Why brand storytelling is not (just) content
When I was a kid, my cousins tried to “trick” me into thinking they had the same last name as me.
As a younger brother, I was used to people messing with me. And this just seemed like the sort of thing somebody would make up just to mess with me. Other people? With the same last name as me? It just didn’t seem like a real thing.
It turns out I was (obviously) wrong. My cousins (some of them, at least) do in fact have the same last name as me.
Not only that, there are lots of other people in the world who have the same last name as me – some of whom are actually prettyfamous.
The same is true of brand storytelling. Brand storytelling is most closely associated with one corner of the marketing world: Content creation. That’s true – it does apply to content (of course). But it doesn’t just apply to content.
Areas brand storytelling touches on
Ad creative
Ads that have stories in them are twice as effective. But less than half of ads tell a story. That’s according to a recent study from Ipsos. Brand storytelling can help direct creative in a more effective direction.
Thought leadership
Thought leadership is everywhere these days. What’s less common, though, is using storytelling to give your thought leadership some emotional weight.
Brand and brand growth
You’ve done some important brand work. You have your vision, mission and brand values and have invested in what you want your brand to look, feel and sound like. For many organizations this is (sadly) where it ends: This work sits in a Google Doc or an unvisited corner of the website. A brand storytelling strategy can help bring these values to life and actually use them to grow your brand to reach new audiences (and better engage existing ones).
Earned media
Finding real people – whether it be your customers or otherwise – and pitching their story to reporters is a powerful way to get your name in the paper.
Internal comms
Are you telling your employees’ stories? Telling stories that will inspire your employees to do better work? These are just some of the opportunities for brand storytelling to make a difference in better engaging your employees.
Public relations
You can tell a story about your brand based on when you open or close. Take American outdoors brand REI. #Optoutside makes a statement about its commitment to enabling people to enjoy the outdoors by closing on Black Friday every year.
Your channel mix
No one is going to hear your story if you don’t have the right channels for reaching your audience. A lot of organizational stories don’t get the marketing treatment (i.e. treated as marketing campaigns), which – for many organizations – is a missed opportunity.
Events and trade shows
This is one that, to me, has the most opportunity for brand storytelling to make a difference. Most organizations show up to events and trade shows with the standard stuff: Key messages, product features, sales conversations. What they should be doing is telling a story.
Content
I told you content was still a part of brand storytelling, didn’t I? Just to be clear: This is still a big one! You can use your social media, website and other publication platforms to tell better stories about your brand and its audience.
This is what gets me excited to work in this field. There is so much potential for brand storytelling that it’s not possible for any one person in an organization to “own” all of the above.
That’s where a brand storyteller can come in. By enabling all these different functions they can unlock the power of story to make storytelling a superpower across a whole organization.
Looking to get started with brand storytelling?
I am a brand storyteller with more than 15 years of professional experience helping to level the playing field for the world's worthy causes by equipping them with the brand storytelling tools they need to succeed.
