Brand storytelling on social media increases reach, brand awareness, and attracting new consumers. The story a brand promotes is how consumers will remember the business. A brand story has to have detail, quality, and instantly capture the consumer’s attention. Companies need to create a unique brand story on social media that can be told through different social media outlets. Inviting customers to be a part of a brand, by engaging on social media allows them to become loyal consumers, and trust with the company overall.
First, the brand needs to know their audience before engaging with their consumers on social media. Creating customer personas is one of the great ways to understand a target market. Businesses can create these customer personas by efficiently collecting essential data from their clients through surveys, focus groups, interviews, social media, and Google Analytics. Brands need to build a real emotional connection with the consumers off of their needs and wants.
Second, companies need to support issues and causes that are meaningful to them and their consumers. This makes companies stand out from their competitors and also be unique. While a brand is creating a social media marketing strategy, they need to make sure they are staying true to themselves. The storytelling in social media strategy needs to stand for something the audience and brand believe strongly in. The brand can follow and want to help out an organization that is about protecting the environment or to feed the homeless, for example.
Third, the brand story needs to be told in a way that involves the consumers and the community. A brand should want their consumers and community to feel a part of the business and connected to it. Leasing content constantly and sharing it allows consumers to keep engaging with the brand primarily through social media platforms. The brand story needs to stand out and make consumers want to be part of the change. Creating a hashtag and posting customer photos help build the story and connect it to the brand.
Brand storytelling is probably one of the essential factors when building a brand strategy. In my current position, I am in charge of the social media channels for a chain of local boutique gyms. I have to make sure that the brand story is portrayed in a way, consumers can relate. I have to be continually engaging with them through social media outlets showing them the brand cares about them as consumers and about their needs and wants. We partner up with different organizations throughout the year to raise money for charities like the American Heart Association and various breast cancer awareness organizations. All of these tools are what help consumers stay loyal and come back to a brand. This is what allows brands to stand out from their competitors and succeed in their industry.