Storytelling is big news at the moment, but what is it? Storytelling is the art of creating a cohesive narrative so audiences form an emotional connection. It’s a trend that is not going anywhere for the foreseeable future.

What Is A Brand Story?

A brand story is, erm, well, the story of a brand. I’ve already mentioned that storytelling creates an emotional connection with viewers, but how?

It may be through the chronological story of a brand from small beginnings to world domination, or it might be a story about their ultimate goal of achieving a particular goal or helping make a difference in the world.

It also doesn’t have to be a story of epic proportions to be an effective brand story. It could be as simple as a person’s reason for starting their business, their handcrafting processes or running a business around their every day life.

Why Do Brand Stories Matter?

In an AI-generated, mass-produced, over-saturated world, things can feel pretty noisy. We live in a world where self-checkouts exist, next day delivery is expected and same-day delivery is possible. Shopping online is fast, loud, anonymous and impersonal.

Brand stories are a way of finding connection, building trust and showing authenticity. A brand’s story tells audiences that this brand is not the same as all the other brands they’ve encountered.

As a small business owner, your brand story is your secret sauce! You may not be able to compete with next day delivery or mass-production prices, but you can tell your story to give your customers that experience of human connection. No customer gets that from the site that rhymes with Schmamazon.

The first step when dipping your toe into the rockpool of brand storytelling is to define your brand’s story. By this, I mean, decide exactly what your story angle is. There are always so many possibilities and angles you could choose from, so start by writing down all the possibilities.

You don’t need to share every tiny detail of your life or your business to share your brand story. You simply need to pick the most important or relevant threads and consistently share them with your audience.

How Can Creative Small Businesses Define Their Brand Story?

1- List the reasons you started your business

What motivated you to start your business? Was it following the most boring job in the world, in a desperate bid to never have to work there ever again? Were you following a lifelong passion for creating knitted frogs? Did you accidentally purchase a laser cutting machine and have to make a living somehow using your new bit of kit to justify the spend?

Ok, the last one was weirdly specific and is true for me. I purchased a laser cutter without a plan and fell into my product business fresh out of university. I like to keep it real and tell this story because it’s quite an unlikely start for a business. It always gets lots of engagement on socials when I tell this story.

2-Write down any struggles you’ve overcome

Recession? Check. Paper mills going bust? Check. Fighting against a beige world and bringing colour to a traditionally non-colourful niche? Why not! Audiences love an underdog. Sharing your stories of battles won or challenges faced shows that you are human and that you care.

3-What have been your greatest achievements so far?

I use this story a lot in my product business and audiences love it. Not only does it give you an interesting story, but it gives audiences social proof and a reason to shop with you.

4-What are you trying to achieve through your business?

Maybe your ultimate goal is to make your products the highest quality, or the most affordable, or the most easy to use. You might have a cause that you support or something you are fundraising for. Or perhaps your goal is to raise awareness about an issue, or just to make people happy. Whatever your goal, it can be a part of your story.

5-What do your customers say about you?

This could be sharing feedback, stories about happy customers or the number of messages you get from happy customers on a regular basis. Perhaps your customers always tell you that their friends cry when they receive your products as gifts. Maybe you have a customer that always sends you biscuits to thank you for your wonderful products. Think about how your products are received and recurring themes in your reviews.

6- What are your brand values?

What is important to your brand and why? These should definitely be a part of your story.

7- What are your ideal customers’ values?

If you can get an idea of your ideal customers’ values then you can align your storytelling and messaging with them and get them onside. If you know that your audience feels strongly about sustainability, and your making process is eco-friendly, you need to make sure you tell your audiences about it.

Storytelling Tips

Have a beginning, middle and end. Where did you start? Where are you now? Where do you want to take your business?

Show up personally, be the face of your brand. People love human connection. Be the antidote to the impersonal big brands by showing up personally.

Take your audience behind the scenes. As above, people love connection. Showing behind the scenes gives audiences an exclusive sneak peek and invites them into your world.

Be authentic. Authenticity builds trust. Make sure you share honest brand stories.

Be consistent. Tell your story over and over. People won’t get bored of hearing it.

Summing Up

Storytelling is such a useful tool for small business owners. Define your unique message, point of view and journey, and share it authentically to build trust with your audience.

What’s your unique brand story?