5 Simple Steps to Writing Your Brand Story

Throughout history, people have always been at the very least storytellers. The Egyptians used hieroglyphics, Native Americans paint and dance their stories, and I’d dare to say that in each family there is one person who tells stories from “back in the day”. The one thing that brings all of these dynamics together is their desire to pass along their history, stories, and traditions.

At the core, this is what a brand story is all about. It’s about connecting with people and being authentic; adding a face to the faceless business. They are stories that tell the history of the company, why it exists, and why it matters. 

So why should you think about writing your brand story?

Why should you TELL your brand story?

Writing and sharing your brand story is your opportunity to connect with your audience.

Brand stories create trust and an emotional connection with your audience. They resonate on a personal level with readers who are interested in learning more about your business. Not all brand stories need to be about the history of the company, but can simply be corporate social responsibility (CSR) stories. These show how a service or product can improve your customer’s life.

Storytelling is often a successful way of connecting with your audience because it offers an emotional impact. Moreover, these stories are more likely to stick in the mind of your audience rather than a traditional advertisement would. Since brands are all about emotions nowadays, it’s important to unlock your brand’s emotions and use that to your advantage.

Ask yourself when writing your brand story, what is the bigger purpose that goes beyond the traditional product/service that I offer?

Writing Your Brand Story

 Writing your brand story isn’t going to happen overnight and it won’t be easy. It will take time to fully understand the core of your business, your target audience, the emotions you want to elicit, and even which story you want to tell.

“Brand storytelling is the cohesive narrative that weaves together the facts and emotions that your brand evokes” (Da Costa, 2019)

Now, let’s talk about how to go about creating an outline for your brand story. 

1. Start by thinking of an action word that describes the brand. This could be; empowering, educating, motivating and so on. 
2. Next, you will want to think about your target audience. Who do you want to influence? Who do you want to target with this story? 
3. Write out all the value you want to provide to your target audience? What is your brand promise that you will deliver on each time someone interacts with your brand? 
4. Now, write 3 main topics that describe who you are and what you stand for. Think back to the examples above with Lego; CSR campaigns work as well. 
5. Write a sentence using the topics mentioned above. This sentence will be the starting point for your entire brand story.

Now that you have created a small outline for your brand story, it is time to think about writing your first draft. Take the sentence from point 5 and begin to write your story.  Add in emotion, be relatable with your audience, convey why your company exists, and how/why you want to help people. This is the moment to be as authentic as possible with your audience!

I have my Brand Story, now what?

The wonderful thing about brand stories is that they can be transferred to any platform or piece of content. They are a great way to live, breathe, and be the value that you have stated in the story. For example, Coca Cola’s Share a Coke campaign was all about bringing people together by writing names on their packaging. They were able to embody their brand values of bringing communities together through this campaign. 

Once you have more clarity in your brand story, see how you wrap it around in stories that spread and touch people. Can you relate this to your audience real life stories? Can you touch them personally with your story or your client’s story that makes it relatable and memorable. People often forget what is being said to them, but they never forget a good story told. These live on in your prospect’s mind and spreads whenever someone is telling others about you or your business. That is why stories are so powerful.

Now that you have tips and tricks to help you when writing your brand story go out there and get to writing! If you ever start to feel down on yourself because you are taking more time than expected, remind yourself that the greatest novels weren’t written in a day. This is your story! 

For more information, check out our Branding for Business series from October 2019, or our other blogs on branding!