We all have that friend: the one that can tell any story to anyone and anything that comes out of his mouth is guaranteed to be captivating. Besides feeling completely envious of his socializing capabilities, you enjoy his stories because you believe, trust and share a connection with the guy. We as marketers need to use this same principle as a way to share a brand’s tale, ultimately using storytelling as a way to connect to our audience.
Now before jumping right in, we need to go back to the basics of writing and structuring a story – enter writing 101. First, you need to figure out the tactical points in the story, also known as the story arc. The story arc is comprised of the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution. It’s important to note that your brand and the resolution are synonymous. You must be able to tell how your product provides a solution for your audience. Second, you need to come up with a plot. In Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories the following are the main plots to a story:
- Overcoming the Monster
- Rags to Riches
- The Quest
- Voyage & Return
- Comedy
- Tragedy
- Rebirth
Now that you have options for a plot and a story arc established, you need to figure out how to fill your framework with content.
What content will resonate and evoke emotion with your audience? That’s a big question that you will need to answer. Furthermore, have you thought of your audience and what resonates with them? There are many angles you can take with your brand storytelling. For example, you could tell how your company was established with a rags to riches plot – but only if that holds true. The key is not to over-shadow the consumer and throw them an our-company-is-wholly-than-thou message. Your goal is to look at the consumer as the main character and your brand as a sidekick role. Become the Robin to the Batman or the Chewbacca to Han Solo because your products and services are supporting the consumers’ needs.
Remember, storytelling is not just about the content but also how you bring it to life. The channels in which our stories are shared, the composition they take and the theme they present are additional elements to the story. And as Apple and Guinness brilliantly show, execution is just as important.
If your main entrée of a brand needs a side dish of storytelling, give Scream Agency a shout and we would love to unleash our brand storytelling capabilities.