Tell Your Story to Grow Your Brand

There’s a common misconception that branding is what happens when you start your business. You think up a name, design a logo, build a website. Then, you start advertising, convincing people to buy your product or service. Really, branding and advertising work together to meet the buyer at whatever point of the sales funnel they’re in.

When we talk about advertising, we’re talking about transactional, 1:1 interactions with customers. You’re promoting the features and benefits of your products. You’re screaming “Hey! Look at us!” 

This is important, especially in the constant sea of noise that consumers face. You have to stand out and catch their attention. It’s top-of-funnel. It gets people in the door, but it’s not what builds longevity in customers, helps develop repeat buyers, or creates apostles that begin spreading your brand for you. That’s where the story comes in.

Branding or your brand story is more than the look and feel of your logo, storefront, online presence, whatever– it’s the ethos of your brand. It’s why you do what you’re doing. There’s science behind this storytelling too. By telling your story, you’re creating a proven emotional relationship with your customer that turns into trust and eventually a community of like-minded individuals that are excited about your products.

Your brand story starts out as the telling of who you are and what you’re about. As the story progresses and grows, you can talk about your company’s origin, values, goals, and mission.

From there, your content marketing strategy can evolve into a living journal that can consist of events, tips, and tricks, media, interviews– anything that feels organic and true to your value set and mission. The trick here is to be real. Consumers, more than anything else, can smell bullshit. If you’re not creating content that’s relevant to your mission, you’re off target.

Telling your brand story is important. It connects you with your customers. It builds trust and loyalty. It differentiates your brand. 

The thing to remember is that content marketing is a long game. It doesn’t happen overnight. As you create more and more pieces of content, be it a blog or a podcast or a lookbook, or any number of things, you’re giving consumers one more way they can learn about your brand. 

Over time, this develops into a personality that customers begin to feel connected to and trust. Creating a wide breadth of content also makes your brand more discoverable. As you develop a voice in your field, others will come to rely on it, refer to it and regard it as a contributor to your community. 

Strategically, deciphering which channels best fit your brand and directing content into those outlets will help sharpen your overall content marketing strategy and your brand voice. As your company grows and changes, your content marketing strategy should shift with it. It’s important to continually evaluate what you’re posting and where.

Building a successful brand story doesn’t happen overnight. Consumers are savvy and selective, but the magic of watching a community begin to grow about something you care about is an incredible feeling and will lead to more reach, influence, and of course– revenue. 

Interested in learning more about brand strategy, or growing your brand? Drop us a line.