Running a successful business is not just about having a great product or service—it's about sharing the journey, the values, and the "why" behind what you do. It’s telling this story that will unlock a deeper connection with your audience, allowing them to see themselves in your brand, and transforming their casual interest into lasting loyalty. 

It may not always take the same shape, but storytelling and connecting with an audience has been integral to the human experience for millennia across all cultures. 

Because of this, storytelling is an incredibly powerful tactic for brands. With a well-constructed brand story, you can create an emotionally-driven connection with your audience and demonstrate exactly who you are, what you stand for, and why you provide value for your audience. 

In this post, we’ll go over what brand storytelling is and why it’s a necessary part of making your company stand out from the crowd. 

My mom and I love word games.

When I was growing up, cell phones were not as ubiquitous as they are now, and thus the ever-present scrolling through social media or playing games of Candy Crush were not options. When my brothers and I were faced with stretches of time, such as waiting for doctors' appointments or long car rides, my mom turned to word games.

Ten year-old Melanie's favorite part of school was weekly free-time.

When other kids would play games, read books, or braid each others' hair, I would sit with a newfangled typing device -- one step more technological than a typewriter, but not as equipped with editing or formatting functions as a laptop -- and write to my heart's content. I spent those 45 minutes every week working on my masterpiece -- a comedic whodunnit play of which I cannot remember the name. What started as a frivolous exercise to entertain my three best friends and me, soon became a class endeavor. I wrote bit parts for every one of my classmates -- with myself as the lead, of course. Not a popular kid by most objective standards (such that they are in elementary school), this newfound acclaim was groundbreaking. Not only did people want to hang out with me, they wanted to be a part of the play that I was writing.

The power was intoxicating.

As a brand strategist, I feel really comfortable helping others tell and shape their story, but I often have difficulty when it comes to sharing my own. When I began my career pivot away from teaching, I had a really hard time explaining why I was making a shift.

Each time I told someone else my plan, I felt like I had to explain myself and almost apologize as to why I decided to make the change. People knew me as a teacher, but now I was going back on what I said. I got so worked up about having these conversations, particularly with people who were teachers or mentors in the teaching field, that I avoided the conversations for months.

And, you know what happened when I finally told them?

They were incredibly supportive.