For decades, marketers have been taught the old saying: “Facts tell, stories sell.” Indeed, brand stories need more than just pure facts to stand out. The difference today is in what that “more” really involves. Effective storytelling in 2023 requires the use of social media management insights in order to keep up with constantly evolving trends and customer demands.

At Lexicon, we tell stories for brands every day with over a decade of experience in helping our clients tell their impactful stories to their audience. Our own brand story is one we’re proud of, developing as we did from an initial one-man operation focusing on content writing to the full service storytelling agency we are today, including branding, video production and website design.

And no company does brand storytelling better than Apple. Recall if you will, their Think Different campaign. This is customer-focused brand storytelling at its finest, inviting you, the end user, to stand on the shoulders of giants by utilizing Apple’s tools. Beyond that, the solid CEO branding of Steve Jobs meant that the story of Apple was clear for all to see. 

For most businesses these days, social media is the perfect tool to leverage company storytelling techniques. With myriad channels serving different purposes and each platform having its own unique selling points, there’s endless opportunities to tell your brand story. Why not share your behind-the-scenes company culture insights on Instagram? Let’s showcase your executives and their thought leadership on LinkedIn. And, of course, through articles like this, websites are the ultimate hub of a company’s storytelling efforts.

What is Brand Storytelling?

Have you ever felt a strong connection to a brand or a product, and still think well of this company or product up until today? That connection is the result of effective brand storytelling.

To accomplish this effect within your own audience, it is necessary to tell a compelling story surrounding the creation of a brand, product or even your own origin stories.

Do the founders have a special story to tell about the brand? Which pain points were they aiming to solve? What was the inspiration behind the company and its core products? What are the brand’s values?

These details, when delivered convincingly, elicit emotional bonds with customers who will come to believe that your brand’s story is meaningful to them. Having a unique and authentic story behind the brand will set you apart from competitors in the same market — especially when your story and values reflect their needs, expectations, and aspirations.

An effective brand story will push customer demand, create better experiences, and drive sales between the brand and the customer.

Who is the audience?

The first step for a brand or company is to identify its audience. It is easier to build strong relationships if you have a good understanding of your target audience. This knowledge will let you accurately assess customers’ requirements and pain points, helping you to deliver a product that they want.

How do you create a great brand story?

Use narrative techniques

People are drawn to a good story that has well-developed characters, settings, conflicts, climaxes, and a resolution. By combining these elements well, and putting your audience at the center of the story, you can build an emotional bond with customers.

Be authentic

Authenticity shines through in the best stories. Don’t write articles just to follow the latest trend, although it’s fine if the trend is incorporated tastefully. Above all, when conveying your tale, be true to your brand’s identity, history, goals, and values — the combination of which should serve as your compass.

Collaborate with your audience

An important practice in brand storytelling is collaborating with devoted followers. Using social media, customers can interact and share immediate feedback with their favorite brands. This type of exchange helps to continuously improve brand storytelling and marketing strategies, while also promoting customer inclusion.

How can storytellers leverage social media?

Social listening tools

It is crucial for storytellers to monitor social trends using social listening tools. These can cover a variety of topics, including products, brands, current events, and much more. Understanding how people experience your brand — and beyond — requires social listening.

By accessing the full range of conversations around your business, brand, and competitors, social listening helps you better understand your audience, letting you enhance your company’s narrative.

Mandala Analytics, Google Trends, and Wisesight Trend are examples of social listening tools that can be used to create a unique and up-to-date brand story that people will enjoy.

Polls

Ask questions if you wish to understand your audience better. A wonderful method to obtain opinions on contentious issues or popular products is by creating interactive polls on Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn. A community that is engaged is more likely to share its opinions in the future; and polls are a quick and effective method of creating that community.

By using data from polls, the brand can implement what the audience truly wants into the brand story to create a strong touchpoint between the brand and its target audience.

About the Author

Piyanat Jantharot is a Senior Brand Strategist at Lexicon working working with leading brands to develop impactful stories on a daily basis. His team manages executive brands for busy CEOs, runs B2B marketing campaigns and develops social media marketing strategies.

Lexicon is an award-winning brand storytelling agency focusing on telling impactful stories for clients based in Thailand and South East Asia. Lexicon has been around for almost a decade and has told thousands of stories just like yours.