If you’ve been reading our blog posts, you’ve likely noticed that they are very data and theory focused.
But the reality is that marketing is way more than SEO or Survey Analytics: It’s an art.
Good marketing requires a fine balance between Statistics and Creativity, the Hard and the Soft.
In this blog post, I’m going to show you how successful branding is done through storytelling, and how you can do so for your business in the age of social media.
As I’ve said before, we humans will believe anything that we can rationalize, i.e, anything that is easy to digest. And what’s easier to digest than a well-written story?
As children, whom among us wasn’t convinced of the evils of greed after hearing the story of the Goose and the Golden Eggs?
All you sports fans: who among us wasn’t convinced of the power of perseverance and dedication in the face of insurmountable odds by M.S Dhoni’s life story?
Even governments and religions rise and fall due to stories that create an impact and spread.
In the world of business, we call these stories ‘brands’, and each and every entity, including yourself, is a brand.
You don’t ever really purchase a product or service, you purchase an idea.
When you buy a coffee at Starbucks, you don’t just buy the beverage, but you also pay to tell yourself that you’re cool and hip by chilling at such an upmarket coffee shop. When you buy your favourite team’s jersey, you pay a premium more so for the emotions the team makes you feel than for the piece of clothing itself.
I hang all my jerseys in my dorm room, Hala Madrid!
When everything your organisation does, from advertising to even the way you run your business, tells a coherent story, it creates a brand.
For example, Nike tells us the story of the underdog, the rebel, the one who succeeds despite the obstacles. And no, this extends beyond the beautiful ads they put out. When they signed Michael Jordan, it was extremely risky and it broke new ground for sports in America, and this added to the Nike myth. Good storytelling, aka good branding, requires you to be authentic.
Air is an upcoming movie about the Nike and MJ Deal
The rise of social media and the fact that virtually anyone with a smartphone can create content means that there are simply too many stories out there!
Everyone’s singing their own song, and it’s causing a ruckus!
Gone are the days when you could spend crores of rupees on ad campaigns and generate significant results. If you tell a story with the intent of appealing to everyone, you’re gonna appeal to no one.
Instead, the key to storytelling and branding success is in creating stories that appeal to certain demographics of people, or as marketing execs would call it, in targeting.
Click here for a detailed explanation
Not everyone is going to buy Patanjali toothpaste. Some are die-hard fans, and some want nothing to do with it.
Read that again! Toothpaste of all things has die-hard fans and haters!
My favourite example of targeting comes from my favourite brand of beer: Modelo.
Modelo’s tagline is: “Root For Those With A Fighting Spirit”
It lives up to this brand promise by partnering with legendary MMA athletes like Amanda Nunes and by sponsoring the UFC.
Modelo's ad with Amanda Nunes
Now, beer is an FMCG product, which means that Modelo faces stiff competition from the likes of Budweiser, Stella Artois, Corona, etc, and yet it was the fastest growing beer brand in 2022.
The key to their success lies in appealing to a smaller demographic, combat sports lovers, who then spread their love for the beer to the mass market. Word of Mouth and Trial are the most powerful marketing tactics.
I mean, just look at me!
I am a combat sports lover who was introduced to Modelo by the UFC. Their sponsorship encouraged me to try out the beer (Trial), and I can’t lie, I loved it. Now, I take this beer that appeals to my ‘fighting spirit’ and my taste buds, and rave about it to my friends (Word of Mouth). This, in turn, encourages them to try it and now they love it too!
Social media platforms have incredibly sophisticated targeting options which any business owner can leverage at a minimal cost.
We, at LIIT, specialise in helping small businesses effectively tell their stories, resulting in increased sales and brand awareness.
Want professional help in creating a powerful brand for your business?
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