Regardless of what industry sector you’re in, every organisation has a story to tell!
Generating a clear and compelling story can make a big difference to your branding, marketing, and communication efforts. Captivating stories help humanise your presence in a digital world and allow your audience to connect with you personally, emotionally, and instantly.
Are you aware that 50% of B2B buyers are more likely to make a purchase if they connect to the brand on an emotional level?
Brand storytelling is hugely effective within B2B, although often uncommon. Many aren’t sure where to start or they might think that storytelling wouldn’t suit their business. We believe that all organisations can benefit from storytelling. It’s all about uncovering what is truly special about your organisation, products, and services.
Here are some great tips to get you started with storytelling…
Define your audience
Be super clear on who you’re targeting and what your purpose is. This sounds obvious – but all too often we see communications generated without the purpose and target audience/s in mind!
Once you’ve established your target audience/s, it’s important that you then look to understand their motivations, fears, needs, wants, and dreams. What do they value? Looking at campaigns you’ve created previously, and competitor campaigns will help you understand what your customers are interacting and engaging with.
Get talking
Sometimes, the answers lie closer than you think. Consider your brand purpose, your genuine perspectives and knowledge you can share and what makes your brand special. Why not ask your team members what they think makes your organisation unique and what customers are interested in. Or consider speaking to your clients and ask them their thoughts and experiences of what it’s like working with you. Success stories are always winners. In fact, so much so that 90% of buyers who read positive customer success content claim it influenced their purchasing decisions.
Keep it simple and well structured
Keeping your brand story short and sweet will help clarify and accelerate your message. Over-explaining and having multiple focuses will only confuse your audience! Think about all of the content you could share in your story. This could be employee and client perspectives you have gathered. Look at how you can group the content into key themes. What would be the first and most engaging and emotional message you would share? What order should the other themes appear in? Then consider what is an impactful ending and call to action. Keep all your language short and succinct. Make sure you have explored how you can have a unique tone of voice whilst you tell your story.
Show, don’t over tell
Consider how you bring your story to life. Avoid boring and lengthy written descriptions about your organisation. Animations, videos, podcasts, and infographics are a great way to tell a clear, succinct story. It means that your audience can get to know your brand quickly and easily, with very little effort needed. Think about this. If you’re scrolling down your LinkedIn feed on a hectic day, what would stop you in your tracks? Lots of text just isn’t going to do it!
At Embrace, we love helping craft compelling stories. If you’d like to gain personal and instant connections with your audience through storytelling, then get in touch today!
Email hello@weareembrace.com or speak to Becky, our Managing Director, on 01625 789050.
This latest thinking article was written by:
Becky Readon
Managing Director
