How to Tell Your Brand’s Story: Four Questions You Must Answer
Whatever happened to Cinderella’s shoe? Who knows? It didn’t go viral. Put another way: Story generation and the way we develop content has changed, and you must change with it.
Once upon a time, every brand and entrepreneur had a story to tell. The story line largely followed the same format. As in an elementary school English assignment, storytellers would introduce readers to the big five: characters, setting, plot, conflict, and resolution. Every story ended the same, too: “And they all lived happily ever after as leaders in the industry.”
But frequently, the heart of the story—the meat that would resonate with consumers—was lost in the telling. Awareness might have been the key goal, but relevance and engagement with the target audience were often elusive. We just didn’t dive that deep. And we couldn’t. We were telling the story through 30-second broadcast spots or—when PR was employed—through earned media with word count restraints and editorial gatekeepers.
Today, the art of storytelling remains critical to any brand strategy, but how you tell the story, and the tools you use, has evolved—and to our benefit. Advertising, earned media, video, e-newsletters, Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, blogging—you name it, you must consider it.
However, just as a surgeon may have hundreds of tools at his disposal but may not take every one into each surgery, these channels are tools to be used strategically, depending on a company’s objectives and the message it wants to communicate. A challenge? Of course. But therein also lies the fun.
We can no longer view how we deliver our stories and messages through a single lens. Stories must be translatable across multiple channels and crafted in a way that cuts through the clutter. Creativity is king, and the telling must be compelling, it must evoke feeling, and it must be emotionally satisfying. Your audience—prospects, customers, the media, investors, or others—will be part of the dialogue.
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