Succeed through Storytelling:
How to Advance Your Work with a Brand Story

There’s a lot of hype about brand stories, but can they really advance your work?

Take my own business is an example: most of you know that I started from scratch in a new field and a new region where I hardly knew anyone, and I quickly created a thriving business … but you may not realize that my primary business-building tool was (and is) my brand story. Many of you first met me at a cafe for tea or just at your office, and I began by telling you how I got to be sitting with you. It felt (and was) genuine, not sales-y, and it got many of you interested in hiring me. That was my brand story.

You also might not know that brand stories are not restricted to introductory meetings or to website “History” or “About” pages. They are woven throughout brochures and websites, grants and grant reports, appeal letters and annual reports, social media posts and coaching on what to say during networking meetings and funder phone calls … and they are critical to the success of all of the above. Needless to say, I use them constantly in my work with clients.

But what is a brand story and why is it important?
And for that matter, what exactly is a brand?

I would define your brand as the personality your business or organization expresses. If you are a sole proprietor, your brand is the personality you bring to your work, which is not the same as what you bring to your spouse or kids. There are specific aspects of yourself that you emphasize to make the impression you want to make. If your organization or business has many people, your brand is the culture you create and cultivate as a group, which you can think of as the group personality. Your brand is expressed in how you present your organization visibly (e.g. the look of your website, logo, brochure, clothing, spaces where you interact with clients, body language) and verbally (how you talk and write).

A brand story is therefore a personality story. The main character is your organization and the purpose of the story is to let people get to know not only what your organization does, but who it is. Many businesses and organizations write their histories as dry timelines of when they were launched, when they began providing each new service, when key leaders came and left, etc. These are not brand stories and are usually so boring that readers don’t even finish them. A good brand story, on the other hand, is as fascinating as a good human interest story – because it is a good human interest story – and readers not only finish it, but remember it and feel good about your business or organization. In this anonymous and overly-commercialized world, a brand story gives your organization a human touch, which gives people a chance to connect with you on a human level, and that can do marvels to help your work succeed.

A Brand Story Exercise

1. Write down how you would describe the personality of your business or organization. Or better yet, write down how you think your clients, constituents, employees, or board members would describe it. If you really don’t know, or you want to see if others see the same thing you do, just go ahead and ask; remember that people often appreciate being asked for their input. You can also think about how you wish people would describe your business’s personality, and that can help you generate ways to make that wish a reality.
2. Think of the life story of your business or organization, and list events or situations that were key to developing its personality, or that illustrate its personality. Next to each event, write the characteristics it illustrates. You will want to make sure to use events/situations for every major trait you want to show, and if you find that you have many events illustrating the same traits, you might choose the most important or revealing ones and skip the rest. You might also change which parts you use for different platforms or audiences.
3. Write the story. Create a long version of no more than two pages and a short version of just one or two paragraphs. You may want to create versions for different audiences, platforms, or purposes. Think about where you can weave the story, in whole or in parts, into your writing and speaking about your work.

A good brand story will bring your organization and your work to life. It will make you memorable and make people want to support you and work with you. In fact, I had so much to say about this topic that my plan for one article became two, so watch for my next post on 4 traits of a compelling brand story, and learn more concrete tips for how you can use storytelling to launch your work forward.