What’s Your Story, Morning Glory?

Do you know what your brand story is? If asked, do you point to the factual About Us section of your website? Does it make the right connection with your audience? If you’re not sure, it’s time to take a step back and dive into what your brand really stands for and how you’re communicating it.

If all of this sounds like Greek to you, you’re not alone. So, let’s start with the basics. Your brand story is the essence of your brand’s identity, values, and purpose, told in a way that is not only relatable to your target audience but also compelling.  It should draw them in and immediately create an emotional connection. And the deeper that connection is, the stronger the brand loyalty will be.

So, yeah, it’s kind of important. So important, in fact, that at Freshwater Creative, if you don’t have a brand story, developing one is almost always where we begin. It is the foundational work that all other messaging stems from. It’s what keeps your communication consistent and relevant. Without it, it’s far too easy to go off course and forget what your brand truly stands for and why it exists.

Creating a Compelling Brand Story

That’s the secret sauce, right? If your story isn’t compelling, who’s going to read it? Certainly not your target audience. But what makes it compelling? The truth is every story is — and should be — unique. It’s about what your brand stands for and offers to your customers. While there isn’t a secret formula to follow, every brand story should be authentic, emotional, and truthful. In other words, you better be able to live up to the brand story or your credibility will be shattered.

Here’s a look at how we tackle story development for our clients.

Brand story brainstorming

Understand Your Brand’s Core: We hone in on your mission, vision, and values so that every messaging point aligns with your authentic brand.

  • Define the Target Audience: We work to understand who your audience is and how your brand will make their lives better, easier, and/or more enjoyable so that your story is relevant.  

  • Develop the Voice: Is your brand a leader, a supporter, a disruptor? Determining your brand's identity will help define its voice and the tone of your brand story. 

  • Get to Writing: We often craft 3-4 brand stories from different perspectives and sometimes for different audiences before we land on the most meaningful and impactful version of what makes your brand unique and relevant.

The result? Powerful paragraphs that serve as the soul of your brand. Here’s the result of our own brand story as an example.

Freshwater Creative

Our quest to design a better agency began when we left our “big agency” jobs and banded together to build something different. Our dream was to design a fresh alternative to the typical agency model filled with too much overhead and not enough value or satisfaction in the results—for our clients and ourselves. So, we filtered out the layers of bureaucracy, the ego-filled boardroom, and the unnecessary layers of process and extra work. What’s left is an agency built on trust, camaraderie, and wickedly smart thinking. 

Freshwater Creative is an agency founded on the principle that marketing works best when distilled to what matters. We are driven to produce branding and marketing strategies that captivate and compel audiences to take action and lead to real, measurable results that drive business growth. We believe the art of building a brand should be streamlined, so we’ve boiled down the process to get to the essential elements needed to clearly show the world what it is, what it stands for, and why it exists.

Putting Your Powerful Paragraphs to Work

Now that you have your brand story, what do you do with it? 

You share it internally. As marketers, sometimes we’re so focused on external efforts that we forget how important it is to share efforts with internal staff before any new messaging hits the market. Your employees are a critical component to making your story stick and remaining authentic. If they’re not aware, there is no chance of them adopting the narrative in sales presentations, client calls, or even discussions with their own family and friends. They are your biggest advocates and sometimes your most significant mouthpieces when sharing your story. 

You share it externally. Once your employees are introduced to your brand story, then — and only then — do you share it with the outside world. By infusing your story into your website, social media channels, trade show banners, and even packaging, your messaging will be consistent, and it will become recognizable to loyal customers and prospects.

Is the Job then Complete?

Not quite. While your original story shouldn’t stray too far, you should revisit it every few years. Just like your brand, your story should be dynamic and updated as your business changes and audience needs transform. 

Ultimately, an authentic brand story and the accompanying messaging and campaigns that follow can transform your business, turning customers into passionate supporters and driving growth. By staying true to your values and sharing your journey, your powerful story will foster deep, lasting connections with your audience. 

So, embrace the process of developing your powerful story and watch as it can boost your sales and build unwavering loyalty.