“Tell me something about yourself” is a phrase that can cause fear in anyone who has ever been on a first date or interviewed for a job. A brand story can be a lot like a first meeting. This is your chance to make an excellent first impression. Although it can be scary, this is your chance to make a great first impression.
Your brand story can hook potential customers from the beginning with the correct elements. This is how to turn that first impression into a lasting impression that customers will cherish for a lifetime.
It’s not you but the customer that should be your priority
“Wait a minute!” you say. “Shouldn’t my brand story be about my company?”
One of my team members has been an introvert her entire life. It would be hard to believe that she is an introvert. Her secret is asking thoughtful questions about people she meets rather than listing her likes and dislikes.
Many people think she is a great conversationalist. Because she always puts the person she is talking to at the center of the conversation. This is what brand conversations should be like.
Content marketing should begin with the customer. Their interests. Their goals. Their needs. They have those pesky thoughts that keep you up at night.
Consider the iconic brands that have maintained customers’ loyalty through the generations. Coca-Cola. Nike. McDonald’s. There are many other options.
They all share one thing in common. All of their brand stories revolve around customers and their needs.
Quench their thirst
Jumping higher
Satisfying their needs
Their customer-centric content is so good that even the logo makes our mouths water or our hearts beat faster. The customer is part of the brand. The customer becomes part of the brand story.
You can tug at their heartstrings by supporting your mission
You might be tempted to think McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, and Nike don’t have any mission. But you would be wrong. You’d be wrong.
Coca-Cola believes that people should be able to come together over a cold Coke.
Nike’s mission is to empower athletes so that they can inspire others.
McDonald’s believes that helping people save money and time is the best way to help them cook when they’re too busy.
Other famous brands place their mission at the forefront of their marketing. Patagonia is the brand that goes to the top for outdoor gear and clothing. It makes its mission the main message.
Instead of focusing on its products, it emphasizes its commitment to making the world a cleaner and greener place to explore. It does this by focusing on the main pain point of its target customers: worrying about a world without wildernesses.
Use tried-and-true story elements and a flowing narrative
As they tell their brand story, content marketers can learn a lot by reading fiction writers. Research shows that levels stimulate brain activity in their listeners and readers.
Your neurons speed up to warp speed when you hear information in story form. Whether you’re looking for Progressive’s Flo or My Pillow’s stories of insomnia-stricken couples who stumble through their home at night, there’s a reason these ads are so popular. They follow proven formulas that have captivated people since ancient times.
They follow the traditional narrative format: characters, setting, conflict, an action that rises to a conclusion, the climax itself, and the denouement. This is where the storyteller ties the whole story together, explaining and finding a resolution.
My Pillow and Progressive are two of the most memorable brand messages. Flo is a bit silly, but she and her team struggle through awkward marketing campaigns and team meetings, and finally, the brand’s deep discount saves the day.
My Pillow, however, lets its founder’s eccentricity become part of the story. He jumps out bathroom mirrors with pillows in his hand to show couples that their current pads don’t work. On the other side, Coca-Cola turns ordinary consumers into heroes, as in the iconic “I’d Like to teach the World to sing” ad or the 2018 Ramadan ad where an empathic woman buys a Coke to an observant stranger as the sun goes down.
Every story needs a hero. Your brand story needs one, too. A hero’s journey takes the central character of a report on a trip that includes a wise guide (think Yoda). A series of trials and triumph over the final challenge. Then, it was time to come home.
Be authentic in your brand story
Brand horror stories are something we’ve all heard. One reporter noticed that the “environmentally friendly” company was polluting streams behind its factory. The “Made in the USA” company, whose products were made in a Third World sweatshop. The humanely reared chickens turn out to be nothing but.
It shouldn’t be your brand. While it takes years to build a good reputation, it only takes a few minutes to go sour.
Do your research to ensure your message reflects your brand’s values. Keep an eye out for cost-cutting tactics that could compromise your authenticity as you grow. Let your content-marketing strategy reflect who and what you are as a brand.
Increase your prices rather than outsource manufacturing to a sweatshop. It might be worth paying a little more to a free-range farmer for authentic free-range eggs rather than losing your reputation if they discover that you define “free-range” as a 3’x3′ cage.
You won’t lose a good night of sleep if you tell the truth, even if the My Pillow guy crawls into your bathroom mirror. It’s our guarantee.