As the marketplace becomes increasingly saturated with content, it’s more important than ever for brands to have strong narratives. Regardless of how good your product or service might be, if you aren’t able to tell a compelling and memorable brand story, you won’t stand out from the crowd.

A well-crafted brand narrative tells the story of your culture, connects with your customers emotionally, and shows the value you’ll bring to their lives. But most importantly, it will compel them to take action, whether that’s via a purchase, a mailing list subscription, or simply engaging with your brand on social media.

With that in mind, here are four strategies to define your brand’s mission, forge deep client connections, and make your story stronger.

1. Ask the Most Important Question: Why?

First, consider your brand’s mission — your “why.” This is what drives your entire culture, so it should be what drives the story you tell. If this “why” isn’t as clear as it used to be, you’re not alone. As businesses grow, it’s only natural that their core missions can become foggy or diluted with the noise of metrics and profit. But the bad news is that if anyone struggles to clearly articulate your mission, it lacks the power to drive true brand loyalty.

To rediscover your mission and solidify it (or if it was never that clear to begin with), hold workshops with employees, customers, and key stakeholders to define the sentiments held by both those building the brand and those investing in it. Compare this research with your brand’s initial purpose to refine a mission statement that resonates with you and your customers.

2. Make Your Customer the Hero

One of the best ways to connect with your customers is to make them the heroes of your story. By openly demonstrating how real-life people succeed with your offerings, you prove that you understand your customers’ needs and desires, and you make them feel like they can succeed as well. This strategy not only does wonders for building positive brand sentiment, but it also makes your message more relatable. 

Apple is a good example of how to pull this off effectively. Its “Shot on iPhone” campaign presents photos taken by real-world iPhone users to demonstrate the capabilities of the device through its customers’ own perspectives. 

To help you center your narrative around your customers, write a brand manifesto that speaks directly to them. Incorporate their dreams and needs, and keep rewriting until you can clearly tell the story of how they are the hero in your narrative. While this manifesto may never see the light of day, it will help you better position your customers as the hero in every ad, blog post, and social media interaction.

3. Inject Authenticity and Emotion into Every Word

Without emotional depth, your story will fall flat. Genuine stories, on the other hand, have a tendency to resonate more powerfully with your audience than any elaborate demonstration of key features or cutting-edge technology. So instead of constantly weighing down your customers with information overload, focus on telling relatable, genuine stories that connect with your audience on a deeper level. You can still deliver critical information and express key differentiators that make your product the best, but balance this out with a down-to-earth narrative.

One method for doing so is “building in public” — openly sharing regular updates on your progress, roadblocks, successes, and failures with your audience. Phone and laptop case brand Mous accomplishes this beautifully. Its blog details the product development process, while its widespread social media content campaign shows off its products in action — often with its CEO as the star!

Including emotional resonance in your brand’s story is essential. Genuine narratives inspire people and move past superficial connections, so make sure your brand messaging is both informative and empathetic.

4. Keep Your Story Simple

Overly complicated and exaggerated brand stories may sound impressive, but they regularly miss the mark. Today’s consumers are quickly put off by this kind of messaging (see the above note on relatability). They can spot this from a mile away and steer clear of the brand that takes 100 words to say effectively nothing. They also let their eyes glaze over when brand communication is laden with jargon, buzzwords, and generic statements. 

Take Ben & Jerry’s “We make the best possible ice cream in the nicest possible way.” This makes a clear statement about the quality of its product while emphasizing a dedication to customer service. 

So instead of building a complex story, opt for brevity and substance. Trim your mission statement, your value proposition, and any other core messages down to one sentence wherever possible. This will automatically make your story tighter and more impactful, and you’ll find it easier to incorporate into your messaging. If you can’t narrow down your core message to one sentence, chances are your story is too complicated.

Level Up Your Brand’s Story With Presscart

Brands are only as memorable as their stories. But while great storytelling is an essential part of any successful marketing strategy, it’s also difficult to get right. At Presscart, we’re experts in crafting powerful narratives that establish genuine customer connections, drive engagement, and cultivate brand loyalty. To level up your brand’s story, contact our team today.