Brand Story
Brand Story.
What is it, why is it important, and how can your brand story set you apart from your competitors?
This narrative, the brand story, will encompass more than just the history of the brand, but also will share the facts and feelings around the brand to spark feelings and enhance connections.
Telling your story will not only help you connect with your customers, it will also help them establish trust, build loyalty, and appear authentic.
When creating your brand story, don’t make it unrealistic and don’t exaggerate. Be helpful towards your target audience. Telling your story should do so without a primary focus on selling. Share the real life challenges and victories you’ve overcome and are ready to help others conquer as well, and even allow some of your audience to tell their stories. Be consistent and genuine.
People gravitate towards brands they can connect with. Sharing your brand story can help accentuate the nostalgia and feelings your audience has, while connecting their similar situations with yours. It will help build trust, brand awareness, and hold the attention of your target audience.
To tell your brand story, first, highlight a conflict or issue, then create a solution, and lastly, share the success.
- What purpose were we created for? What’s the issue the brand was created to solve? What pain points do we want to alleviate?
- How do we create the solutions for the problems we are solving? In what ways do we help our target audience solve their issues?
- Where have we had success in doing this before? Who have we helped? What was the outcome of the problem solving?
This all applies after you’ve already completed some of the other branding prompts, so at this point you should already know your audience, your brand promise, position, and personality.
If you have all of the above, but nobody to relate to your story, there’s a chance your audience will not resonate with you, your brand, or your products, and you will not see success. Be sure you’ve really tackled all the issues and are confident in the story you’re going to tell.
Now that you have all the tools, concepts, and directions, let’s create your brand story. As simple as it sounds, write it like a… story!
- What purpose were we created for? What’s the issue the brand was created to solve? What pain points do we want to alleviate?
- How do we create the solutions for the problems we are solving? In what ways do we help our target audience solve their issues?
- Where have we had success in doing this before? Who have we helped? What was the outcome of the problem solving?
- Simplify CE was created to make continuing your education a smooth and simple process. Many providers of continuing education have made the process complex, drawn out, and boring. While trying to add “spice” to their courses, they create more work and tasks which most students are not looking for in searching for completing their education.
- By creating simplified continuing education, we are providing what you need without the added stress, time, or confusion. We seek to serve you the necessary education and updates, ensure you learn from the courses you complete, and have the credits and requirements you need to fulfill your state renewal. Nothing less, nothing more. Additionally, we provide the education on a device you have access to - desktop, mobile phone, tablet - so you can complete your education anywhere, without any stress of incompatible devices.
- Since our foundation in 2015, Simplify CE has helped over 900 Oregon Real Estate professionals fulfill their continuing education needs. Survey results (and returning students) show our students prefer the simplicity of our offerings over the competition.
To finish it off, just put it all together!
The beauty of this is you can adjust and tweak the story as needed. Whether you don’t love how the story blends, you have more to add, you received more reviews, or whatever needs adapted, adjust it as needed; just make sure you keep the key points succinct and direct. Write, write, and rewrite your story until you have one that really speaks to you, and makes you feel as though it’s unapologetically your brand story. You should be able to really stand behind the words and emotion of your brand story, without hesitation or issue.
Now that you’ve learned the simple 3 step process and seen a real life example, it’s your turn to take a shot at your brand story.
Be sure to highlight the aspects you really feel passionate about and can stand behind, and remove the fluff.
We’d love to see what you’ve come up with, and offer a little help along the way. Feel free to send your brand story to support@simplifyce.com with a subject of: Simplifying My Brand Story and we will provide feedback and suggestions to get you well on your way of stepping in front of your competitors!