February 9, 2018 | By:

3 Brand Storytelling Tips to Enhance Your Content Marketing Strategy

Today, with the wealth of information the internet has in store for us, consumers are now becoming more selective on how they digest content from all kinds of brands. We live in an era where everything has to be experienced in a much deeper level in order for things to make a lasting impression amidst our technology-saturated world, and brands are no exception.

An effective way for brands to achieve this depth of connection with consumers is by storytelling.

What is brand storytelling?

Brand storytelling is a content marketing technique wherein you share the story behind your brand: your struggles, your challenges, the values and motivations behind your campaign, and more. It’s more than just a narrative; it’s a way to breathe life into your marketing content.

Brand storytelling can be applied to various aspects of your content marketing strategy. It could be through your business website’s “About Us” page, through a blog post, a social media post, or more commonly today, through video commercials.

How to craft a compelling brand story

The art of writing a compelling brand story is a challenge for many marketers. The best brand storytellers understand the value of fusing together elements of fiction writing and copywriting.

Here are some tips on how to craft memorable and touching brand stories that will help you enhance your content marketing strategy:

1. Have a solid beginning, middle, and end

Fiction writing often follows a three-act structure for good reason. The same goes for brand storytelling.

The beginning of your brand story lays the foundation of your storytelling strategy. Establish the setting of your story, the premise or plot, and the characters. This is where you should be able to capture the attention of your audience so that they are more compelled to continue reading or watching.

The middle serves as the meat of your brand story. This is where you further unfold the plot of your story. Present your main character’s problem and share their journey in finding a resolution. Most brand stories take more time to dwell on this phase, to keep the audience hooked and keep wanting for more.

The ending wraps up the story and presents the resolution to your main character’s problems. The key to creating a successful ending to your brand story is to clearly prompt your audience to make an action: buy your product, make an inquiry, donate to a cause, or whatever is your marketing goal.

2. Be consistent with your message

Consistency is an important aspect in achieving brand loyalty. The same principle applies to your brand story. Your story should be rooted in the values your brand stands for, your products, and the industry it belongs to.

Take for example Dove’s banned commercial, where it raised issues about racism and inequalities in the perception of beauty. Dove is known for promoting self-esteem and encouraging women to embrace their natural beauty. However, the commercial strayed from their brand promise and showed a black woman turning into a white woman, seemingly implying that white complexion is more acceptable.

While it’s important to be creative in your brand storytelling, it’s also equally important not to stray too far from your message. Consumers trust brands who are honest and consistent. A story that’s inconsistent with your brand identity is misleading and could confuse your audiences.

3. Make it personal, and emotionally charged

The core essence of brand storytelling is being able to connect with your audience at a deeper level, and the best way to achieve this is by getting personal and appealing to their emotions. Consumers want to do business with brands whom they can relate to and who share the same causes that they care about.

Sometimes, brands and business owners tend to shy away from getting too personal, for fear of ruining their reputation or being labeled a certain way. However, sharing your personal story could inspire people and make them realize that your brand has a person behind it. By making your brand story personal, you give depth to your story and a face behind the somewhat anonymous facade of your brand.

Furthermore, don’t be afraid to tackle all-too familiar issues in society. Tap into the emotions of your audience by presenting relatable problems. Take for example Pamper’s “Every Little Miracle” campaign. They showed the different circumstances new parents face: a planned pregnancy, an unplanned one, a baby with special needs, and more. The emotionally charged ad is relatable, memorable, and consistent with their brand promise of celebrating every baby with love and acceptance, no matter the circumstances.

Brand storytelling is a great opportunity to connect with your target audience and influence their buying decision. It’s an undervalued marketing technique that could make a difference to your content marketing strategy.

If you’d like to know more about branding and how to do an effective brand storytelling, or if you’re interested in working with Ilfusion for your marketing needs, give us a call at 888-420-5115, or send us an email at [email protected].

Tags: , , , ,

Categorized in: ,

Featured Articles

February 1, 2018 | By: Ilfusion Team

How To Start an SEO Campaign in 6 Steps

Starting a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) campaign can be tricky for any digital marketer. How do you begin? What is the most important element to implement? How do you know if it’s working? Don’t be overwhelmed, though. Starting an SEO... view more

September 26, 2017 | By: Tinny

5 Signs You Need to Hire a Marketing Agency

Marketing is a crucial part of your business strategy. It’s what keeps the gears turning and the driving force of your company’s sales. For small businesses, marketing is important in getting the word out there that your company exists and... view more

September 21, 2017 | By: Tinny

Key Advantages of Video Marketing for Your Growing Business

There has been a rise in the use of mobile devices to access the internet, and there are no signs of it slowing down anytime soon. In this era where most people thrive on living on the go, video marketing... view more

September 13, 2017 | By: Tinny

5 Things You Need to Know: Image Optimization for SEO

If you’re a company whose content strategy relies on images, or if your business blog is image-heavy, it’s high time for you to think about optimizing your images for SEO — if you haven’t done so already. While there isn’t... view more

August 2, 2017 | By: Tinny

Tips on How to Choose the Best Keywords for Your Website

When you have an SEO or PPC campaign, it all starts with one basic element: keyword research. Keywords are the driving force that enable web crawlers and indexers to find your page through the throngs of websites in the world-wide... view more

July 26, 2017 | By: Tinny

Top 3 Search Ranking Factors You Should Know About

Landing on the first page of Google’s search engine results is one of the ultimate marketing goals of many website owners. While Google is keeping mum on what exactly gets you to the top of their SERPs, there are factors... view more

June 28, 2017 | By: Tinny

The Importance of Social Media in SEO

Nowadays, social media has inarguably become an indispensable tool in any marketing strategy. SEO, of course, is also one of those tools that have evolved with the many trends and changes that has occurred through time. This leads marketers to... view more

April 27, 2017 | By: Tinny

5 Ways to Dominate Google’s Search Results in 2017

Here’s how to place your website at the top of search engine results. Creating a website that doesn’t rank well in Google’s search engine results page (SERP) doesn’t translate well to your overall business effort. In recent years, Google has... view more

July 2, 2015 | By: The Conductor

Let’s talk about “The Fold”

We hear it a lot; client feedback that is focused on what content is and is not “above the fold”. To be perfectly honest, this old newspaper term can be a cause of frustration when it comes to good user... view more

June 3, 2015 | By: The Doctor

The Turbit

This crazy ol’ world of ours is spinning faster and faster everyday. Not literally, as we would all be slung to our spacey-doom. I mean figuratively we are all moving more quickly and filling every moment with some bit of... view more

May 6, 2015 | By: Ilfusion Team

How Your Website Can Survive Mobilegeddon

Think your website is mobile friendly? Think again. Google’s new functionality changes have created a frantic need for websites to be optimized for mobile. Mobilegeddon is upon us, and your website could be at risk. See infographic below.

April 23, 2015 | By: El Jefe

Website Cost: A Day at the Ballpark

A question that I get on a regular basis (read: every day) is, “How much will my new website cost?”. To which I typically say something like, “Well, that varies based on the amount of work that’s required to complete... view more

April 7, 2015 | By: The Inventor

Are you a Webspammer?

SEO practices are very different today than how they were even just a few years ago. The number one key to ranking well in search engines today is to create unique quality content. First post it on your website or... view more

March 25, 2015 | By: Ilfusion Team

Social Media Happenings

Ilfusion loves to bring you news on the newest social media functions and trends. Recently, there have been three major happenings in the social media world. Meerkat, a new app that has risen to fame due to the 2015 music... view more

March 12, 2015 | By: The Conductor

The Big Picture

Whether you’re laser-focused on a specific project, or taking a comprehensive approach to your marketing efforts, one aspect doesn’t change: always look at the big picture. Companies often shop at least a few agencies when they’re considering engagement with an... view more