Brand Stories

What they are, why you need them, and how much is TMI?

It seems everyone is talking about the importance of storytelling in sales lately, which leads to a lot of oversharing of personal information.

What' s an introvert to do?

How much does your audience need to know about you when creating and sharing those allimportant brand stories? We had fun, took some photos, and called it a day, planning to do another shoot at a later date. Then Dawn sent me the snapshots of the day. In among them was one that with a little photoshopping was suitable for my author profile. And a dozen more that were simply hilarious. We never did get around to that second photoshoot, and then Alan and I moved to Greece. Now, I know these photos are far from perfect. Many of them, I would rather no one ever saw. And yet, here I am, sharing them voluntarily in the name of storytelling. Why? Because storytelling is all about expression and emotion. The images you use, however perfect, will leave viewers cold if the models you use are stiff and disinterested.

WHAT IS A BRAND STORY?

First. let' s get one thing straight. Despite the current hoopla about origin stories and the mad rush of seemingly every CEO to share their hard-luck backstories, your brand story doesn 't have to be about you. Brand stories are narratives that connect the audience with the values and purpose of the company. And while the brand origin story may well include details of the founders ' lives, it' s more important to make sure the All photographs of Ms Seymour by Dawn Louise Howson

IMAGES MATTER, BUT NOT HOW YOU THINK

My sister Dawn is a photographer, so when I needed a headshot for my author profile, so we arranged a photo shoot.

Unfortunately, when the day came, the weather was lousy, and so was the lighting. The backdrops she had ordered came with creases in them and weren 't suitable to iron, and pulling them taught on the frame didn 't do the trick either as they started to tear. So, after an hour or so trying to set up a half-decent staging, we gave it up as a bad job. But we decided to do the shoot anyway, just for practice.

Sometimes, you just have to get over yourself and share. Often, it' s the candid shots that make you cringe that other people respond to and love the most.

narrative establishes the pressing need for the business to exist from the clients ' perspective. The reason to talk about the challenges you overcame is to show clients with similar issues that you can show them how to do the same. So if a challenge doesn 't directly relate to the business, there ' s no need to share it.

In fact, the best brand stories are those that make the clients, not the company, the hero. That' s why a well-told case study or testimonial can be your most powerful brand story.

WHY YOU NEED BRAND STORIES

Humans are hard-wired to respond to storytelling as a shortcut to learning. To count as a story, your narrative requires a character with a goal and a problem. It also needs a series of actions that lead to the problem ' s eventual resolution through rising and falling action, or conflict. When we hear a story, we mentally project ourselves into the protagonists ' shoes to see how it feels. That' s how we ' re able to learn from others ' experience instead of having to make every mistake ourselves. Your brand stories, then, need to portray people your clients will relate to. Whether that' s you when you were in their shoes, or current clients who are where they want to be, you need to: Have a strong opening hook that calls out your target audience. Bonus points if it repels everyone else. Introduce a character in the same position as them, with a similar goal. Introduce an obstacle preventing your character from reaching their goal. Show a series of failed attempts to solve the problem or partial solutions. Frame your business as the final answer to the problem. Show the character having reached their goal, thanks to your business. Brand stories that feature the founder or key company players don 't need to retell your childhood or share intimate details unless that' s part of your business model. If you ' re helping people overcome childhood trauma, sure, you ' re going to need to talk about that. If, on the other hand, you coach in career development, it' s okay to start your brand origin story with your early career, or even a mid-life career change. HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH INFORMATION?

The introverts like me among you will be glad to know that you don 't have to share anything you ' re not comfortable sharing. While it' s true there ' s a shift towards " radical transparency " in business, there ' s a corresponding move towards privacy rights. So long as you are open and honest about things that relate to your business, there ' s no mandate that says you HAVE to share details of your personal life. As for how much is too much? Before oversharing, asking "Will this help my client move towards their goal?" is always a good tule of thumb.

Now, when the protagonist is a successful CEO or expert, sometimes it' s hard for beginners and potential clients to make that connection. Hence the proliferation of rags-to-riches backstories. These stories often start out relatively tame and grow ever more extravagant as the teller climbs the ladder of success. As an old mentor once told me "the further they rise, the further back they started. " YOUR REGULAR DOSE OF EMPOWERMENT | WWW.GEWMAGAZINE.COM