Ghost stories at night, fairytales, and detective stories might be some things you can still recall. How much does your brain remember when you hear a pitch, watch a presentation, or go to a session? Maybe not that much, but now think about how much you remember when your friend tells you an exciting story about something! It is interesting to note that more of our neurons are activated when information is presented in the form of a story. Furthermore, the more emotion we detect in the voice or writing of the storyteller, the more closely and deeply we can connect with the story.

Storytelling is one of the most effective methods to make your brand come alive in the thoughts of both the customers you already have and the consumers you are attempting to reach in order to expand your customer base. Consumers don’t purchase a product or service because they want it; they buy an experience instead. Consumers always identify your brand’s values and core beliefs with the things that it sells. You can take your target audience on a trip with you; if you can provide the goods and services with a narrative to which people can identify and hence connect emotionally. Your tales need to be truthful and motivating while also being able to connect with people on a genuine level if you want people to create a personal connection with your business and recognise all the ways in which it can easily integrate into their day-to-day life.

Have you ever pondered the reasons why people watch movies, read books, listen to music, and share stories about their lives with one another? Viewing an entertaining film does not offer us something that can be held in our hands. Nonetheless, we have a deep connection to the characters because we can empathise with them and understand the challenges they face. Gary Klein, a psychologist who studies how people make decisions when they are stressed, says that stories are often told repeatedly because they teach us something. A story can teach you how to act and give you ideas about what to do (motivation to act). Both parts are designed to get people to take action. When you can tell a narrative well, you may produce action that is beneficial to your company.

The importance of creating a compelling brand narrative
Building a company’s awareness is the aim of brand marketing. Once people are aware, marketers build a fan base for the company’s products by running creative campaigns that get people interested in those products or the company itself. Branded content is one sort of creative marketing. This differs from traditional advertising, which promotes a business and its interests and urges the viewer to purchase.

Using narrative and storytelling may assist customers in developing emotional and personal relationships with companies. This view is backed up by research, which found that 55 per cent of customers who adore a brand’s narrative are likely to purchase. For example-the video that Dove produced to promote its “true beauty” campaign went viral. The company brought attention to the disparity between how women appear and how they believe they should look. These smart strategies enable companies to affiliate with social issues, helping increase their audience as well as revenue.

Since it enables customers to learn about a company’s personality, authenticity, and ideals, great storytelling is effective in brand marketing. The year 2012 was a breakthrough year in the development of brand storytelling, according to research conducted by LinkedIn using its data. When Coca-Cola made its Content 2020 announcement that year, the rest of the marketing industry began to know that storytelling via content marketing was one of the finest paths to engage customers. Marketers are the ones that need to construct a compelling brand narrative in order for a company to communicate its story effectively.

Tips for developing a strong brand story resonating with customers.
You can ask yourself a simple question: What drives your brand? What difficulties did you set out to solve? The story you share should be about your passion and inspiration, not just any story. A strong brand story with incredible storytelling must also have a unique voice. That’s how you separate your brand from others. It’s also the way how people can easily recognise you. These are some of the actions you may take to plan out and create a compelling brand story. –
Establish your origin story: Creating your origin story is vital to presenting your brand story. The story should contain your own goals and beliefs. Adding your aims and values can help you understand how your own experiences may affect your company’s goals and purpose. Establishing your path to the current day might help you concentrate on particular personal events that you can employ in your brand storytelling. It should also consist the potential to assist in establishing an emotional connection with your audience.

Create the path of your hero: The protagonist—the ideal client for your brand—and their actions are well described. It describes the disturbance they experienced, how your solution helped them, and the outcome.

Consider your brand personality: This must entail bringing human aspects to your brand and will be based on your consumers’ personalities and preferences. You will be able to engage with your consumers on a deeper level if you have a well-defined brand identity.

Describe the purpose and values of your brand: A brand mission should be one statement that expresses the value you generate in your consumers’ lives. Relate it to your brand story. You must also select four to five values that are important to your firm, stating why their significance. It would help if you stood out from other companies thanks to your strong brand principles. Make an effort to keep them simple and to the point.

Determine your brand’s objective and its story: Establish your brand story and the messages you want it to communicate. This might comprise the corporate story and brand narrative that you want to construct for your audience as well as the actions that you want the audience to do as a result of hearing it.

Create a brand story: Now that you can access such a wealth of knowledge, you can begin writing your brand story. Ensure your brand story talks essential questions about your customer’s difficulties and demands, why your brand exists, and your brand’s objective. In addition, you should spend some time developing your brand’s voice. This may include considering writing and brand style rules.

The following are some of the essential components that go into creating a memorable brand story:
Empathy: It is important for you to make sure your audience can recognise themselves in your brand story.
Attention-grabbing: Develop and maintain a unique voice and personality for marketing your brand story. By never changing, your material will be easily identifiable.

Authentic: Authenticity is being truthful about your core beliefs, the distinguishing characteristics of your business, and the difficulties you must overcome.
Relatable: Don’t use industry-specific or technical jargon, and show that you know who your customers are and what problems they’re trying to solve.
Consistency: Your audience should know what to anticipate from you while still looking forward to what’s next.
Aligned with the aims of the business: Your brand story should be incorporated into all aspects of your company, including marketing, sales, and all forms of internal and external communication.

Motivate to take action: Pick a spot in your story where you can include a “call to action” and encourage the audience to become consumers. This will prompt them to take action.

Building brand loyalty
The audience feels more at ease and engaged when exposed to the more human aspect of the brand via stories. This promotes brand loyalty, which may shift behaviour, change lives, and encourage people to spend. With the correct story, you may enhance the value of your company’s products by more than 20 times.
Take Nike’s “Just Do It” advertising campaign as an excellent illustration. The origin of this campaign may be traced back to a single story about an elderly man called Walt who ran over the Brooklyn Bridge. The story behind the commercial is that anybody can play any sport or do any physical movement – they simply have to do it. The story blossomed into a motto that became greater than life itself. Today, everyone has heard the term “Just Do It,” Nike even puts the motto on its garments to drive more business.

In fact, businesses that employ storytelling as part of their marketing strategy not only bring in new consumers but also succeed in keeping the ones they already have. As a consequence of outcomes such as these, many businesses have begun integrating storytelling into their overarching content marketing strategies. Storytelling has been utilised in conventional marketing and advertising since the start of Capitalism. Celebrating Valentine’s Day, compared to the climax of all love stories, has helped corporations generate billions of dollars in revenue.

So why is this strategy so successful?
We, humans, have been telling tales to one another for decades. It lies at the heart of what makes us who we are. It is a process of development that is deeply imprinted in both our collective and individual psyches, as well as a talent that has been passed down through the centuries from one storyteller to the next. Storytellers tell one another tales to disseminate common knowledge, discuss significant events, and encourage one another, whether they are sitting around a campfire or binge-watching the newest Netflix series. Incorporating this desire for progress into your brand strategy is a smart move that may pay off in the long run.

Author- Fatema Nawar Silme