Your Brand Story and why it matters

Many people race to the nuts and bolts of marketing such as website, logo and social media, without starting at the beginning. It doesn’t start there.  You wouldn’t jump on stage to do stand-up comedy without preparing any material or understanding of your audience.

Your brand strategy needs to be in place and part of that is your brand story.   A brand story is a cohesive narrative that embodies the facts and feelings that are created by your brand (or business). Unlike traditional advertising, which is about show and tell about your brand, a story needs to inspire and create an emotional response. Things that can influence your brand are your product, price, history, quality, marketing, in-store experience (if applicable), purpose, values, location and–most importantly–what other people say about you.

And it’s important to note, people don’t follow brands they follow people and their stories.  This doesn’t mean you have to have a Kardashian at your company, but what it does mean is that building your brand story, flaws and all, is key.  Because even a Kardashian isn’t perfect, but you still want to know about her.  Maybe even because of the flaws.  No one believes perfection!

Scientifically speaking, the human brain is circuited to respond to a well-honed narrative and neuroscience has proven that storytelling is the best way to capture people’s attention, set information into their memories, and forge bonds.* Your audience is always craving great stories especially when there’s a hero in the story who has overcome an obstacle and is relatable.  Therein lies the follower base. So, what can you do to get started?

Here are three easy steps you can use to start fleshing out your brand story.

Everyone can relate to a hero’s emotional journey or sometimes called the “Epiphany Bridge”** –

  1. Defining the adversity/problem (headache);
  2. The “aha” moment where you found a solution or way forward and overcoming ; and finally
  3. The Happy Ending to story and new opportunity for the audience (how you made it easier for others)

Interested in learning more? Consider participating in one of our workshops to take you through the steps by contacting us on 1800 699 504 or email info@4dmarketing.com.au.

Sources

*www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/09/180913113822.htm

** Russell Brunson. Expert Secrets. Morgan James Publishing. 2017.

What They Said

“We found the opportunity to discuss some of our ideas valuable and we appreciated hearing some of your different perspectives and ideas too.  In particular, we are happy to have been ‘reset’ with some direction for our marketing plan.”

— Sarah, Southern Highlands business owner

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