How to increase brand engagement through powerful storytelling?

On average, only 4% people remember the facts and figures you present at a sales meeting or when pitching an idea to an investor. PowerPoint presentations drone on and on, eliciting nothing but a chorus of yawns and sleepy nods. So, the question remains, what makes a brand resonate with the audience and impinge on their memory for a long time? For this, you need to take a trip down the memory lane, back to the childhood days. Apart from all the mischief you must have caused, there always came that time at night when you were all excited about the bedtime story you were going to be entertained with before sweet slumber claims you. You might not remember every detail of your infancy, but I am sure, like me, you remember all the stories that you were told. Why? Because stories are what adds meaning to our otherwise monotonous lives.

Here is a not-so-common brand story that created tons of hype and touched people to the core, making them buy from Warby Parker:

Brands find it difficult to understand that it is not fabrications and dull crunch numbers that steal the show;it is a compelling brand story that helps fortify your message and makes your business come across as relatable. If you can put out a story that relates to a solution that people are looking for, or a story that will touch them profoundly, people are sure to see the human side of your business.

Gone are the days when people used to get away with cheap marketing tactics. Now is the era of storytelling.

First, you need to understand the need of your audience. Next, you need to create a story that capitalizes one motion to fashion a once in a lifetime experience for the customer. Sure, it might be difficult at first to create an experience, but once you come up with a coaxing story, people will automatically feel the pull.

Five tricks to create an impactful brand story

• What is your business objective?

“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”
“That depends on a good deal on where you want to get to.”
“I don’t much care where –”
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go.” ~Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

This amazing line stemming from Alice in Wonderland speaks a truth that can relate to both life and business. If you are doing something without a clear objective there is no point in doing it at all. In business, you must progress by taking timely decisions. And if you don’t have the clear picture of where you are going with the business, it gets difficult to survive.

Set a clear objective. What is the need of the customer? With that need in mind, create a story that has a propensity to flare-up emotions.

Related: Power of Visual Storytelling?

• Write it like a movie

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the past few years, it is that if you want people to remember your brand, tell your tale in the form of a movie. Reason? A movie consists of all the gamut of emotions that people go through, from the setup, the conflict, the tension, and the resolution.

For instance, you can create a superhero who in the midst of a conflict, and he meets a guide who helps him with the problem. The hero faces life-threatening problems while he resolves the problem, with the help of your product or solution.

https://youtu.be/SiEsm-UOioc

Another phenomenal use of storytelling is to tell the tale of the brand.

• Read it aloud

This is quite impactful. While writing the story of your brand, you might miss on some important points. But when you read it aloud, your brain frees up space for writing and focuses solely on the thing that is written. And one important thing that you need to keep in mind is that if you write words that you can’t speak, get rid of them.

• If your mom doesn’t understand your story, re-write

No matter how geeky your audience gets, if your brand story is not rendered in simple words, you need to re-do it. Consider it a major brand victory when your mom gets your story. Even if she hates technology, but doesn’t look utterly befuzzled while listening to your brand story, and even nods incomprehension, you are done.

• Compact it, as much as possible

The plot of a thriller movie travels like a bullet. If the story of your brand is not moving people, it is better to re-write the story. And one important thing is to keep the sentences short. A common man can grasp a 10-word sentence. Anything longer than that will not be registered by human brain for quick recall. If the story is short, it will be easier for the customer to remember the story.

Your story will build the foundation of trust, but only a customer’s personal experience will cement that trust into something that lasts for a lifetime.

“We are much better storytellers than we are logicians.” ~Daniel Kahneman