When you meet someone for the first time, you probably start by asking them something fairly awkward and generic like “so tell me a bit about yourself”. Hopefully, they don’t start too far back…Now, as a business owner, you find yourself being asked something quite similar at networking events; “so how did you end up doing this?”. It is, as our sci-fi fans will know, time to tell the origin story. When it comes to your business though, we call it your brand story.

So, why would you bother polishing your answer?

Well, your brand story is REALLY important. It tells people a lot about who you are, what values you hold, what your vision is for the future and what they can expect from working with you. Perhaps most importantly of all, however, is that – when you tell your story right, you can create an instant connection to your audience.

How do you tell your brand story through your content?

Well, you could try sharing it through interpretive dance or TikTok video (save those ideas for later?) but perhaps the best way of telling your story is to…tell it. We reckon that this is best done via written content, especially as you’ll be using this on your website and social media channels.

We decided we’d share some of our best storytelling tips, especially as we’re learning how to do this for Thirty Six Digital (you can check out ours here)

1. Work it out BEFORE you write it. Have a very clear idea of what got things started, when it all happened and who was there. Use a series of clear bullet points to help you stay on topic and get it all down.
2. Know your “why”. Understand what your purpose is, the need you’re filling and the impact you can make on your industry.
3. Decide how you want to tell it. We’ve established that this needs to be a written piece, but what kind of voice or tone would you like to use? Are you serious and corporate, or laid back and humorous in your delivery? This leads us nicely onto…
4. Work out who your audience is. If you are working with large corporations, you need to use the appropriate tone and language. If you’re everyone’s friend, you can be more relaxed in your delivery.
5. Be honest. No one expects your journey to be PERFECT. They want to be connected with a human organisation, so they want to know that you, like them, have experienced challenges that you were then able to overcome. This shows individuals in your audience a lot about your resilience, your ability to problem solve and your methods of collaboration. So, be clear about the bumps in the road, the mistakes that you’ve made and the lessons that you’ve learned along the way.
6. Know your product or service BETTER than the back of your hand. That’s right, that saying has let many a-person down. When you assume that you have everything memorised and figured out, you’re likely to hit resistance. Instead, make sure you absolutely 100% know what it is FIRST. You’ll definitely thank us later.

That just about does it as far as we are concerned. Of course, we like to make sure that everyone who works with Thirty Six Digital has a well-honed brand story as well as an exceptional digital presence. So, if you need help telling your story AND having it framed, get in touch!