3 Ways to Boost Your Business with Brand Storytelling
Now more than ever, brand storytelling is top of mind for business leaders as a business-forward strategy
The last two years have compelled content creators, marketers, CEOs, and entrepreneurs to get deeply curious about the importance of telling stories for brand loyalty. As we come near the end of 2022, brand storytelling continues to lead digital, content and marketing trends, affirming that brand stories are here to stay. This is why leaders ought to continue investing in crafting and telling a compelling brand narrative as part of their business growth and go to market plan.
I should know. I’ve spent the last six years of my career dedicated to telling brand stories at a Fortune 100 company, and even wrote a best-selling book about it! In my spare time, I also consult with brands big and small on their content strategy. But I believe my biggest qualifier is that on top of those 2 jobs, I’m also a small business owner. Being in these particular spaces all at once has afforded me a great and unique advantage, teaching me tried-and-true tactics in the art and science of brand narrative that have proven successful in my line of work and personal business. I believe they can do the same for you. So I want to share 3 ways brand storytelling can help boost your business.
Here are the three ways storytelling can help best your business:
1. Begin with your origin story
Most (if not all!) companies and business leaders I’ve consulted with seem to always ask the same question when it comes to brand storytelling: Where do I start? The answer is simple, yet seems counterintuitive: Start at the beginning. Brand storytelling for business impact is a long-term approach. The brand origin story is the most important story you will ever tell. Also, the most powerful. It’s a slow burn, a steady reminder to your audience of why your brand exists. If done right, your business narrative intentionally weaves an enchanting journey of company mission, values, growth, and evolution into a tale of progress and transformation which serves to humanize your brand and invites your audience to empathize and connect with it at a human level.
This story also never runs out of style! As long as your brand is “alive,” so is its story, and you will continue to have a chance (and ought!) to tell it time and time again. The origin story keeps your brand and brand leaders honest about its beginnings, its current state and where it’s going. Most importantly, it creates a sense of vulnerability and authenticity for the brand that makes it almost impossible for your intended audience to resist, building deeper bonds of trust and nostalgia with them.
2. Tell brand stories for people’s sake – not content’s sake
Today’s experts agree that content is still king. Intentionally crafted content, that is. We can get really busy telling stories without an actual storytelling strategy in place. And that pretty much means not being productive. In today’s savvy and hyper-tech marketing economy, it’s important to tell the story where to go before you tell the actual story. Create a mission for each story you tell and ask yourself these 3 simple questions: Who is this story dedicated to? What is it going to help them do? How is the story going to make them feel? These basic questions can stress test your content to ensure you’re leading with empathy and telling stories that matter to your audience.
A good measure of success is emotional reaction. If your brand stories resonate with your audience, your audience will connect to the content on an emotional level. As a Hispanic business leader, you know well that consumers make emotional purchasing decisions, not logical ones.
3. Make storytelling an established business practice
When I first launched my business (and given my experience in storytelling), I had a special opportunity to center my brand and brand assets around its origin story, and build the brand alongside its narrative. Making storytelling an integral part of my business strategy drove positive results when pitching it to PR, marketing, and strategic partnership audiences, and continues to do so to this day. But I realize most established Hispanic businesses today do not get that same chance and may be at the beginning stages of exploring brand storytelling as culture and business activator.
No matter where your business is in the brand storytelling journey, you are never too late to start introducing storytelling as a business practice where collectively, your employees, partners, vendors and stakeholders have a keen understanding of the brand story and individually, everyone is able to own and tell it from their specific areas within the business. By doing so, you are creating and delivering a cohesive, mission-driven message that resonates throughout the customer journey at every touchpoint and reminds them time and time again why they love your brand.
Storytelling for business impact isn’t merely telling stories. Its being intentional about how the brand narrative is crafted and told by all involved to help evoke intended emotion and make your brand memorable to your audience so they keep coming back for more.
Miri Rodriguez is a leadership team member and partner in Latin Biz Today.
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