Give your brand story the share factor

We all know it’s nice to share. Parents tell their kids that from a very young age, whispering in little Teddy’s ear through gritted teeth that it is ‘it’s nice to share’ whilst prising little Teddy’s fingers one incalcitrant digit at a time from the toy truck he is clutching to his chest as if to let even littler Olivia touch that truck would be a fate worse than eating carrots.

Ted’s parents were right, though, despite what that carrot-hater may have thought. Particularly when it comes to brand stories. The stories we tell about our businesses need to be shared, otherwise growing that enterprise could be slow and painful... because how are people outside of your network going to hear about you? If you don’t have lots o cash to splash on paid marketing, organic reach of your story counts.

So how do you get your brand story shared? How do you know if your story has the share factor? (Share factor is like the X-Factor, but without all the hysteria, gurning presenters and a LOT less glitter falling from the ceiling).

Here’s a quick graphic to break it down:

SIMPLE + EMOTIVE

If you want to up your Share Factor, simplicity is key. Say one thing, and say it well. Yes, you could say that your accountancy practice is great at customer service, has highly experienced staff, will help you make your numbers simple, keep you compliant, cares about the future of your business, gives a share of profits to charity, gets involved with their local community and can help you plan your business strategy… but your audience will be thinking about what they could eat for dinner or how they are going to avoid those temporary traffic lights tonight by the time you get to ‘experienced’. 

And make it emotive. This doesn’t mean you have to tell a heart-rending story about disadvantaged puppies or that you are on a crusade to rid the world of carrots (Ted really did double-down on the whole carrot-hating thing) but the story about your business should make people feel something – whether that is excitement, surprise, delight, enlightenment, amused or just plain curiosity.

So. Tell them you’re the accountants that do numbers with love. Or the accountants that figure they can make the world 9.5% better. Or that you are the community accountants. Or that your bottom line is businesses that make a difference. I mean, none of these might be right, these are just examples that have popped out the end of my fingers onto the keyboard, but you get the gist – create a simple, emotive idea that you can then build your brand story around.

UNDERSTANDABLE + MEMORABLE

If you make your story simple, you make it understandable. Sounds almost too obvious to need saying, but if you’ve ever listened to someone tell you what their business is about and your response is ‘whaaaaaattt?’ you know it bears a reminder. And provoking a kernel of emotion with the story you tell helps it be memorable, which is the absolute pre-requisite for shareability. If the story sounds like every other accountant’s story, or if it is duller than a wet lettuce leaf at a retired vegetable convention, it will never lodge itself in anyone’s brain.

REPEATABLE + STICKY

If you make your story understandable, you make it repeatable. Complicated stories are rarely shared, because…well: effort. If you make it hard for people to grasp, the easiest thing they can do is just let go. And making your story memorable is the best way to make it sticky. You want your story to be as sticky as possible. You don’t want your brand story to be attached to someone’s brain with a small blob of Blu-Tack, carried away on the first passing breeze. You need it superglued in with a memorable hook so that is stays in there until they need to refer you or use you themselves.

MAXIMUM SHARE FACTOR

And if you do that, you create maximum share factor. Your story travels out of your network with barely a glance over its shoulder, meeting all sorts of new people along the way, provoking an emotive response, being memorable and remaining sticky.

Check out our recent new addition to the Tool Shed, Preparing to tell a great brand story, which gives you three creative exercises to help you lay the foundations for creating a great story to share.

And of course, if you want a creative approach to creating your brand story, book a Cultivator session and we will work together using the Allotment’s bespoke tools to design a brand that people just can’t help sharing (whether they like carrots or not). Email me and let’s chat.