Storytelling is all the rage in content marketing. Marketing directors across the land are mastering the art of narrative to transform their presence and identity. And there is a good reason for that. We as humans instinctively relate to stories as our core means of understanding how the world works. When told well, we feel and connect with their journeys, and adopt the emotions that they are trying to convey.

Your brand story isn’t how the business started back in 1965. A real brand story is a compelling, ongoing narrative that conveys the background, purpose, and the values of your organisation, and how you want them to connect and resonates with consumers and your target audiences.

Brand storytelling is a complex art, because they brans stories are so much more than ‘just’ stories. They are the history, identity and ongoing strategy of an entire company, meaning there are many ways in which you can create and deliver them.

How do you tell your brand story? Here are a few tips:

1. Know yourself

Truly knowing and understanding your own brand requires some introspection. You may think you know your brand identity, but is everybody in the business aligned with that same interpretation?

Knowing what you stand for, what makes you unique, what your customers need from you, and what your voice sounds like is a vital first step to being able to deliver your brand story to the masses.

To create an authentic brand story, it's a good idea to know what problem you are solving for your customers, clearly define where you are positioned in their lives, and weave your storytelling around that narrative.

2. Choose a Hero

All good stories need a hero; you just need to choose who yours is going to be.

A relatable hero will give your audience something or someone to root for and connect with. So you’ll need to decide who or what will be best suited to be the hero for your brand.

Your product can be your hero, but it isn’t always the most relatable of protagonists to your story. More powerful and relatable than that is your customer. Using your ideal customer as your protagonist, and how your product or services fit seamlessly to improve their everyday lives, is a story well told.

Global brands such as Apple, Adidas, Nike and Airbnb all use this storytelling strategy.

3. Think of the story first

Thinking about the story first, and the product second, will enable you to develop the characters, and your tone of voice, and create meaningful context around the problems and and solutions you’re presenting. It will also help you to understand how and where the story will be told, and over what time.

When developing your narrative, you can start at the end of the story and work back. What is the conclusion you would like your audience to leave with, and how can you work backwards to fulfil that in as compelling a way as possible? Develop your story around your hero, decide the outcome you want, and then work out how your product fits in.