Storytelling in brand management is a type of content strategy. With each passing day, the consumer a brand wants to reach has less time and a decreasing attention span .
Hence, organizations need to focus on telling stories to their customers in order to hold their attention.
A narrative has to be used to convey a message. It has to be so compelling, trustworthy and engaging that it influences the target audience’s ability to make a decision that would help the brand.
In other words, the narrative must lead to profitable customer action.
For instance a story about a given brand is something that hits customers, bang! In these types of storytelling cases, everybody remembers the brand.
For example, SheaMoisture has a legacy. Sophie Tucker started selling shea butter and homemade beauty preparations in Sierra Leone in 1912.
It went on to become a brand that women of color identified with. It’s narrative became so inextricably entwined with the brand that when it released a controversial ad in April 2017, the brand had to apologize.
It had to apologize because the ad featured two white women instead of women representing its loyal customer base. The purpose of the ad had been to increase the brand’s market reach, but most of the customers saw the brand as being unfaithful in this situation. This story shows the extent to which a story affects the marketing of a brand.
A successful brand narrative must change with time to make itself suitable for the market, the audience and the culture.
“You can say the right thing about a product and nobody will listen. You’ve got to say it in such a way that people will feel it in their gut. Because, if they don’t feel it, nothing will happen.” – William Bernback
SCALE IS IMPORTANT
If a brand wants to scale up, which it obviously does, it might follow the example of Facebook. Facebook’s storytelling with real people and events have led to a 56% increase in subscription rates.
Such stories should be associated not only with the customer, but also with their lifestyle, behavior, and needs.
EMOTIONAL PUNCH
Whether we would want to admit it or not, humans are guided by emotion. Customers buy things because of the emotional effects they has on them .
A customer will be affected by a sense of urgency and belonging with regard to a particular product, for instance.
If users get comfy with a brand, they will become consistent customers. For example, the Calm app: the name itself implies that it effectively helps customers relax and sleep.
VISUALS
Visuals evoke emotion and help to create a powerful impression. Cute content is trending now. Whether it’s a baby with fat cheeks or a golden retriever puppy, cute images make us happy.
People like to share cute videos– it is simply about feeling good when we make others feel good. Engaging video content or visuals in any form helps to captivate customers and lead them to take action.
Stories and visuals illuminate a brand. Telling a story is a crucial part of building a brand.
Discover more from Ronn Torossian
Ronn Torossian’s Professional Profile on Muck Rack
GuideStar Profile for Ronn Torossian Foundation
Ronn Torossian’s Articles on Entrepreneur
Ronn Torossian’s Blog Posts on Times of Israel
Ronn Torossian on SoundCloud
