BRAND AFFINITY: WHAT IS IT AND HOW DO YOU IMPROVE IT

Brand Affinity: What Is It and How Do You Improve It?

BY MICHELLE KNIGHT

Have you ever wondered why some brands resonate with you so much better than others?

Or, why you find yourself coming back to a brand over and over again because of the connection you feel?

Me too, that was until I learned about Brand Affinity.

Turns out I had been focused on building Brand Affinity for years, just didn’t have a name for it, but this secret sauce is something every online brand should work towards (more on why in a minute).

The beautiful thing about Brand Affinity is that it doesn’t have to take years to build trust. We often think that building trust with our audience takes a lot of time, and for some it does depending on where they are in the buying process, but it can happen within in minutes.

The tips I’m sharing with you in this blog will give you tools to start building Brand Affinity today, so you can get started on your way in building a deeper relationship with your audience.

Let’s start at the beginning.

WHAT IS BRAND AFFINITY?

Brand Affinity is when a consumer believes a particular brand shares the same values as them. 

It’s deeper than a knowledge of the brand, brand awareness, and begins to build the connection between consumer and brand on a more personal and emotional level.

This connection is what allows you, as the brand, to not only stand out online but keep your audience coming back time and time again.

Remember purchase decisions come down to trust.

“If someone likes you they’ll listen to you, if they trust you they’ll do business with you!” - Zig Ziglar

Building this trust is necessary when building an online brand in 2020 and beyond because consumers are looking for brands that they can trust.

As more generations become part of movements and make changes in their personal lives they’re looking for brands that share those values and go even further to provide support for those values as well.

When you build brand affinity with your audience you increase the likelihood that they will purchase your service or product, you create a consumer base that sticks around for the long haul (hello community) and your audience is more likely to refer others to your brand.

I don’t know about you, but that sounds like a sweet deal.

BRAND AFFINITY IN MARKETING

In a few minutes, I’m going to share with you five ways to increase your brand affinity, but there is one strategy that is essential when it comes to marketing your business and that’s the power of storytelling.

The reality is you can’t just post your values every single day on social media, but you want people to understand them.

You can’t share your mission point-blank in every email, but you want your audience to understand it.

This is where storytelling becomes your secret weapon in marketing.

Through strong storytelling, you can showcase your values and mission daily through your brand messaging. Yes, that’s right storytelling should be incorporated into every aspect of your marketing.

Want to learn all the ins and outs of storytelling in business? My Tell Better Stories Mini-Course has your name written all over it. Learn more at brandmerry.com/stories

Storytelling gives you the ability to not only share relevant stories that showcase your values and mission (hello, Brand Affinity) but give you the tools to begin building deeper relationships with your audience.

These deeper relationships and connection are why our audiences trust us, buy from us and keep coming back.

It’s not enough to just have strong Brand Awareness, someone’s knowledge of your brand, you have to go deeper. The truth is, there are a lot of people offering something similar to you, multiple ways for a consumer to solve their problem, but storytelling and specifically Brand Affinity makes your brand...their brand.

5 WAYS TO INCREASE YOUR BRAND AFFINITY

I know you’re wondering, “Michelle, aside from storytelling how can I increase Brand Affinity with my community?”

Well, I’m so glad you asked!

I know storytelling can feel complex, I’ve included some resources below to support you with this, but I want you to be able to start TODAY. So, below you’ll find five simple ways to improve your Brand Affinity almost immediately.

1 | SHARE YOUR BRAND VALUES

Seems simple enough right? Well, not enough brands are identifying the values of their brand and therefore aren’t sharing them. How do you expect someone to experience Brand Affinity, shared values, if you yourself don’t know your brand values.

So, if you haven’t already identified yours now is the time to start.

I suggest thinking of the values you personally hold and how those connect to your brand.

What values do you want to share between you and your consumer, it will be a lot easier to build a business you love if you attract the right people.

For instance, some of my brand values are:

+ Authenticity
+ Transparency
+ Care and Attention to Detail
+ Reduce the overwhelm
+ The desire for our living a Freedom lifestyle

I showcase these through my marketing, every email, photo, etc is focused on attracting people who share the same values.

TAKE ACTION: Identify your core values and then share them.

The simplest thing to do is post them on your website, this can be done on your About Me page, but as we talked about earlier you’ll also want to showcase these through storytelling.

2|  SHARE THE MISSION BEHIND YOUR BRAND

I started my career in non-profit work so forgive me as a gush over the power of a Brand Mission. As business owners we forget this, not enough business owners are taking the time to identify the mission or purpose behind their brand and this is a mistake.

63% of consumers state they want to buy from purpose-driven businesses.

And although money is amazing, I love it myself, it’s not the purpose. Your purpose and mission need to be deeper than that.

For instance, the mission behind my brand is…
“To empower women to uncover and own their story and share it with the world through their personal brand.”

This mission not only drives every decision in my business, but is also one of the main connectors for my audience.

TAKE ACTION: Identify your mission.
What is the purpose behind your business?
What legacy do you want to leave begin with your work?

Then share it! I love encouraging my clients to share their mission statement on their Home Page, but you can also include it on your About Me page.

3 | SHOW BRAND AFFINITY THROUGH PHOTOS

This is my favorite thing to do as a personal brand and it’s so important. We often don’t think about the effect of Instagram on building trust or the use of seeing multiple photos on a website as a way to build Brand Affinity, but it’s actually a very powerful practice.

Here’s why it’s so powerful. When you showcase multiple photos of yourself, different outfits, different locations, different expressions your audience feels as if they are seeing at different moments in time. It’s as if you’ve met and know each other for longer than you actually have.

Photography overall is one of my favorite investments as a brand. It’s not about spending a bunch of money or posing for all your photos, but it is about elevating your brand by showing different sides of your personality and if you’re not a photographer then hiring one can be one of the best investments in your business.

TAKE ACTION: Hire a photographer if you can and make sure you clearly articulate your brand values, ideal customer and the emotional connection you want to portray. More on prepping for a Brand Photoshoot here

But, even if you can’t invest in a photographer right now, you can use a tripod or a friend to take photos of you. Make sure you’re sharing different moments in time to achieve the Brand Affinity. Then share your photos on your website and of course on social media.

Take a look at my Instagram to get a feel for this!

4 | BUILD A COMMUNITY

There are a lot of different ways to build community outside of a private Facebook Group, even though everyone is telling you that you need one. The truth is you can build community on social media and through your email lists just as effectively.

When we think of community we think of a central location for everyone to hang out, but what you’re wanting to do is just declare your brand as the community.

For example, inside of my first email when you sign up for my email list I welcome new subscribers to the Brandmerry Community. 

I’m always referring to the Brandmerry Community on my live streams, blogs and on social media. There isn’t a specific jacket we all wear, but we know. The women inside the community know I’m speaking to them and about them and that builds connection.

You could even go as far as declaring a name for your community.

This sense of unity makes someone feel as if they are part of something bigger. It’s not just about buying your product and peacing out it’s about belonging, which we as humans want.

TAKE ACTION: How can you use the tools at your fingertips to build a community? Will you give your audience a name? Determine some of the fun ways you can create a community that allows your audience to be part of something.

5 | EXCELLENT CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

It’s no secret that as consumers we want to be cared for. We don’t want to work extra hard to get the products and services we desire and once we make the decision, i.e. commitment, we want it to be easy.

This is where your customer service comes to the next level.

We often think the customer service is the sale, and while that is important, what comes next is what builds further Brand Affinity.

For instance, when someone purchases one of my services or courses they receive instant confirmation that their purchase has been received. Then, they receive an email with all the information they need, including login, how to access the materials, the next steps and where to start.

I take the guesswork out of getting started and right away my audience feels taken care of and trust is increased.

TAKE ACTION: How can you improve your customer service? If you have any holes in your process, post-sale, fill those now!

CONCLUSION

I hope you can see the importance of Brand Affinity and why every single brand, no matter what you sell, should be focused on building this deeper connection and trust with their audience.

As I mentioned before I know sometimes this whole branding and storytelling thing can feel like a lot. If you’re wanting to build more of a foundation with your brand, understand how all the pieces like storytelling fit together and what you want to avoid when building your brand then I’d love to invite you to watch my free class.

In this free class, I’ll share the Build a Better Brand Method. Sign up for the next available time at brandmerry.com/brandmasterclass.

And if you’re looking for those resources on storytelling, sorry to keep you hanging, you can find those below.

Where and When to Share Your Brand Story can be found here

The Art of Storytelling in Business can be found here

5 Examples of Brand Storytelling to Incorporate into Your Marketing can be found here

How to Attract Your Dream Clients Through Emotional Branding can be found here

I hope these resources will support you in understanding storytelling in marketing on a deeper, it really changes everything!

P.S. If you made it this far, good for you! Let’s take it a step further and dive into your branding. If you haven’t already be sure to watch my free class on The Build a Better Brand Method.

It’s a free 60-minute class for female entrepreneurs looking to build a strong personal brand that supports them in standing out online, creating a stream of high-value content and build a community of fans that leads to a revenue-generating business.

Sign up for the class at brandmerry.com/brandmasterclass.

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- FREE GIFTS YOU'LL LOVE -

DISCOVER YOUR BRAND STORY IN UNDER 5 MINUTES

START HERE ↠

LEARN HOW TO WRITE AN ‘ABOUT ME’ PAGE THAT CONVERTS

START HERE ↠

MAP OUT 30 DAYS OF CONTENT IN UNDER AN HOUR

START HERE ↠

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- READ THE LATEST POSTS -

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MEET MICHELLE

Hey there, I'm Michelle Knight and I an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.

I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.

I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I now travel full-time while running my business from the road.

This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation and more.

Don’t Make This Mistake With Your Brand Storytelling

We are wrapping up the four-part series on Storytelling over here on the Brandmerry Blog and my weekly show Mondays With Michelle.

Over the last couple of weeks we’ve covered:

+ Sharing Imperfections in your Personal Brand Storytelling
+ Why You Should be Repeating Your Brand Story and Messages Online
+ 5 Examples of Brand Storytelling to Incorporate in Your Marketing Strategy

And today, we’re wrapping it up with the #1 mistake you might be making in your brand storytelling and how to fix it!

Because by now you know how important storytelling is for business and if you don’t here’s a recap.

So here we are talking about the mistakes so you can avoid them.

If you prefer to watch or listen to this blog post, scroll down to access the full video.

Storytelling in Business

It’s important to understand that telling a story for business is different than just telling a story to your friend.

At the end of the day, when you are telling stories in business, and as a brand, you're doing so to make money. The goal is to sign clients or to sell a product, but at the end of the day, you want to incorporate storytelling to increase your revenue.

So, your stories need to be strategic and calculated to lead to the sale.

It doesn’t mean you lose out on authenticity, it just means you take the time to do the prep work to share a story that sells.

One of those pieces, which happens to be a mistake so many brands make, comes back to their audience.

BRAND STORYTELLING SECRET WEAPON

When you are telling stories in business they are for your ideal customer, they are for your audience...they are not for you!

You're not buying your own stuff, so the story is not for you. 

The ultimate goal is to attract your ideal customer and dream audience, build trust, build brand recognition, brand affinity and ultimately tell stories that sell. 

The beautiful thing is that you can use stories at every single level of the buying process. Whether someone isn't aware of their problem.
They're aware of their problem.
They're aware of a solution to their problem.
They're aware of products but haven’t made a decision, you can incorporate stories to move them along.

So no matter where your ideal customer is in the buying process stories are an excellent marketing strategy.

You might tell a story about your situation…
You might tell a story about your transformation…
You might tell a story about your values…
But if you're not tying that to your audience, it becomes a cool-story-bro situation.
It becomes a “that's nice” situation.

WHY YOU DON’T WANT TO MAKE THIS STORYTELLING MISTAKE

The cool-story-bro situation is not a situation you want to be in.

It results in a little heart and maybe a comment, but nothing more.

It doesn’t lead to sharing your content or saving it and coming back to it as a top resource.
It doesn’t lead to DM’s and authentic conversations.
It doesn’t lead to sales.

Because when we’re talking about engagement on social media, hearts and likes don’t tell us anything. It doesn’t necessarily translate into sales and revenue for your business.

The goal, as a business owner, is to inspire your audience to take action and that’s what you want your stories to do.

You want your audience to take action, to subscribe to your email list, to visit your website, read your blog, buy your product, or sign up for your high-level program.

We want our stories to motivate our audience to take action.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR BRAND STORYTELLING ABOUT YOUR AUDIENCE

Entrepreneurs and business owners tend to write their stories about them and struggle to tie their message directly to their audience.

They don’t take into consideration if the story is relevant to their audience and if it’s valuable...this is where the mistake is made.

Anytime you’re writing a story, choosing a photo, writing a social media post, writing an email and more you must consider it from the perspective of your audience and the value it provides.

Donald Miller of StoryBrand introduced the concept of the Hero and the Guide as it pertains to marketing. 

The idea is that so many brands and businesses are positioning themselves as the Hero. You don't want to be the Hero, you want to be the Guide. Your audience is the Hero. 

The Guide is the person that helps them, that supports them, that inspires them to take action and then leads them on that journey to a solution to their problem. 

Your audience is the Hero, but so many business owners are writing stories about themselves and putting themselves in the role of the Hero, this is a mistake. 

Here’s an example I made on social media.

4 years...⠀
...4 headshots 😂⠀

When I look at these photos I see the same woman but not really.⠀

I see what really happened behind the scenes.⠀

The tears that were shed and all the emotions in 2016 while in a Target dressing room to find the right dress to hug my 8-month postpartum body and spirit.⠀

I didn't feel ready for that photoshoot, but I did it anyway.⠀

To the woman in overalls who made the bold decision to represent a different face of entrepreneurship and a brand. ⠀

A less polished and more "everyday", simple and authentic brand. I mean who wears overalls in a brand shoot...this girl 🖐️⠀

I've grown over these 4 years and what you see today is lightyears from the woman I was just 4 years ago.⠀

As some would say I'm owning it and IDGAF 😜⠀

It's just a photo, sure, but this is why I love what photos represent.⠀⠀

Growth.
Authenticity.
Moments in time to reflect on and say, "Look how far you've come!"⠀

I encourage you to do the same today. ⠀

See how far you've come and be proud of the growth ♥️⠀

Happy Sunday friends.⠀

- mk

In this post I’m sharing what happened behind the scenes, I’m sharing my story and I’m talking about how I didn’t feel confident to have my first photoshoot, but I did it anyway.

I talked about owning my voice, and stepping more into my role and showing a more everyday simple and authentic brand, something you don't typically see on the internet. 

I talked about how I've grown over the last four years, and I talk about the representation of this photo.

Now, I could have stopped there. That would have been a story. But it would have been a story about me, it wouldn't have been a story about anyone else.

It wouldn't have been a story with my ideal customer in mind. 

So instead, all I did was add a simple line to the end. I said, “I love what photos represent.

Growth.
Authenticity.
Moments in time to reflect on and say, "Look how far you've come!"⠀

I encourage you to do the same today. ⠀

See how far you've come and be proud of the growth.” And at that moment an entire story that was centered around my experience, turned around and provided value and action to my audience.

Every single word I wrote, in this story, had my ideal customer in mind.

I know my ideal customer doesn't always see themselves in the brands and big mega businesses that they see on the internet.

I know they're looking for something a little bit more real or raw. 

I know that my ideal customer is growing and has grown and wants to see this growth in the long term.

And all I had to do was say a simple sentence at the end to bring it back to them.

Do you see how I could have stopped and it would have been 100% about me, but then I was able to position myself as the guide to offer advice to my audience.

HOW DO YOU WRITE BRAND STORIES FOR YOUR AUDIENCE

How can you write a social media post and tie every single word back to your audience? 

Two words...MARKET RESEARCH.

Your ideal client research is non-negotiable, please stop skipping it.

The beautiful thing about ideal client research is that it doesn't stop. You don't do it one time. You're always learning. You're always listening. You're always having conversations. 

And yes, of course, the more clients that you have, the bigger your business gets, the easier it is because your audience is more accessible. For instance, I can message a bunch of my Academy students and be like, “Hey, guys, really quick question. What's coming up for you? What's a struggle that you have?”

Market research becomes a lot easier when you have the clientele. but there are so many ways that you can do it, in the beginning, using the internet.

You can use YouTube, Pinterest, personal conversations, reading comments on blogs, reading forums, posting in Facebook Groups, searching in Facebook Groups, there are a million ways that you can find out what you need to know about your ideal customer. 

And although we are talking about this specifically as it applies to storytelling, you probably picked up already that this applies to every aspect of your business.

You have nothing. If you have no one to buy from you.
You do not have a business, you have a product that doesn't sell because people aren't buying it, and so knowing your ideal client, knowing the language that they will use is so important as it plays a role in all of your marketing efforts. 

But when we're talking about storytelling, it will make or break it because it will either put you in in the friend zone (aka cool-story-bro situation) or the relationship zone.

The friend zone sounds like…
… “Oh, she's cool. She tells good stories. I like her, she's fun to follow.”

While the relationship zone (aka business zone) sounds like…
… “I connect with her. I want to buy from her. I want to do business with her and tell all my friends about it”

See the difference?

CHOOSING YOUR STORIES IN BUSINESS

Choosing the stories that you tell in business should be based on your audience.

It’s not just about turning it back to them with your words, including a quick little sentence at the end, it's not just about using language throughout the ties to your audience, it goes back even further with choosing the stories that will resonate most with your audience. 

The more that you understand your ideal customer, the more that you will be able to say, “Here's a bunch of stories that I have. Here's how it's valuable to my audience. Amazing. Now, when I write that post, these are the things that I want to tie in about my audience. And here's the call to action!”

It makes marketing and more specifically storytelling easy.

CONCLUSION

Everything in business comes back to your audience. 

It’s about growing your audience, nurturing your audience and converting your audience. Those are your three goals. As a business owner, if you do that you will be golden. 

And storytelling is an excellent way to do that. 

WATCH OR LISTEN TO THE CONTENT IN THIS POST BELOW.

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- FREE GIFTS YOU'LL LOVE -

DISCOVER YOUR BRAND STORY IN UNDER 5 MINUTES

START HERE ↠

LEARN HOW TO WRITE AN ‘ABOUT ME’ PAGE THAT CONVERTS

START HERE ↠

MAP OUT 30 DAYS OF CONTENT IN UNDER AN HOUR

START HERE ↠

---

- READ THE LATEST POSTS -

---

MEET MICHELLE

Hey there, I'm Michelle Knight and I an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.

I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.

I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I now travel full-time while running my business from the road.

This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation and more.

5 Examples of Brand Storytelling to Incorporate into Your Marketing Strategy

Before we dive in, I’m about to blast you with stats on storytelling.

Why?

Because I need you, as a female business owner and brand, to understand that storytelling should play a role in your marketing efforts.

If you want to make money that is.

Strong statement? Well, let’s dive into it.

Storytelling makes your content 22x more memorable, which means that by incorporating a single sentence of story into your Instagram or Facebook post your audience might actually remember it in the morning.

Storytelling helps your audience make a purchase decision. We decide to buy not because of facts or logistics, but because of an emotional connection. Nothing builds a connection with your audience faster than the art of storytelling.

Storytelling leads to brand affinity, which when a consumer believes a particular brand shares common values with them. You want this! This is what leads to customer loyalty.

Storytelling helps you stand out online! I know you want this, every brand owner does. The truth is it might feel crowded in your industry so why not utilize as many tools as possible to reach your target audience. Storytelling allows you to differentiate yourself in an authentic way.

Ok, you ready now?! Before I dive into micro stories, where to share your stories and specifically four stories you can share as part of your business I have a special invitation.

If you’re already sold and want to learn how to incorporate this into your brand strategy, sign up to watch my free masterclass at brandmerry.com/brandmasterclass.

Now, onto the teaching!

TYPES OF STORYTELLING: MICRO-STORIES IN BRANDING

Last week on the blog we talked about repetition in marketing. Basically, I shared that repetition is a must and something you don’t want to shy away from.

Repetition allows your audience to not only see your content but also resonate with it because we all know sometimes we need to hear something more than once! 

The trick with repeating stories online is that you want to modify, change the emphasis and retell the stories as needed based on your launches, timely events and updates. You can read last week’s post here.

Micro Stories are everyday stories you can share that engage your audience and relate to your audience, specifically where they are in their journey. 

Micro Stories are there to expand and complement your Brand/ Founder’s Story. We often see these stories on social media, in email marketing, on video and more.

The truth is you can incorporate storytelling into EVERYTHING you do as a business owner.

5 EXAMPLES OF BRAND STORYTELLING

So many entrepreneurs never think of sharing their story outside of their Brand/ Founder Story, but that’s only a small piece of the puzzle. 

You can’t share your brand story every single day on social media and every offer you create needs a little more attention than just how your business was started.

This is where different types of stories come into play.

The five stories to tell as part of your business are:

1. The Testimonial

2. The Transformation

3. The Behind-The-Scenes

4. The Value

5. The Disrupt

Let’s break each of these down.

1. THE TESTIMONIAL STORY

The stories you share in business don’t have to be your own, they can be stories from your client and community members. This is a great way to share social proof and do more than just post a 2-3 sentence testimonial on your website.

When asking for feedback or testimonials be sure to ask multiple questions about where your audience was, where they are now and what changed for them. Along with your testimonial statement, you’ll be able to use this information to tell stories on social media and in your email marketing that helps your audience make a purchase decision.

Bonus Tip: Videos are a great way to share stories. Have your client create a short video sharing their story and share it during your next launch or promotion.

2. THE TRANSFORMATION STORY

The transformation story can fall into The Testimonial story above, because who doesn’t love a great before and after. If you’re in fitness, health, wellness, products or even service-based you can use the transformation story constantly.

Here are some examples:
Fitness - Share a before and after photo of a client or yourself
Product (Skincare) - Share a before and after photo of someone using your product
Graphic Designer - Share the before and after of your client’s graphics

The possibilities are endless.

But, I’m going to encourage you to think a level deeper and share your own micro transformations. Think of the things happening daily that your audience can relate too.

Some places to start are moments of “failure,” mindset shifts, overcoming obstacle and stories of success. Seriously, I bet if you sat down with pen and paper right now you could come up with at least 20 posts.

3. THE BEHIND-THE-SCENES STORY

These are great stories to show what you do and your process in business, as well as build trust with your audience.

Human to Human or Relationship-Building Marketing is on the rise. People want to know the brand they are investing in. One of the ways to build this trust and go beyond just a product or service you sell is to invite your audience behind the curtain.

Yes, think Wizard of Oz here!

This is one of the reasons I love showing up on Instagram Stories. It’s a simple way to share my day to day, my role as a mother, my love of gardening, our travels and my business. 

My audience gets to see multiple sides of my personality, which also builds Brand Affinity, and as a result, the trust is accelerated.

If you sell a product consider sharing the behind the scenes of how you make the product.

If you’re a coach, show your client calls and trainings.

Show how you manage your day-to-day, the things you love and how you take on the other roles in your life.

These stories are powerful and some of the easiest to start with.

4. THE VALUE STORY

Last week on the blog we talked about identifying your core stories early on. These core stories include:

+ Your Founder/ Brand Story
+ Your Mission and how it came to be
+ Your Why or Purpose Story
+ Your Value Story

It is important that as a brand and business owner that you create these micro-stories that show your values in action, affirm your values and share why you have these values.

For example, one of my values is authenticity. That's just not a word that I like to use for marketing, I truly believe it to my core. I share that value in my stories because I want to attract people who share the same value.

This is where Brand Affinity becomes so powerful because brand affinity is that shared mission, those shared values. It goes much deeper than someone saying, “Oh, you're cool. Oh, I like your product or your service. Let me check it out.” 

It's much deeper than even trust, it’s a shared value.

Share these values to bring in the people that align with your values, the things that are important to you, and let the others drift away.

5. THE DISRUPT STORY

When it comes to the Disrupt Story, I’m slightly obsessed. I believe this story is an excellent way to share your values and your beliefs and separate you from others in your industry.

You know you have an industry standard or common thread of beliefs in your industry. You see them in every Facebook group and on websites that all start to look the same.

Think about your own business, your superpower, your teachings and pull out the pieces that go against the grain.

For instance, last year I did an entire email series called Behind The Brand. I called out beliefs inside the industry around branding. Some examples were:

+ How the industry defines success
+ The truth about templates and how they create inauthenticity and a copy and paste culture
+ Transparency and vulnerability as a business owner

I also talk about the power of a brand and why I believe that without a brand you don’t have a business, something that goes against other mentors and coaches who “skip” branding.

These types of stories have allowed me to talk about my business, but also call my audience to speak up. When I share the disrupt stories I always attract new community members, increase my engagement and sign clients.

People want transparency, authenticity and something different. This story does that!

Here’s an example of The Disrupt in action.

CONCLUSION

Storytelling is one of the coolest practices to not only enhance your brand but also get it started on the right foot.

It’s really about being grounded in your authenticity, understanding your voice, understanding your values, and sharing that to again, attract the right people and repel the wrong ones.

This is where all great marketing and messaging comes from.

You now have five examples of brand storytelling outside of your Core Founder Stories to get started with; count those and you have nine.

There is no reason you can’t get started sharing stories through your marketing right now!

If you’re ready to learn how to better incorporate storytelling into your brand as a whole, including your ideal customer, then you want to sign up for my free class where I’m sharing the Build a Better Brand Method.

Details can be found at brandmerry.com/brandmasterclass

Watch the full training video on Examples of Brand Storytelling below.

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- FREE GIFTS YOU'LL LOVE -

DISCOVER YOUR BRAND STORY IN UNDER 5 MINUTES

START HERE ↠

LEARN HOW TO WRITE AN ‘ABOUT ME’ PAGE THAT CONVERTS

START HERE ↠

MAP OUT 30 DAYS OF CONTENT IN UNDER AN HOUR

START HERE ↠

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- READ THE LATEST POSTS -

---

MEET MICHELLE

Hey there, I'm Michelle Knight and I an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.

I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.

I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I now travel full-time while running my business from the road.

This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation and more.

Why You Should be Repeating Your Brand Story and Messages Online

Do you feel like you’re always repeating yourself in business?

Specifically, with your marketing, are you afraid that you’re going to bore your audience with the same thing over and over again? 

And that Brand Story, I mean how often should you share it, and won’t people get tired of hearing it if you’re sharing it on your blog, website, email, social media, and more?

The good news and I know this might sound crazy, but the odds of them even seeing your content the first time it’s posted is SUPER slim.

So, that’s the silver lining I suppose...we get to repeat ourselves in order to better market our business online. 

Today, I’m sharing why repetition is important, how to modify your stories based on need and how to avoid boring the shiz out of your community.

WHAT REPETITION IN MARKETING IS NOT

It’s important to note that repetition is not saying the same thing, exactly, over and over again. I like to call this the “copy and paste” issue.

You discover something works so you copy and paste it over and over and over again, beating it into the ground rather than making small changes.

As a great marketer, you have to be obsessed with your numbers, this is why analytics are essential when running an online business. Your numbers and your analytics play a huge role in the success of your marketing. 

When it comes to repetition, especially as it applies to storytelling, you can use this analytical information to make decisions on what you should and should not repeat and your business.

Let’s say you have an amazing post where you shared your brand story, and it did really, really well. You would want to put that in your Story Bank, which is essentially a log of different stories you can share and incorporate into your content.

The same works for visual storytelling. I'm obsessed with brand photography, because of the storytelling that it provides just by looking at a photo. So when you look at your analytics and see a photo does really well, you’ll want to reuse that photo later.

When you have this information on what’s working well, you want to make small adjustments and give your content a little update. For instance, maybe you could take that brand story post that did well and add a new photo to it. You could take the photo that worked well and write a new copy.

The core is repeating itself, but you’re making small changes to keep it fresh and exciting for your audience, without having to do more work on your part.

A BRAND STORYTELLING EXAMPLE:

Part of my Brand Story or Founder Story is “the eight-month struggle.” 

You might have heard a variation of this story before because I’m always sharing it. But if you haven't, in short, it is that I spent eight months while working a nine to five and building this business with a baby, typically in a carrier on my back. 

I spent eight months working on it, focusing my energy on picking my colors, fonts, logo design, designing my website, mapping out my programs, the whole thing.

After eight months I found myself with no community and no money to show for my efforts.

This is part of my Brand Story and I use it in variations all the freaking time.

I’ve shared a variation of this to talk about time management and the importance of dividing your time between building the backend of the business and building community.

I’ve shared this story when talking about the importance of branding or my freebies and program Brandmerry Academy. I share how I wasted time worrying about my fonts, colors, and logo missing the real purpose and foundation of branding. Now I teach entrepreneurs the right way to brand their business online.

I’ve also shared this story when talking about focus and comparison, which are important pillars of my brand. I share how I lost months worrying about what other people’s brands looked like and doubted my own ability because I didn’t focus on my mission, my purpose, and my story.

IT’S THE SAME STORY, just shared in different ways based on what I’m sharing in my business.

You can do the same in your business, making sure your Brand Story does more than just sit on your “About Me” page of your website.

The art of repetition in business is sharing the same story or collection of stories in different ways.

WHY REPETITION IS IMPORTANT IN MARKETING

Now, that we’ve covered how to effectively repeat stories in business, let’s dive deep into why this is so important.

Remember, the information I’m sharing here doesn’t just apply to storytelling, it applies to marketing as a whole. Think of repeating not just your stories, but your messages, offers, freebies, etc...and why it’s essential when building an online brand.

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Unfortunately, the number of contact points needed before someone becomes a customer is growing. There is just so much information online and with the algorithm changing frequently, it’s important that we’re consistently showing up for our audience if we ever want to make money online.

While there's no clear number for contact points, the standard is:

BRAND AWARENESS: 3 points of contact before someone will pay attention to your brand

SALES: 7 points of contact before someone will take action or make a purchase decision.

As you can see repetition is necessary when it comes to marketing your business, because the odds of someone seeing your content, thanks to the algorithm, and taking action after one message is very slim.

In addition to the multiple contact points needed, there is also the concept of The Frequency Illusion (or Baader-Meinhof phenomenon). It’s the illusion that we see or hear the same thing everywhere.

The best way to describe this is when you’re thinking about buying a new car and you decide on the one you want and then you see it EVERYWHERE!

This illusion is something we as marketers need to remember and use to our advantage. It’s why you see retargeting ads when you search for something on Google or visit a website.

The reason so many marketers are using this principle in business is that the more we, as consumers, start to see or hear the same message we begin to think of it as important. It heightens our awareness and moves the brand, product or service up the importance meter; essentially you’re adding importance and urgency to your offer.

You can achieve this by consistently showing up with your content so you’re top of mind, sharing your brand story so people actually know who you are, and utilizing retargeting tools in advertising.

Repetition is key in not only making sure our audience sees our message and making sure it is of importance to our audience, but also because it builds brand credibility and trust.

The final thing I’ll share with you on repetition in marketing is the power of sharing your core stories and messages across all platforms. When we do this we’re creating brand affinity and brand messaging consistency and consistency builds trust.

If someone lands on your Facebook page and then heads to Instagram and maybe your website, is it the same? Does it feel like the same brand and message? If not, you’re breaking trust.

When we think of utilizing this for your Brand Story, I want you to think about posting the entire thing on your “About Me” page, then sharing a variation of that on your Homepage and Blog sidebar, Facebook, a one-liner on Instagram, and so on…
...this repetition and consistency in messaging will build trust with your audience quicker.

3 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR REPETITION IN STORYTELLING

1. SWITCH UP THE EMPHASIS

As I mentioned in the beginning, it’s important that even when sharing the same story, think of your Brand story, that you switch up the way you tell it and the emphasis.

Focus on pulling different parts of the story based on your central theme or goal. If you need a refresher scroll up for my brand storytelling example.

This works wonders because the art of storytelling is about showcasing a moment in time. So when I share my Brand Story, I might focus on the moment when I realized I lost myself in the branding process because of comparisonitis. Then, I might share the story later and focus on the moment when I realized branding wasn’t about the font, colors, and logo.

You can also switch it up based on what’s happening in your business or what’s timely in the world. For instance, when COVID first started I saw so many of my friends, family, and community members worried about working from home with kids. So, I started sharing more of my stories and experiences of running my business and working from home with my son for four years.

You can modify stories, emphasizing different parts, and sharing them in different ways to build brand trust and affinity.

2. EMBRACE THE ART OF REPURPOSING YOUR CONTENT

Your audience needs to hear things multiple times, this is why I love repurposing to make sure my content every week is reaching my audience!

As we’ve mentioned it requires multiple touchpoints for your audience to take action, but who the heck has time to come up with new content every single day? Not me!

That’s why I shared an entire blog post on The Art of Repurposing, which you can check out here.

I can't tell you how many times I put something on my Instagram Stories, and I'll send an email, and I'll make an Instagram post and then, after all those other posts, I'll post on Facebook and someone will respond with,  “Oh, I didn't even know you were offering this!”

The reality is our audience is busy living their lives, so if we’re not repeating our content and repurposing it we’re doing a major disservice to our marketing.

Just like your Brand Story, the concept of repurposing is taking your content and sharing it in multiple ways on multiple platforms.

You can check out my blog on Repurposing here.

3.  IDENTIFY YOUR CORE BRAND STORIES

Did you catch the plural there? The truth is there are so many types of stories we should be sharing in our business. Aside from your Brand Story or Founders Story, we also have a collection of stories that showcase your brand values, pillars or framework of your offer, and your brand mission.

The more you, as a brand, can share these stories the more you’ll attract a community of people who are in alignment with your brand and brand mission and that is important.

Once you have these stories in your Story Bank, you can add additional stories and sprinkle them into your content at any time you’re posting...and yes you need a story every time you post content!

Think of it like this, you create a content calendar of posts you want to make over the next 30 days. These are timely pieces that promote your freebie, your offers, and share value. Then you go through each of them and pair it with a story from your Story Bank.

Do you see how easy it is to incorporate storytelling into your business? And it’s so powerful.

CONCLUSION

Repetition is good for marketing. As marketers, we can't be afraid to share the things that we spend a lot of time and energy on and we know will be of value to our audience.

We can't be afraid to share these stories time and time again because the reality is our audience needs to see them time and time again. 

If you’re ready to put more weight and importance on the art of storytelling, because let’s be honest it’s so important, then I’m excited to invite you to get my Tell Better Stories Workshop.

This 2.5-hour workshop replay will teach you how to become a better storyteller online. We’ll cover your Brand Story, Storytelling on Social and Storytelling to Sell. 

Learn more at brandmerry.com/stories.

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- FREE GIFTS YOU'LL LOVE -

DISCOVER YOUR BRAND STORY IN UNDER 5 MINUTES

START HERE ↠

LEARN HOW TO WRITE AN ‘ABOUT ME’ PAGE THAT CONVERTS

START HERE ↠

MAP OUT 30 DAYS OF CONTENT IN UNDER AN HOUR

START HERE ↠

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- READ THE LATEST POSTS -

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MEET MICHELLE

Hey there, I'm Michelle Knight and I an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.

I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.

I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I now travel full-time while running my business from the road.

This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation and more.

Sharing Imperfections in your Personal Brand Storytelling

Sharing Imperfections in your Personal Brand Storytelling

BY MICHELLE KNIGHT

A few weeks ago I shared a post on The Art of Storytelling in Business, you can check it out here.

And that post gave a lot of information on what makes a great story and why storytelling is essential when building an online brand and business. But, there is another part of the brand storytelling process that, if not addressed, will stand in the way of you actually sharing your story.

It’s centered around three of the most uncomfortable words available...vulnerability, transparency and imperfections.

I know, right? Uncomfortable!

But, the truth is this is the point of brand storytelling and why it freaking works so well.

If you have a fear of sharing too much in your storytelling…
Don’t want to seem as if you are imperfect or don’t have it all together…
Or struggle to identify if a story should be shared…

Then this post is going to be just what you need.

If you prefer to watch/listen to the post, you can check out Episode 22 of my weekly show Mondays With Michelle by scrolling down.

86 percent of consumers say that authenticity is a key factor when deciding what brands they like and support.

Vulnerability in Marketing and Branding

Brené Brown describes vulnerability as, “uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure." It's that uncomfortable feeling we get when we step out of our comfort zone.

So of course sharing our story, in the beginning, especially, is going to be uncomfortable and feel vulnerable if you’re not used to it.

But we sometimes mix this uncomfortable feeling of vulnerability with the idea of oversharing. Vulnerability is not oversharing in and of itself. As Brené states in her Netflix special, “Vulnerability is not disclosure.”

Vulnerability is not about sharing everything, that’s just bad branding, but even just sharing those small stories in the beginning can feel uncomfortable and vulnerable. 

When I first started I was so scared to talk about the birth of son Cal, or the fear of leaving my 9 to 5 or opening up about my failed-attempts at meditation. But, as I shared those stories and vulnerabilities with intent I found my audience was more engaged and my emails received more responses because I was being relatable.

A brand that shares a story and is in tune with their ideal customers’ emotional state builds empathy and if you tell your stories correctly can also build authority. These elements are essential when building an online brand.

So, now that we know vulnerability is NOT sharing everything online or posting for validation, we can talk about transparency.

Transparency in Brand Storytelling

When it comes to transparency in business it’s important, as your business grows, that you share information on diversity and inclusion, revenue growth and hiring practices, and this is often what we think of when we talk about transparency in business.

So why is transparency important?

66 percent of consumers think transparency is one of the most attractive qualities in a brand.

But, transparency can go even further as it applies to your storytelling. Transparency in storytelling, much like vulnerability, does not mean sharing your journal online or posting every detail of your life and business, it does, however, mean being truthful and authentic.

One of the most important aspects of storytelling is that the stories you share while marketing your business are true and authentic. It’s important that the stories you tell aren’t falsified to position you as an expert - that’s just bad business and I promise will blow up in your face!

This is why having clear brand values and a mission statement is so important when establishing your brand. As you move through coming up with stories to share, keep these three questions in your back pocket.

Are you being truthful?

Are you sticking by your values and mission?

Is what you’re sharing authentic?

Remember, the biggest false belief people have about storytelling, and the reason so many people fail to get started, is they don’t want to share everything...you don’t have to.

How to Share Imperfections and ‘The Messy Middle’ in Storytelling

So now that we understand vulnerability and transparency as it applies to storytelling, let’s talk about imperfections or ‘The Messy Middle.’ 

How do you share stories and when do you share stories that feel raw?

I’ve got a couple of rules here that you will want to steal, so grab that notepad.

RULE #1: IS IT SACRED?

It’s important to make sure the stories you share feel aligned, so you need to ask yourself, “Does it feel good to share this story or a small part of this story?”

As I mentioned in the blog a few weeks ago, storytelling is not about a period in time, but a moment in time. If the period as a whole doesn’t feel good, can you strip it back and share a moment.

Example: When I was sharing about the birth of my son in the beginning I was still in the postpartum experience and it felt raw, but I knew it was an important part of my story as it related to my brand. So I chose the parts that felt good to share, including why I started my business and what it was like to build the business with a baby. As time went on and my brand evolved I would share more and more.

So ask yourself if what you’re wanting to share actually feels good and if it feels better to strip it back, then do that!

RULE #2: DON’T SHARE IT WHILE YOU’RE IN IT

Remember, you’re building a business not just talking to your friends on the internet, so the stories you choose need to be strategic.

As a business owner it’s important that no matter how vulnerable or transparent you are, you still need to be the guide for your ideal customer. If you’re going through something at that moment and are wondering how to share it, it’s going to be hard to be the guide or show the value.

You’ll notice in my business I don’t talk about life as it’s happening, in fact, I rarely post in real-time even while traveling. I wait till I’ve experienced something and then I weave it into my content by telling a story.

An example is in 2019 when we started traveling I had a hard time navigating this new schedule and lifestyle. That was hard and I was in it so I didn’t talk about the hard stuff openly on social media. As time went on and I got my grounding I could talk more about it and share the lessons I learned as a way to provide value to my audience.

So, remember if you’re in it don’t share it. Take the time to go through it and look back on the lessons you learned so it provides value to your audience.

RULE #3: IT MUST PROVIDE VALUE 

Arguably the most important part of the storytelling process is your audience. Although the stories might be yours they aren’t for you. When you’re sharing stories as part of your brand and business you want to make sure they are of value to your audience.

When you think of these stories, run them through my 2-part question test…

“What value does this story provide my audience?”

“How does this story build trust with my audience?”

If you can’t answer these questions with clarity, no matter how authentic, transparent or vulnerable they might be then it’s not the right time to share them. Put them away in your story bank and come back to them later.

CONCLUSION

Flaws and quirks make your brand more human and human to human marketing is the best strategy you can have in 2020 and beyond. It’s why video is working so well, why brands have podcasts and why storytelling is having a MOMENT!

Don’t allow your perception of flaws to keep you from showing up for your audience, especially if they are things your audience can highly relate to and find value in.

If you are wondering…
...how to tell stories online
...what makes a great social story
...how to choose your stories
...how to identify and share your brand story
...and more than I want to invite you to my upcoming workshop happening on July 30.

The Tell Better Stories Workshop is a 2-hour led LIVE workshop where I will teach you how to become a better storyteller online. Learn more at brandmerry.com/stories.

WATCH OR LISTEN TO THE CONTENT IN THIS POST BELOW.

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- FREE GIFTS YOU'LL LOVE -

DISCOVER YOUR BRAND STORY IN UNDER 5 MINUTES

START HERE ↠

LEARN HOW TO WRITE AN ‘ABOUT ME’ PAGE THAT CONVERTS

START HERE ↠

MAP OUT 30 DAYS OF CONTENT IN UNDER AN HOUR

START HERE ↠

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- READ THE LATEST POSTS -

---

MEET MICHELLE

Hey there, I'm Michelle Knight and I an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.

I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.

I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I now travel full-time while running my business from the road.

This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation and more.