There’s more to selling a product than putting it on a shelf. Brands today are tasked with creating evoking stories that will entice consumers to click the “buy” button. These narratives should depict how the product will improve an individual’s life, either meeting an existing need or fulfilling a desire. However, storytelling is an art and it will likely take several iterations before your narrative is in sync with the brand’s identity. Here are a few tips on how to master the art of storytelling to engage audiences.
Understand Your Audience
You can’t come up with a compelling story if you don’t know what will compel your audience. Understanding your target audience means getting under the hood of their lives. What pain points do they experience daily? Who do they interact with daily? Where do they shop and how do they consume content? These are just a few questions you’ll need to ask yourself when diving into your audience personas.
Developing personas will allow you to meet (or hopefully exceed) your consumer’s needs. You’ll be able to create a closer relationship with your audiences because you’ll deeply know where they are coming from. You’ll know, for example, that a single mom with a demanding career needs your fragrance-free laundry detergent for her allergy-prone kids. Your detergent’s ability to clean messes the first time without worrying about stain removers will be a selling point to your household audience.
If you’re feeling stuck on your audience development, you’re not alone. Researching your specific audience is a timely undertaking, one that may require some outside assistance. Your outsourced CMO can work with you and your team to initiate market research, analyze the results, and segment accordingly. Hiring an experienced team will give you a leg up on the competition as you’ll know exactly who is coming to your brand and what you can do for them.
Be Authentic
Your story should be unique to your brand. It’s easy for marketers to come up with a copy that is universal to just about everyone, but that’s not always the best case. For your brand to stand out from others, you want to show your uniqueness. Being authentic means embracing your brand completely and not swaying from your selling proposition. Just because another brand is splashy and loud doesn’t mean you need to be unless that is part of your brand DNA.
Authenticity will establish trust and credibility. A story about how your company was founded, for instance, can give consumers insight into what your brand stands for. If a consumer identifies with the founder’s story, they may be more likely to buy from your brand and relay the story to their friends.
Another component of authenticity is customer reviews. Your story is a selling point, but so is every review on your website’s page. Moreover, success stories can add credibility to your brand. Go through and monitor reviews closely, picking up on any insights or tidbits that may make for good marketing stories. Not only will you learn even more about your buyers, but you’ll also gain intel for future storytelling opportunities.
Stay Consistent
Related to authenticity is consistency. Audiences will soon form expectations about your brand. If you have an organic cotton clothing company, audiences will expect sustainability to be top of mind for the brand. However, if you start to repackage your items and ship plastic peanuts with your clothing then your brand story is taking an unexpected pivot.
Staying consistent means staying on course. You may be tempted to drift into another lane, but it may not always be the most suitable one for you. A strong brand story can keep you on track for all of your business decisions. Think back to your consumer audience and ask yourself if they would change course or if they would stay on the path ahead. Chances are if you’re asking yourself this, then it’s probably a good idea to stick with what you’re currently doing.
This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t be innovative. Consistency is about keeping a unified brand identity across all touchpoints. You don’t want to copy another brand for the sake of doing so. However, if you have a new idea or concept, think if it would be advantageous to your audience. Conduct some market research and see how the product innovation or new marketing tactic could uplevel what you’re currently doing while still remaining true to your core values.
Play with Visuals
They say that “a picture tells a thousand words,” and this couldn’t be any more true in today’s social media-driven world. The sheer amount of content and advertising is bombarding audiences, to the point that it’s hard for brands to cut through the noise. One way to do so is through visuals.
Whether it’s high-quality, informative infographics on Instagram or long-form videos on YouTube, brands can customize how they appear in the world. By using social media platforms as distribution models, brands can tap into audiences while they’re in browsing or consumption mode. This allows brands to form relationships with new and potential audiences on a wide scale basis. A helpful infographic, for example, can be shared amongst friends and lead to new leads.
When developing your brand story, imagery and visuals should be top of mind. These should enhance your story and resonate with your intended audiences on an emotional level. Keep consistency in mind, leaning on-brand colors and styles that best represent your point of view. Doing so will elevate your brand story while making the message stronger and more memorable.
