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The Power of Storytelling to Make Your Brand More Human

In a digitally dependent world, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for brands to connect with their customers. And it doesn’t help that the majority of consumers have distrust in brands. Consumers often perceive businesses as being “just in it for the money.” So, how can you build trust and engage customers to care about your brand? You tell stories.

Brands can leverage storytelling to make their communication and their business feel more human. It’s an approach that has been used by brands for decades to bring authenticity to your business.

The most effective storytelling offers a crisp explanation of what you do followed by a story with a human element. Your business doesn’t just manufacture medical devices, it creates high-tech machinery that helps a father receive life-saving treatment so he can attend his son’s first birthday. Your business doesn’t just build tractors, it provides the tools a family farm needs to help feed the entire Western United States. By driving the engine of storytelling, your brand can forge connections not just with customers but also with investors, recruits, partners, and beyond.

6 Ways to Effectively Tell Your Brand’s Story

Every brand has a story. This is the primary motivator behind why a brand does business. If you’re not sure how to effectively tell your brand’s story, below are a few different approaches to consider in order to connect with your audience.

1. Address Your Customer’s Pains

Research by Salesforce found that 66% of customers expect companies to understand their unique needs. When approaching storytelling, demonstrate your understanding of their challenges and the potential of your product to reshape and improve their day-to-day lives. A story about another human being can help a customer see firsthand how the product will impact their own life.

 

2. Highlight Your Company Ethos Through Employees

Think of your brand as a puzzle, with each piece representing one of your employees. Your employees are what help make your brand a complete picture, but it’s not often that customers get to see the faces behind a business. Video testimonials, ‘day-in-the life’ and thematic pieces can capture the passion and ingenuity of your brand, highlight key priorities, while build trusting and credibility. By audibly and visually hearing what motivates your employees, your customers will feel more connected and engaged with your brand.

3. Simplify What You Do

Much of the technology that exists today is some of the most groundbreaking innovation of our time. But with innovation comes complexity, and it’s not always easy for the everyday individual to fully grasp what your business does, how your technology works, and its outsized impact in daily life. This is where visual storytelling can be used to your advantage. It’s one thing to read how a product works, but to see it in action will offer a whole new perspective to your audience. Brand films, short explainer animations, and interactive experiences are just a few ways to make your messaging simple and clear.

4. Enhance Your Digital Presence

Have you ever visited a website and been, quite frankly, underwhelmed? First impressions are everything—especially when it comes to your digital presence. Data from Stanford researchers found that 75% of consumers admit to making judgements on a brand’s credibility based on the company’s website. Your website should be as cutting edge as your brand, and you want to make share you tell your brand story fully by including human stories in appropriate formats.

5. Engage in Thought Leadership Opportunities

With consumer trust remaining a top challenge for businesses, strategically engaging in thought leadership opportunities can compel decision-making while boosting brand authority and credibility.

Podcasts have become one of the leading ways for businesses to own the narrative around their brand while also speaking to what’s happening in the industry around them. And the intimate, yet unrehearsed nature of the podcast experience helps humanize the brands they are associated with. Brands including Slack, Shopify, and General Electric (GE) have all jumped aboard, and the impact is significant. GE’s eight-part science fiction podcast The Message has received millions of downloads and even reached number one on the iTunes podcast charts. Despite being a science fiction story, The Message is able to connect listeners to what the GE brand is about without directly selling the GE product.

 

6. Consider Special Projects to Reach New Heights

Similar to podcasts, special projects such as premium short films or docu-series have the ability to drive-large scale initiatives, such as rebranding or repositioning, and product launches. Long-form storytelling with wide entertainment appeal is on the rise, helping brands attract substantial media attention and reach audiences who may have otherwise never discovered the brand.

In January 2020, wellness company Headspace launched its three-part Netflix docuseries, Headspace Guide to Meditation. The series explored the human relationship between stress, sleep, and anxiety and how each impact our body. It offered information that almost every potential customer could use and relate to. By the end of March, Headspace download rates doubled. And by the end of the year, there was a 500% increase in companies purchasing Headspace subscriptions for their workers. While these projects require a significant amount of time and money, the potential outcomes can take your brand to new heights.

Tell Your Brand’s Story with Osmosis Films

Osmosis Films is an award-winning creative studio specializing in cutting-edge content—from feature films, to documentary series, to animation, and more. We are a team of storytellers who bring our clients’ stories to life across a wide range of industries and business types. We excel at discovering, developing, and communicating your narratives to the audiences you need to reach. If you’re interested in what visual storytelling can offer your brand, explore some of our work or connect with our team to learn more.


To learn more about how your tech brand can benefit from employing visual storytelling, get our eBook:
How Visual Storytelling Can Invigorate Your Tech Business’ Marketing Strategy

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