Do you have an underlying story for your brand? Is there a consistent message threaded through everything you do? Determine the core concepts that resonate with your customers—and with your fans—to create the foundation of your brand story.
Here are some key areas you can investigate to unlock compelling threads that are engaging as your story unfolds.
Topics
Discover the interests of your audience. A quick scroll among your followers will reveal repeated terms. Identify top keywords used to engage with your brand.
Consider looking at areas of influence on Klout. And take a look at the competition, how are they talking about their brand? What are their customers and fans talking about?
This can help you distinguish yourself, recognize important attributes that bring a customer to your brand rather than to a competitor. Grab on.
Follow the topic as it relates to your product and as it extends in other areas. Have fun with it—even topics that are “unspeakable” can be addressed in a tale or two. Consider the antics of PooPourri.
Trends
Capitalize on the trends. Seasons. Holidays. Events. News. Fashion. Sports. There’s an opportunity to hook your brand story on to what’s happening—as appropriate and applicable—and continue to unfold your story as it relates to current events and timely happenings.
When you hook onto a trending concept with your product or offer, you gain awareness among those interested in the trend while staying relevant with your message.
For instance, take a look at the Dough Boy taking the the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Many brands participated in the trending event.
Themes
Develop content themes based on trends and topics relative to the goals of your company and your customers. Find the most universal theme to carry your story to the widest relevant audience.
For instance, happiness. Show how your product inspires and spreads joy. And then, tell it like it is—with pizazz. Make it memorable. Here is where creativity conquers.
Get your audience involved in your story and you will have a life-long fan. A great example of this is the Dancing Guy who was sponsored by various brands, beginning with Stride Gum.
With this investigation into topics, trends, and themes, you can build tantalizing messages that unfold consistently while continuously telling the tale that is at the core of your brand.
