“Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy“. So you have hit upon an idea – A Killer Idea – one you want to share with others and let others seek guidance from it. But do you like others telling you what to do and what not to do?! Me neither!
Starting this article by advising Dos and Don’ts for imposing your brand story and holding on to your finger all through the way is therefore a Cliché!
Sorry to say, you can get that free advice everywhere, from everyone. Do you remember the Duck character, Donald Duck? He gets a big kick out of imposing his stories and ideas on other people – A common inclination of our society.
Think hard, The great storytellers of the past never told us how great they were: No Imposition of ideas! The best stories thrust us to discern how great we could be – as Jonah Sachs explains in his book Winning the Story Wars.
That’s the also the heart of The Hero’s Journey, by Joseph Campbell: the single template for all great stories across all times.
In my experience as corporate storyteller, I see a lot of brand stories that are mere bragging, blaring out messages, packaging them in ad campaigns, and repeating them as often as possible to augment the impact.
In short, they are just following what I may call “The sin of vanity”.
Of course, your company or your brand doesn’t step into one of the greatest sins in storytelling. But is it making your audience Stand Up to the Call?
Cavemen Storytellers used to tell the tales in a way that dragged people toward them; enticing and involving the listeners who used to sit around the campfire circle (the circle is what we label today as a “community”) and relating with their audience.
Thus a lesson to learn is that: Companies and their brands are in need of real and emotionally engaging stories to tell.
This involves a series of questions. How? In what way? By what method? In what manner?
Resolution No. 1:
Let your audiences’ link with you instead linking with them.
Here is an example:
Philip Toledano, motivated by a need to unburden himself to people he couldn’t see, posted this story on the, Huffington Post website in the late summer of 2008. He didn’t really expect anyone to listen.
But the story, accompanied by photos of his aging father, was so touching, so recognizable perhaps, that the website started getting thousands of visits a day. The emotional connection the story received is of note:
“Wonderful story. Beautiful pictures.”
“I can’t help the tears right now…I need to go call my dad.”
To date, more than 1.2 million people have been to the site. Does your story connect with a hyper-connected world?
This means: To get people on your side, you quickly have to get on their side. If you do this in a genuine, credible way you will establish connection points, and communicating with your audience becomes really simple.
Do you think that you or your business is in touch with its stories?
Resolution No. 2:
Connect a Brand with a customer’s personal story
A scenario:
You want to market your art to the museums. You need to
- Let your art depict the Museum’s narrative
- Influence the decision maker with power of your image
- Begin to build a relationship with the art lovers.
One of the top tips sales coaches teach their sales reps. “Ask questions, and then start listening”. Know what motivates the audiences, the listeners and the viewers. Learn about what advocate the most passionate amongst them.
Share a common purpose.
Link your existence
Share beliefs with customers
Check: Can your brand can pass the WALL-E test?
Brands like Disney, Procter and Gamble, Zappos, Starbucks, and of course Apple have mastered the principle of generating a brand picture that have made such an incredible impact on our minds without imposing “Stick to your gun” strategy for their brand’s.
How Do I do It?
Simple!! I started interacting online with more people and I was besieged with their information, their stories, and earned their resources. I gained their trust!
Trust is at the centre of this whole process. You don’t need to put a gun to the head to convey your story.
Build Trust among people, ideas and organizations and let your story talk you through the audiences!
