Story branding is the hottest new marketing trend, and you definitely need to jump on board. But maybe you don’t really understand what story branding is, or you don’t know where to start. Friend, I’ve got your back! In this post, I’ve simplified a few of the key concepts of story branding. And I promise, after you read this blog post you will change the way you market your business on social media.

Let’s take a stroll down memory lane, shall we? Think back to elementary school, when you were learning about the elements of a story. In every story, there’s always a character who has a problem. And by the end of the story they’ve found a solution, and they all live happily ever after.

This is the basis of story branding. Take those same elements of a story and apply it to your brand. In this post, we’re tackling the main three.

Character

Character is always the most interesting facet of story branding to me. The main character is always the hero of the story, right? Most businesses market to their followers as if they are the hero. Their product or service is going to save the day. But this is a very egocentric way to market yourself, and nobody likes a show off. The truth is your ideal client should be the hero of your story, not you. You just happen to be the perfect person to help them with the next story element.

Problem & Solution

So our character (customer) has a problem. Your job: identify the problem and offer a solution. What’s their specific problem in relation to your product or service? And what can you do to fix it?

For example, say you are a network marketer and you sell skin care products. Your character is a women in her late 30’s, and her problem is the sun damage and aging skin she sees when she looks in the mirror everyday. Wouldn’t you know, you have the perfect skin care system that will fix her problem and make her look (and feel!) 10 years younger!

Or maybe you’re a photographer, and your characters are a young family who just moved into a new home. The mom is SO excited to decorate her new home, and she is envisioning a big, beautiful family photo over their new fireplace. Lucky for her, you happen to take amazing images and have beautiful, heirloom quality canvases that you KNOW will make her vision into reality! (Yes, this is a shameless plug. Check out Sweet Nothings Photography!)

See what we’re doing? The story isn’t really about us. It’s about our customers and how we can make their lives better. But at the same time, we are telling exactly who we are and what makes us special. This is story branding.

I told you that at the end of this post, you’d be rethinking how you market on social media. Here’s what I want you to consider. When it comes to social media, make everything you post 100% about your ideal customer, not you. In story branding, you are not the hero of your story. Your customer is.

Story Branding 101 Consultations

So today we talked about the main three elements of story as it relates to our branding: character, problem, and solution. This is only the tip of the iceberg. If you’re serious about your business and want to connect with your customers in a whole new way, I’d love to help you navigate the other dimensions of story branding in a one on one consultation. Together, we’ll put together a complete story branding profile of your business and have you connecting with your clients on a whole new level! You can learn more about my Story Branding 101 Consultations {HERE}.

Do you already use story branding in your marketing? If so, tell us in the comments your results. If not, do you feel differently about story branding after reading this post?