If you’ve been in business for a while, you may feel that your business’s brand story is already written. However, brands are living, breathing entities. They aren’t static. As a business owner, your brand’s story is yours to continue to tell.

What is brand storytelling? Brand storytelling is everything your company does to communicate with your community, prospects and customers.

In a nutshell, your brand story is an emotional-based narrative of how your service or product(s) improve the lives of your customers in some way. It is a collection of words — such as those on your website and marketing materials. But it is also a collection of emotions and feelings that form your customers’ perceptions. A brand story could be your guiding principle and impact every part of your organization. Your brand story is important in generating new customers and can ensure that they keep coming back.

Brand storytelling is everything your company does to communicate with your community, prospects and customers.

Great brand storytelling…
• Communicates your brand’s values
• Uses evidence and facts that are told in engaging ways to really bring your brand to life
• Is a combination of testimonials, true stories and engaging content from leadership, employees and your customers
• Makes an emotional connection

A brand story that often comes up as a shining example is TOMS, the shoemaker. In their own words, TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie pioneered the One for One® model in 2006 — giving away one pair of shoes for every pair sold, supporting larger health, education and community development programs through strategic partnerships. This is their brand story. Were it not for their intention to communicate their story and its effects on those it benefits (https://www.toms.com/us/ impact.html) in a consistent and intentional way, they probably would not have built up such a loyal fan base.

The key to effective brand storytelling is a plan of action combined with consistency and frequency. Here are some tips to help you improve your content strategy and increase engagement.

Gather up those testimonials and share them! Encourage customers to send feedback and post reviews about how your business improved their lives in some way. You may already have an effective plan for review collection, but are you sharing this feedback on social media? You might even consider asking a few customers or clients for video testimonials.

Find a local cause that you believe in and include them in your brand story.

Share your “why”. Why does your company exist? Hopefully, it’s bigger than selling food or cleaning houses or repairing vehicles. When you determine YOUR “why”, make a point of telling that story through your marketing. Your franchise may have a good brand story that talks about the “why”, but as a franchisee, you should also be able to communicate the reason you and your staff are involved in this business.

Author

  • Michele R

    Michele Rempel is the founder and Managing Partner ofWestvyne, LLC (westvyne.com). Michele and her team simplify social media for successful businesses and professionals through training, consulting and management. Michele has a BA in English and Communications as well as a Master's degree in Education Administration. As administrator for the Career & Technical Education department at one of the largest Adult Education facilities in California, she implemented their first online registration system in 2006. In 2007, she made the transition from education into Information Technology and joined Mandatek as a Project Manager for Website and Software Development. Michele formed Mediavine Marketing in 2010 with partners in IT and marketing to help businesses develop social media plans, train sales teams and build online presences to increase visibility and sales. Drawing upon her educational background, Michele developed and implemented a Social Media semester of courses designed for small business owners and leaders. She is also a frequent blogger and speaker on social media for business. Mediavine's client list includes consulting firms, universities, entertainers, retail stores and non-profit organizations.

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