FROM BORING TO A STAR: HOW TO TELL A BRAND STORY THE RIGHT WAY.

It’s a challenge to stand out in today’s market.

First, most companies are playing the game the same way. Many follow the repetitive advice over and over again – which leaves brands deprived of visibility.

On top of that, the landscape has never looked so competitive. And that same competition has never had so many tools and tricks at hand – branding software, data analysis, modern tools with built-in machine learning… You name it.

Moreover, users – thanks to the nature of 21st-century digital machinery – are overwhelmed with alerts, posts, and information. That pushes tons of marketing effort to slip through the cracks.

Just pull yourself back in the user’s shoes for a second and reflect… You go on social media – you see the brand ads. Watching TV – boom, ads. Mobile app – ads. Google the headache remedy – ads! There’s even an ad for those frustrated with ads. Users are dealing with a lot. They have to separate the wheat (a great brand story) from the chaff (other businesses).

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So, a million-dollar question: How do you tell your brand story and lure in people to really pay attention?

Well, first, you start by reading this how-to.

#1 GET REAL AND CONNECT WITH YOUR AUDIENCE

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And do it on a deeper, more genuine, and authentic level. Although a marketing paradox, try to give without expecting too much in return – at least to a solid extent. Just like you, your audience is pretty good at recognizing BS and brand slacking.

Actually, 88% of consumers say authenticity is most important in deciding what brands they connect with. They need you to be honest, real, and consistent. Yes, that includes your messages across social media, your visuals, your customer relationship efforts – everything.

Even if it all boils down to profits for you – especially in that case – it’s super important to build trust first. Another paradox? You bet. As much as 46% of customers say they’d pay more to brands they trust.

Now, you may wonder, how do you do that? How do you get real and connect with the audience? Conduct research, check on your analytics, consult with experts, and make effort to understand them. Then, tell a story your average consumer is likely to relate to. It could be solving their problems, helping them achieve their goals, or simply, sharing the hurdles they can associate with.

The first move is to get to know them.

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#2 “ATTENTION, ATTENTION! ALL PASSENGERS!”

Long story short, what we’re saying is this: get them to listen! There’s no point in telling a great brand story to a room full of air!

Not so long ago – when there was no digital world – the rules were different. We understand that. What got people to listen was great storytelling. You just had to focus on quality and people would gravitate toward you. Today, that couldn’t be further away from the truth. Just focusing on sharing a unique story will get you as far as purchasing Top Shop products to buy happiness. It just won’t work!

What should bear fruit then? Well, let’s learn this one from people who make a living from storytelling – professional public speakers.

Modern-day orators are well aware of this single fact:

To get people to listen, you have to grab their attention in seconds!

To do this they use so-called speech hooks – brief, catchy lines that spark people’s imagination. If they land the hook correctly, the rest of the speech flows like a river. It’s the same with your brand story.

Drop the hooks and make a splash. No place for shyness here – be creative. Whatever, just give your best to get their attention without making false promises or irritating your audience.

And remember, you’re playing an online game. Make a breathtaking visual. Put up an attractive or gut-busting video. Write a short and attractive first sentence. Learn the art of writing good headlines or have a brand story agency do it for you. Share a shell-shocking fact. Or even, apply the trick you’ve seen in movies – start from the end or middle of the story and then help your audience connect the dots later on.

#3 PICK YOUR COLORS AND WEAR THEM (ALWAYS)

Branding comes with restraints.

Those restraints arrive once you realize what your brand truly represents. Brands that don’t stick to restraints fail miserably. Those who do are Apple, Spotify, TikTok, Nike… Truly knowing your identity is at the root of any great marketing accomplishment!

The formula is simple. You find your core. You find a way to communicate it. And you stick to it religiously. That’s it.

On the question of how, here are the elements you should take good care of:

Branding comes with restraints.

Those restraints arrive once you realize what your brand truly represents. Brands that don’t stick to restraints fail miserably. Those who do are Apple, Spotify, TikTok, Nike… Truly knowing your identity is at the root of any great marketing accomplishment!

The formula is simple. You find your core. You find a way to communicate it. And you stick to it religiously. That’s it.

On the question of how, here are the elements you should take good care of:

EXAMINE YOUR INDUSTRY

Think of your industry scope and what it looks like on average.

How do different companies communicate? What’s the audience in this niche like in general? What are they used to seeing?

Examine and find a place where your brand could take a seat. Keep in mind, the goal is not to be just a mere average or even “extraordinary”. Your aim is to know your playing field, position, and utilize the gaps.

BUYER PERSONA

Create a fictional representation of your average customer.

Not just with a gut feeling, but also by taking a look at your data in analytics and research. A buyer persona should help you focus your time on your target customers and serious sales prospects.

As a result, you’re more likely to create a great brand story that resonates with your audience.

BRAND VOICE

Think of what you want your brand to sound like – is it confident, witty, friendly, or on a more serious note? The easiest way is to determine brand voice is to find another brand as your role model (but not a competition). Once it’s done, you can break down their voice and come up with your own using these criteria:

Pool of adjectives – find 3-5 words that best describe what you want your messages to sound like.

Readability levels – Find out what your audience literacy levels are and “dumb down”. General advice is to keep every text you write below grade 6 readability.

Creativity levels – Do you want your text to come off as clear and bold (low creativity), or cheerful and trendy (high creativity)? Determine your creativity levels based on what your audience likes.

VISUAL IDENTITY

Did you know that colors actually carry different meanings?

Yes, you guessed it. The visual identity is not just your logo or great image design on social media. Telling a great story depends, again, on visual standards – your true colors.

Think about it – Coca-Cola (red – excitement), McDonalds (yellow – warmth), Dell (blue – trust)… All of them embody their true colors not just through visuals, but through every communication instance.

Let’s run you through everything you need to know when picking and sticking with your colors.

Color tones – pick your primary brand color and a secondary palette of colors. If the primary is yellow, then the secondary could be any variation of that color, plus, say, orange and red.

Color palette – Design a palette of colors and hang it on the walls of your office. It’s a good reminder that will guide your design efforts across the board.

Inject the colors – regardless of channel (web or social media) all of your visuals should always carry the brand color tones. Your logo, header image on a website, Instagram post, LinkedIn promo video, google ad image – everything should breathe your colors. After a while, people will recognize that it’s you just by taking a quick glance.

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#4 CHUNK THE FULL STORY AND CONNECT THE DOTS

Not sure what we’re aiming at? Bear with us for a second. Let’s get on the same page first and take a walk through a scenario.

Say, there’s a major sporting event, the football finals, happening in a few weeks. You need someone to go with. Sadly though, all of your football-loving friends are unavailable. All you’re left with are your dorky nephews who’ve seen a single football event but only because it was part of a Batman, The Dark Knight Rises. Not the ideal scenario, right? Leaves you with no other options but to persuade a super hard nut – your dorky kin – to go with you.

The wrong way to make them want to come with you would be to tell them all about football. The history, the stats, the roster – all super irrelevant. A good way would be to serve them only the chunks of the story they’d be interested in. Maybe the fact that their favorite band is performing at half-time. Maybe that e-sport arena is right next to the stadium – and you can all pay a visit once the game is over. What do you think, would they listen?

Well, they probably would. And you should approach an audience across different channels the same way! Different channels, different audience – different rules. Here are just a few digital channels and the general rules of their game:

• Facebook – Mostly made of an audience above the age of 25. Best used for casual updates, event information, group invites, and promo ads. The channel is best suited for local businesses and salons and mostly brings results from paid advertising.

• Instagram – Users here love visuals and short previews. They follow influencers and are often persuaded by them, not brands directly. Photos easily top words, and users can tolerate more frequent post sharing from a single person, lifestyle brands, or travel agencies.

• Website – It’s your brand’s ID card. The audience loves to see what the brand is all about. It’s the place to show what you live and breathe but also a place to convert your visitors into buyers.

We’ll pull the breaks here. The point is:

Have a story, but purposefully adjusted to fit a given channel.

In the end, make sure you do it in a synchronized manner – connect the dots so your users don’t have to. All channels should support one another and be part of a marketing funnel.

The quality of this synchronization will determine your overall marketing success.