Summary
Use these 13 steps to make your brand story clear to customers. Learn to define your purpose, audience, and customer problem. Then shape the story, choose visuals and channels, and measure results. Examples include Burt’s Bees, TOMS, Airbnb, Mailchimp, and Patagonia. The TOMS section covers its original giving model and notes later changes.
Introduction
Your brand story explains what your business does, who it helps, and why it matters. If customers do not understand your message, these steps can make it clearer. Use real examples to show what your business does.
1. Define Your Brand’s Core Values and Mission
Write one sentence about why your business exists and what change it wants to make. Then choose a few values you can show in daily decisions. Use those values to guide the story instead of listing abstract words.
2. Know Your Target Audience
Ask customers what problem they had, what they tried, and why they chose your business. Use interviews, surveys, or support notes to spot needs and questions that come up more than once.
3. Be Authentic and Consistent
Share real experiences. Keep the same core message on your website, in sales materials, and on social media. Adapt the length for each channel while keeping the facts the same. Our brand consistency checklist covers the details.
4. Use a Narrative Structure
Give readers a clear sequence: what was happening, what changed, and what happened next. A simple beginning, middle, and end can make the story easier to follow.
5. Focus on the Problem You Solve
State the problem your product or service addresses and what it helps the customer do. Support the claim with a customer story or data you can verify; avoid promising a result you cannot show.
6. Build Your Character
In a story, a character is a person. Choose a real customer, founder, or team member. Describe what they wanted, what got in the way, and what changed. Get permission before sharing a customer’s name or experience.
7. Connect With Your Audience
Use a true customer or founder experience to show why the problem matters. A specific moment can carry more weight than broad claims about your mission. Sound also shapes a brand’s tone; see our article on the music used by well-known brands.
8. Use Visual Storytelling
Choose images, video, or graphics that help explain the story. Avoid visuals that add style but leave readers unsure about what you do.
Fonts shape a brand’s visual identity and set a mood before someone reads a word. Font Wizard Pro organizes fonts on iPhone and iPad. It imports, previews, compares, tags, and transfers OpenType (OTF) and TrueType (TTF) files. See the Font Wizard Pro walkthrough for instructions.
9. Keep It Simple
Keep one main message. Include only details that explain the customer’s problem, your response, or the outcome.
10. Encourage Others to Share Your Story
Invite customers to share their own experiences, and ask permission before reposting them. If you use a campaign hashtag, track how people use it and whether the posts reach the audience you want.
11. Be Adaptable and Flexible
Review the story when your product, audience, or business model changes. Keep the details that remain true. Tell customers about important changes through your usual channels.
12. Share Your Story Across Channels
Publish the full story on your website, then adapt its length for social posts, email, or a podcast. Keep the same core message across channels.
13. Measure the Impact of Your Brand Story
Track results that match your goal, such as comments, shares, purchases, or sign-ups. Review them over time. Ask customers if the story is clear. Use their feedback to understand why a message worked.
Real-World Case Studies
Burt’s Bees
Burt’s Bees built part of its story around founders Burt Shavitz and Roxanne Quimby. The company links its personal care products to natural ingredients and environmental responsibility. A founder’s story is useful when it helps explain product choices.
TOMS Shoes
TOMS launched in 2006 with its original One for One model: the company donated a pair of shoes for each pair sold. TOMS later changed its giving model. Its current impact page says the company supports children’s education, health, and well-being. This example shows why a brand story should change when the business model changes.
Airbnb
Airbnb has centered its brand story on belonging. Stories about hosts and guests give that idea a human example instead of leaving it as a slogan.
Mailchimp
Mailchimp gives its software a playful tone. Its mascot, Freddie, helps make the brand feel friendly. This voice should fit the product and its customers.
Patagonia
Patagonia links its outdoor clothing to environmental action. If your brand makes a similar claim, point to specific practices customers can check.
The examples differ in style, but each supports its message with a clear purpose, person, or action. Use facts your business can support. Do not copy another company’s language.
Our Recommended Reading
Donald Miller’s book offers a framework for brand storytelling.
“Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen” by Donald Miller
Miller published the book on October 10, 2017. The framework uses seven story elements. They help businesses explain their message and connect with customers.
Miller is CEO of Business Made Simple, an online business education platform. He hosts the Business Made Simple podcast and has written several books. He lives and works in Nashville, Tennessee, with his wife, Elizabeth.
Readers have shared these comments:
“I read a book a week and with this one, I just couldn’t put it down. The whole book is constructed so well, into bite-sized chapters. The detail Donald goes into is just so valuable. The honest truth is, my approach to marketing will never be the same thanks to ‘Building A Story Brand’”.
“As a fiction writer, I really liked this storytelling approach to marketing and branding. It’s cool, it makes sense, and I’m pretty sure it’s going to work. I’m currently in the planning stages of launching two new brands related to fiction writing and this book has been very valuable in thinking through how to communicate to customers effectively”.
The book has a 4.28-star rating on Goodreads, based on 20,178 ratings and 1,782 reviews. On Amazon, the book has a 4.7-star rating based on 9494 global ratings.
So, are you ready to transform your brand’s narrative and create a lasting impact?
Conclusion
Write one sentence about your customer’s problem and how your business helps. Test it on your website and the channel your customers use most. For the wider plan, see our complete guide to business growth and marketing.
Further Reading Resources
For more on brand storytelling, see these resources:
- Create an Authentic Brand Story - Neil Patel
- 5 Essential Elements of Brand Storytelling - Canva
- 6 Powerful Brand Storytelling Tips - Entrepreneur
- 11 of the Best Brand Story Examples - Medium
- Creating a Brand Story - Branded Agency
- 5 Essential Elements of Powerful Brand Storytelling - Forbes
- How to Use Storytelling Techniques to Market Your Business - Outbound Engine
- 6 Examples of Genius Brand Storytelling - Marketing Insider Group
- 3 Simple Steps to Crafting a Captivating Brand Story - Forbes
- Definitive Guide to Brand Storytelling - SEMrush
- 7 Ways to Create Powerful, Disruptive Brand Storytelling - The Drum
- 13 Brand Storytelling Examples That Are Unique and Brilliant - Prezly
- How Do You Craft a Compelling Brand Story? - LinkedIn
- Seven Elements of Impactful Brand Stories - Branding Strategy Insider
- Brand Storytelling - Indeed
- Examples of Strong Brand Storytelling - Toast Studio
- How to Write a Brand Story - Brandfolder
- Brand Storytelling - Toptal
- Brand Storytelling Examples - Gather Content
- Brand Story - HubSpot
- 10 Essential Elements of Brand Storytelling - Geek Chicago
- Storytelling - HubSpot
- Brand Story - Shopify
- Marketing Storytelling - Copyblogger
- Brand Story - We Ignite Growth
