Storytelling for Brands – No secret but tips

My teammates frequently ask me, “How to write a story that hacks?”

I have no secret. Or maybe the secret is hidden in my childhood, once upon a time. These are the days I grew up with lots of stories. The Kim Dung sword dramas, the comic books, the novels, and the movies with amazing hero and fairy tales.

I love reading books, but not all. I write books, and most are novels. I do not prefer to write something that teaches, or drives readers to confusion. Emotions are important. What they feel when reading my stories and what they can remember are my goals when writing.

We all have our own stories to tell

It’s not difficult to find out how many users joined Wattpad, or E-novel, and young writers have never stopped surprising me. They can write 30,000 words per month, which is the same amount that may take me over 1 year to finish.

However, the amount does not say anything unless you manage to keep readers glued to their screens, ready to read the next chapters, and return to read yours later.

I have recently helped a young and small community of novelists to review and qualify the contestants. They have ideas. They can write smoothly. They are creative.

But the stories that can boost my emotions, trigger my curiosity, and make me admire them are rare. Yet they are young, and I believe most of them will become good storytellers in the future, about 5 or 6 years later. Anyway, Gen Z is hard to read, perhaps.

Branding is another world of stories

When it comes to brands, they always call for a storyteller who can understand deeply the customer’s journey, the market, and the competitors. A person was born, and his or her story began, but a brand may be born after a story is built from tens of thousands of hours of research and concepts.

So, the question is, what is special about storytelling for brands?

Like a novel, brand story need characters. We called its attributes. The image, the tone of voice, the feeling it gives audience and after all how it introduces about its self.

Both Audi and Mercedes are luxury brand cars.

Mercedes is classic but not “old.” The cars with the Mercedes name are elegant, have an entrepreneurial look, and somehow show a stuffiness. Audi is younger but not an adolescent. With the appealing visuality of a nice design, Audi’s cars are made to fit drivers who are sophisticated thinkers and want a convenient interior.

Since I am not a driver who spends much time reading and studying cars, I had better not go farther here. However, I believe the differences are obvious to see and feel between the brands. A customer will know which brand is right for him, fitting his style and satisfying his needs.

Though I said here before that I have no secret to creating stories, I must say we should note some tips for building a brand’s story.