Facts tell. Stories sell. Keep this in mind when you’re marketing your brand. Need help telling your brand’s story? Just look to the master storytellers past and present for tips on how to create a brand story that will engage your audience.
Wow them like Walt.
Walt Disney knew that subtlety and storytelling did not mix. So follow his lead and fill your story with grandiose (yet honest) details about how your service or product will wondrously change your customer’s life for the better. Giving a half-hearted description of your product is the equivalent of Cinderella wearing crocs to the ball.
Be personal like Ellen.
Ellen DeGeneres has a gift for drawing people into her world and making them smile. You can, too, if you remember to not take yourself too seriously, don’t be afraid to be funny and, above all, make sure your audience is comfortable. Don’t intimidate them by implying they are un-informed, poorly prepared, or left out if they aren’t aware of or have your product.
The Dickens you say!
Charles Dickens was a great novelist because his stories contain such vivid descriptions. We know exactly what Miss Havisham’s sitting room looked like and can practically feel the fur trimmed robe of the Ghost of Christmas Present. When speaking about your product or service, be vivid and colorful. Leave nothing to your prospect’s imagination.
However, be aware that not all famous storytellers are cut out for the branding game.
Don’t be so Grimm.
The masters of the folk tale, the Brothers Grimm were known for their tales of cruelty and violence – many of which have been sanitized for the movies. Spare your audience the negative details of your bad split with a former business partner, how the economy drove you into your line of work or the problems you face. Focus on the positive and on your prospect.
Leave Homer at home.
We all may have heard of Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, but who has read it? (cue the crickets). I thought so. I am not saying there’s anything wrong with a 12,000-line dactylic hexameter poem, but in branding less is more. Way more. Yes, be descriptive, be colorful, be grandiose – but also be brief. People have work, families, commitments and now 6 o’clock Hot Bikram Yoga – so let ‘em have your brand story…but quickly.
To be or not to be understood.
Poor Shakespeare often gets a bad rap for being difficult to read. It’s not his fault that people no longer use the same lexicon as they did then, or that we prefer our syntax un-inverted. Be sure to set your brand story in the present or, better yet, in the future being enjoyed by the listener. Use words from their vocabulary and not from your product’s technical manual.
To wrap it up, tell your brand story by following these helpful tips:
- Create an experience for your customers
- Provide compelling descriptions of your product’s benefits
- Be descriptive about how your product or service will impact their life.
- Use their lingo and avoid your jargon
- Avoid the negative and focus on the positive
- Be brief
- Tell where your brand came from and how it came into existence
Need help crafting your brand story in your authentic brand voice? Contact Electrum Branding for an effective message that inspires fondness and resonates with your audience.