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Make Storytelling More Powerful with Effective Messaging

By: Ho Paik San,

Associate Insights Director

Isentia Malaysia

Right before 2021 came to a close, we scored ourselves a Gold Award in the Malaysia PR Awards 2021 for the work that we have done for one of our clients. Our winning entry reinforced how effective measurement contributes to compelling narrative creation. The result? Our client has gone on to create a national award-winning CSR campaign.

A narrative is a story that a brand tells the world that helps a company shape its identity to evoke emotional responses and establish meaningful connections with its customers. It is the foundation of the brand’s marketing and communications strategy.

If your brand is able to create a compelling narrative using effective messaging, you will be able to capture your audience’s attention for longer periods of time, leave a more lasting impression, and improve brand loyalty.

The question is how do you identify the right messaging and make that story believable, relatable and bring it to life?

 

Go back to the beginning

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Establish the very reason for the company getting into the business in the first place.

• Why does the company exist?
• How does it contribute to making the world a better place?
• What is its mission?
• What does it believe in?

The answers need not be fancy, they just need to be clear and believable. Now that we have that figured out, it is time to move to the product.

Determine where your product fits

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is not enough to have a good product, a brand needs to be able to talk about it in a way that distinguishes it from the marketplace.

• What problem does it solve?
• What are the levels of quality and performance the product offers?
• How is the product different from the competitors?

The goal here is to identify the aspects of your product that make customers want to buy from you.

Identify your audience 

Understanding who the brand is talking to is equally as important towards building a compelling brand storytelling.

• Who is the target audience for the product?
• What are they passionate about?
• What are their pain points?

Based on the answers to these questions, you can develop your brand story to reach the ideal customers. Segment your customers into a few groups instead of trying to reach a broad audience. This will help you build a stronger brand narration that appeals to specific segments of the audience with distinct characteristics.

Consider your brand messaging moments

Before you dive into crafting your story, do take a moment to consider the lifecycle of your brand. Creating your brand narrative is a continuous process that evolves according to the growth of the business. This ensures that you keep up with the one thing that is constant – change. 

When the business is just starting out, it is important that the messaging helps to create interest that leads to trials and immediate sales. The brand narrative should then be one that differentiates the brand from the competition and concisely describes what it does, how it does it, and what it stands for.

As the brand matures, the brand narrative should also be updated to represent a more complex network of relationships with different stakeholders. The story should gradually shift from the “what” to a “so what” message. It is crafted with the customers in mind as it talks about their values and pinpoints their pains, and then eventually highlights the solution that the brand offers.

Are you ready to create a powerful, disruptive narrative for your brand?

It is imperative that we ask ourselves this. What do you want your brand to be remembered for? What is the key message you want your audience to take away from your story? What emotion do you want to evoke in your audience?

Use your story to engage with and create an emotional connection with your customers through initiating conversations and involving them in what the brand stands for. See your product beyond its tangible traits and convert it into an experience that the customers can consume. Emotional attachment to the brand is what drives loyalty. Loyalty means returning customers. Returning customers drive profit.

Remember, creating a compelling narration for your brand is not just about listing what your product does. It is about finding the right messaging to make your brand story memorable. It should tell the customers what it can do for them, why they need it, and how it will improve their lives. Tell their stories through yours, and you will capture their loyalty in the long run.

Reach out to Isentia to discuss how we can help you create a strong brand narrative through effective messaging and set you up on the path to success.