Brand storytelling is becoming a popular trend for companies big and small as they are beginning to see the effect that a good story can have on their customers.
Storytelling can evoke emotion inside an individual, and as we all should know we, as humans, tend to make most of our decisions based on our emotional mindsets.
But, for most of us, storytelling doesn’t come naturally. It takes time, dedication and just a touch of imagination. You need to have an eye for what makes a good story and the intricate details which will leave a lasting impression on the reader. However, some storytellers fall into same pitfalls each time they go about writing a piece. Which mistakes you ask? Well, we here at All Good Tales have a passion for telling great stories and we’ve identified some of the most common mistakes executives make when it comes to brand storytelling.
1. Becoming an enigma when unnecessary
Stories can be complex without becoming confusing.
If you’re striving for layers when it comes to brand storytelling, it needs to be done simply. You want your audience to be able to follow your direction without getting lost. Communications is all about conveying your message to the masses in the simplest form, not creating riddles.
Jargon can also cause confusion for those that don’t have the technical know-how to keep up. If you need to include jargon, it’s no extra hassle to include a brief description within the same body of text.
2. Avoiding visuals!
What do all great stories throughout history all have in common? They all come with illustrations!
Our minds have amazing capabilities when it comes to imagining characters and other details. But don’t we respond better to images than just plain text?
Visual storytelling is incredibly impactful to an audience. If they connect with the images presented to them, they may end up attaching emotional meaning to your brand which is never a bad thing.
3. Believing that you’re the best
As we previously mentioned, the aim for most brands is to try and create an emotional bond between the customer and your brand.
You want to forge friendships and long-lasting loyalty through honest marketing and strategic storytelling.
However, you will never achieve this if you portray your business in an arrogant manner. It’s a turn-off and nowadays consumers are no longer dazzled by this glossy style of marketing.
4. Not understanding your core value first
This is extremely common for those who begin using storytelling as a marketing strategy. They fail to recognise their own core beliefs and values before trying to share them with the rest of the world. That, unfortunately, will never work.
You need to sit down with your team of storytellers and find out exactly what you want to tell people, while at the same time working out what exactly they want to hear.
Forming a simple mission statement can remedy this issue and will benefit your organisation as a whole, not just one department. You can then include this mission statement in all of your campaigns, using it as a base for storytelling strategies.
5. Not showing off your employees
Brands often omit the hard working teams and individuals which make the brand such a success and we think that is one of the biggest mistakes you can make.
Doing this can create a one-dimensional image of your brand, one that prevents customers from connecting on an emotional level.
Make your brand more personal by showing off the incredible talent behind your brand. The individuals who strive to tell your story in the most accurate way possible. That is the key to brand authenticity.
Here at All Good Tales we are passionate about storytelling and its power. We are currently doing great storytelling work for brands like Kingspan, Glandore, Ancestry.com, and daa, to name just a few. We are building brand newsrooms, executing exciting PR strategies, and training key staff how to source, structure and tell great stories. For more information please click here or call Gaye on (01) 254 1845.
