Storytelling is a form of art that has only flourished and grown over time, bounding cultures together. Storytelling isn’t an art mastered in a few sittings, just like stories, built over time. There is no stop time for a story to end; you can cook up a hundred tales and they could all be different from one another.
Storytelling is not an art limited to fantasy writers and authors; it is a form of brand marketing today. Since the beginning of time, people have been telling stories at work to instil “courage and empowerment to deal with any obstacle” or teach the value of listening. So take your pens and dive into this story, where we discuss the aspects of storytelling and how a brand can build up its marketing strategy.
Table of Contents
What is Brand Storytelling?
As industries have evolved and storytelling has become a more popular art form in general, corporate storytelling has become a field in its own right. Storytelling is communicating something to an audience by using facts and narrative. Some stories are true, while others are embellished or improvised to explain the central message better.
Stories are engaging and emotional, which strikes a chord with the audience and doesn’t necessarily mean a motive for sales. It has a beginning, plot and end, and these interactions of brands assure the customer that they belong to a community, regardless of language or heritage. So every organisation has a storyteller; we call them PR team, content writers and marketers.
Why Do We Tell Stories?
- Stories simplify the complex concepts – Stories make concepts quite interesting instead of the technical terms. Since they are easy to understand, we automatically adapt to that concept and utilise the same to explain to others.
- Stories build a community – Stories bring everyone together, almost like watching a classic movie together under the same roof, everyone huddled up for the experience, regardless of the background.
- Stories inspire and motivate – We’ve all grown up with rags to riches stories, and those brands encourage us to try it with the quote “Anyone can do it”.
When and Where Do We Share Stories?
When a new customer browses your page, the first thing they’d want to check is the “About Us’ Page, so add your story there. Your story format can be visual, videos or written narrative together on a white canvas.
Even before buying, some customers are entranced by specific stories as they can relate, like many small business owners opening their own stores during the pandemic due to financial restrictions. So make sure your story is visible in every aspect of your packaging. Adding a personal touch for your customers can remind them of their support towards a business, thus building a loyalty base.
Places where you can publicise your story
- Social media bios and posts
- About page
- Website home page (small extract)
- Product page
- Email communications
- Internal brand guides
- Staff hiring and training (job descriptions)
- Interviews and press materials
- Blog or publication
- Audio: podcast
- Video advertisements
Storytelling Elements
A brand story is very similar to the elements added in a creative storytelling tale. It has all the features which entice the users and hook them with the plot for a longer time. No details are good or evil, but memorable and engaging stories tend to stay longer in the audience’s mind. Every story should have these three elements.
Characters – The characters can be founders of the brand or a customer who has led to the creation of the brand. They are the bridge that connects the audience to the story and makes it relatable.
Example – Bikayi is a brand that simplifies e-commerce for everyone. It all started when two IIT students, Sonakshi Nathani and Ashutosh Singla, wanted to fuel their passion for entrepreneurship. They knew they wanted to set up their own tech company, but very few ideas were in the bag. Then the Eureka moment happened when they hit upon a WhatsApp business idea when Sonakshi was helping her dad with the orders in their grocery store. They could make a small business inventory and catalogue orders easy by creating an app. Thus started their brand journey of Bikayi.
Conflict – The conflict is an obstacle or a customer pain point that the character has overcome in life. A conflict in a story is necessary to inspire people to overcome their obstacles and relate to them emotionally. Everything comes at a price, so a conflict is only required to grow stronger through it.
Example – In a rather bold move, both the founders had quit their jobs and bootstrapped with their savings amount of 7 lakh rupees only. The initial month was a tough time as their idea was great, but they were a team of two, and the inventory and orders took longer to integrate.
Action and Resolution – The journey you take to overcome the obstacle is the action for your plot, and resolution is the brand’s launch when you are confident about your brand in the market. Leave the resolution with a call to action for the audience, so they immediately follow through when they relate to the story.
Example – By July 2020, they were a team of four. Still, by January, they had secured a seed funding round of $2 million from a group of international investors, American electronic DJ and music producer duo Chainsmokers’ early-stage fund Mantis Ventures, Y Combinator, and Pioneer Fund. The Bikayi app is available to download on the Play Store, now with four million users, so join us now and let’s set up our business together.
The Storytelling Process
- Know your Audience (Target Market)
- Define your goal (Sales, funds, customers )
- Decide niche of the story (Human story, educational or collaboration invite)
- CTA (Share, like, subscribe, download)
- Choose your medium (Blog, Youtube, TedX, podcast)
- Promotions (Share on social media)
Future of Content
Brand storytelling is a need, not a choice, because it reminds your customers of the need to support your business. In a world of ever-changing statistics, be the unforgettable story that sticks into your customer’s minds and makes them feel good about your products.
Create an emotional connection where they can trust you and belong to the same community; this increases the loyalty of your tribe and only widens your reach. A brand looks for profits for sure, but be a little different and be human to your goal. Always look for the reason you started your dream, and even if it’s cliche to say it, change the world with your reasoning, and let storytelling resonate your message worldwide.
