
2) Huggies
Huggies, the diaper company's Canadian subsidiary, realized that in order to compete with Pampers (the market leader with 100% of Canadian hospital contracts at the time), they needed to give moms a tangible, emotional motive to choose them before going to the hospital to give birth.
A hug was the solution, and it was in their own name.
Hugs "help regulate babies' vital signs, establish immune systems, fight off disease, and improve brain development," according to over 600 studies, so the brand set out on a mission to embrace every baby.
Two initiatives were central to the campaign:
Educate moms on the value of skin-to-skin contact with their children.
Ensure that volunteer 'huggers' were accessible in Canadian hospitals for babies in need of hugs. This philanthropically-minded campaign illustrates the power of brand storytelling and also proved with rising numbers, with sales up 30% in 2016 and an engagement rate 300 percent higher than industry benchmarks.
3) boAt
boAt is a leading consumer electronics brand founded by Sameer Mehta and CA Aman Gupta. With keeping in mind these three goals, the brand to bring: affordable, durable and fashionable audio products and accessories to the millennials. Listening to good music is the best way to treat yourself and if the device you are listening on is a boat device, it is indeed icing on the cake. Such has been the revolution of this lifestyle brand which provides us affordable, stylish, and good quality consumer electronics.
Boat’s campaign features Kara Advani, Bani J, Raja Kumari and other strong women with an upbeat music video with the title "I am a rebel" The range of TRebel has a direct link to the campaign. This campaign goes with the empowerment of women and the product range TRebel.
The most recent campaign that is derived from the idiom, do what floats your boat caters to the Gen-z the most and is getting a niche audience of its own to integrate the product with the culture and lives of skaters, street artists, and more. This campaign is reaching and striking on the point where public will be influenced.
5) Harley Davidson
Aren't you all acquainted with Heinz? Makers of a wide range of food items, but possibly best known for their soup. With their recent storytelling ad, the brand truly tapped into the warm emotion vibe. Facebook has a large audience and is ideal for brands that appeal to the general public.
Heinz took advantage of this massive reach by creating a Facebook campaign encouraging fans to buy a can of 'Get Well Soon' soup. This is practically personalized soup, with a label that allows fans to purchase soup that is actually unique to them, and it taps into the emotions that arise when someone we care about is ill.
5)Harley Davidson
Since 1903, Harley Davidson has gone through ups and downs before securing their present situation.
It's not because they have one or two amazing ads that they're on this list of the top brand storytelling examples. They do, however, have a lengthy history of telling a user-friendly brand’s story.
Harley Davidson has established itself as a historical component of the motorcycle market by building an identity based on the concepts of independence, tradition, community, and excellence.
It has a cult-like following of customers who know exactly what the brand stands for and the lifestyle experience they're selling. Harley Davidson truly empowers their riders by exhibiting episodes of Freedom Stories of their riders on the social media platforms. They allow them room to develop their own biographies and explain how the brand fits into their lifestyle. Through this way, they have taken brand storytelling to the next level.
6)Nike
People don't appreciate Nike just because their products are long-lasting or because they are status symbols. They admire Nike because the company is adept at not just moving people with its brand story, but also at communicating their own narrative via the stories of others. Every Nike ad and social media post has a compelling story behind it, which makes the message more genuine, true, and relevant.
It is rightly said, “Storytelling is by far the most underrated skill when it comes to business.” by Gary Vaynerchuk, Author, Motivational Speaker, Entrepreneur.
Authenticity, relevance, and relatability are all important factors in great storytelling. These are the essential components of entertaining, motivating, and compelling stories, as well as, hopefully, impactful marketing efforts. Even the most gorgeously shot, celebrity-studded promo spot can fall flat without these.
Conclusion
It's a competitive industry out there: tens of millions of content being created every day and shared. Businesses around the world are investing billions of dollars to struggle for seconds of attention from audiences who are flooded with similar messaging. The internet has revolutionized marketing by making it more accessible, but it has also made it extremely difficult for strong firms to stand out in the mass. It's not enough to have a good product or service; you also need to know how to market it in a way that sets you apart from the competition. It's for this reason why brand communication is so essential.