Providing a story behind your brand, you’re providing an identity for consumers to relate to, believe in and be intrigued by. At the end of the day, it’s important to remember you’re dealing with real people – and human-to-human connections are based on the heart and soul of a business. Iconic brands including Disney and Apple have used the power of the brand story to their advantage and have thrived from it ever  since. However, the question is what is in a story that will make consumers crave more? Well, a good story will give big voices to small ventures. To begin building your story we have listed some essential tips below.

Understanding Storytelling
When a true story is shared, your message is perceived as authentic and unique making it prime. Humans live and breathe stories, from marketing to branding on a daily basis – therefore your content will impact more lives and improve your credibility without a doubt. As a business, sharing stories of your success and failures will shape a real relationship with the consumers in the long run.

Make Your Story Simple
The story description will probably take up a few thousand and endless late nights of brainstorming words but the outline is simple: Problem – Solution – Success. The more simple, honest and authentic the story, the better. Brands that overtly attempt to create a story misplace their true branding and quickly tend to lose customers rapidly. Although we love complex plots when it comes to books and movies, that same model cannot be imported into a brand’s story and business plan as it can become difficult to keep up with.

Connect Your Story to Customers
In the end, your story isn’t entirely about your company but more so your story is a grand opportunity to create a direct connection with your customers for a lasting relationship. Tell your story in a way that allows your customers to relate to your brand, a personal relation. For example the newly implemented fitness brand SoulCycle tells customer that they want to create a an alternative to fitness routines that felt like work special for the consumer. Disney created a slew of films that relate to different characters in real life scenarios based off both history and true life elements of being bound by a challenge and finding the willingness to break free. How often does the average joe encounter obstacles on a daily basis?

Allow Customers to Join the Story
Customer reviews are trusted more than the descriptions that come from manufacturers, so make sure your provide plenty of opportunities for your consumer to share their feedback through comments and reviews. By allowing real customers to speak on behalf of your product it adds authenticity and will create trust between you the consumer. Be sure to take the time to amplify this content as it only adds to the verification of your brand and the story behind your brand. If your consumers believe in your brand, why not allow them to be a part of your success story as your company develops over time.

Let Visible Founders Tell Your Story
It’s important to give the founder an active role in the company besides cashing checks and calling shots. The founder, AKA Employee #1, is the one who started the story, so it’s vital to the operation that he or she remains in it. Good examples would be Walt Disney or Steve Jobs as they manages to stay a strong statue in their companies long after their passing as monumental figures within their brand’s story and growth.

Personalize User Experiences With Your Story
The customers are a vital part of your story, giving them personalized featured content will create a more meaningful experience for them. You can gather this information by allowing your user to login to your site with an existing social media account such as Facebook tapping into their interests. Double whammy! Providing opportunities like this makes the user experience better and your brand better by promptly showing you have a sincere and personal interest in each customer.

Social Stories Are Good Business
Many brands, such as Toms Shoes, incorporate an element of social good into their stories. Giving back to the community makes for a good story and a good customer. Founder of Toms, Blake Mycoskie, “witnessed the hardships faced by children growing up without shoes” so he created Toms Shoes to help by matching every pair of shoes purchased with a new pair of shoes for a child in need. This story solves a problem, has a visible founder and does good for the community. Genius!