Why and how to tell your brand story effectively

So, what’s all this about story-telling? I’m always on about telling your brand story, but why is it so important now more than ever and how can I help you tell yours?

Hint: I’m not talking about copywriting (although hiring a good copywriter is for sure just as important!)

There’s a reason my studio takes its name from the idea of brand stories—stories are really important. Storytelling is a natural, human exercise and if your brand comes across with that authentic, humanistic quality, that will really help to connect you with your customers.

So, what’s the crack?

Standing out as a brand, business, or even as a person nowadays is incredibly hard. There are so many ways we’re expected to ‘show up’ that it can feel overwhelming. There are so many areas where your brand comes into contact with your customers, and if the story it tells is a good read, that’s a wonderful start.

Opportunities to tell your story

Let’s consider some of those common places:

• Your visual identity - These are the things people see, such as your logo, colours, fonts, illustration and photographic style.

• Your language and messaging - A tagline, your brand voice, your website copy, your social media captions, hashtags, email marketing and your blog.

• Motion design, animation and music - Hugely engaging. We’re all aware of the massive increase in the value and reach of video content. How can you utilise this for your brand?

• Events, collabs and ambassadors - Collaborating with brands who share your vision and values gives you twice the punching power… and why punch yourself if an ambassador (very loyal customer or client) can fight your corner for you? Don’t forget in-person events—it may seem old-school but that’s an opportunity others don’t take in today’s online world.

How can you use these avenues to tell your story effectively?

The bullets above are really a tick list of things or marketing activities. They are vehicles through which you deliver your message. Effective brand storytelling won’t necessarily happen just because you do all these things. It is reliant on something else, something less tangible—it’s a feeling.

• That feeling is based on what people know of you.

• What people know of you is learned through what they see and what you share.

• What people want to know of you is your genuine self.

This is the human element and its value should not be underestimated.

What I’m saying is, don’t do something to tick a box, do it because you genuinely want to solve a problem for your customer and because you really want to share with them who you are.

If you want people to care, you need to show them your human characteristics, the things that matter, the things they identify with—the commonalities.

To do so effectively, you need to define, very clearly what those things are.

This is not an exhaustive list, but some of them may be:

• Your values

• Your goals and mission

• What you’re invested in

• What you seek to change for the better

• How you can make a difference for your customer

• Actions you take—actually doing things and putting your money where your mouth is

• Standing up for, and championing your peers or those who don’t have a voice

• Being transparent and honest

Why now more than before?

At any time of uncertainty—be it social, economic, political, or medical—there’s a (totally understandable) shift in what’s important in people’s lives. Nobody wants to capitalise on the catastrophic—but the truth is, brands with genuine, grounded, trustworthy ethics have seen successful growth in recent years.

Since our life-changing, global pandemic, the ongoing climate crisis, and the constantly rising cost of living, the brands people look to and the products people need are different from before. We’re more socially aware, more conscious of the environment, and more careful with our money. We’re looking for authentic brands that lead with consistency.

If you want to learn more, there’s some great content out there that reports about this shift, like this from Google Cloud and the hugely in-depth Future of Ecommerce report from Shopify.

“Businesses are overcoming the competition by investing in brand building, which increases customer lifetime value, boosts conversion rates in the short term, and attracts out-of-market buyers in the long term.”

— Shopify

This is definitely relevant, not just to product-based brands, but to all brands, and should be a consideration not only in your brand strategy but in your ongoing marketing strategy too.

Here’s how I can help you…

Well, of course, I can provide you with the glossy design aspects we’ve talked about here—I won’t lie, I absolutely love and place great value on your visual look and feel—a beautiful logo, a well-chosen colour palette, and beautiful fonts for your brand—absolutely, yes please! But… I refuse to do so without hearing your story first. And… should you need help defining the story aspect of your brand, I can help you with that too via a brand strategy workshop (which can take any form that you’re comfortable with—I’m flexible) 🙏

If you need help with your messaging…

That’s where a copywriter may be able to help you with specific messaging for your products, website, or your overall brand tone of voice. Ask me—I know some brilliant people!

Remember: Make your story as vivid, authentic, and specific as you can.

Brands are not so different from people. When you think of your teenage best friend, what springs to mind? That purple jumper that they loved and wore all the time—sure, yes that—but more vividly, it’s the time they hugged you when you were crying over the split with your first love, the time they stood up for you when the class bully made you feel small and the time you laughed until you cried (you can’t even remember why now, you just remember how included it made you feel) 💙

Fancy some help with your brand story?

Drop me a line and tell me about yourself 😀

Sarah x