So you have decided it’s time to stare that blank page between the eyes and write your Brand Story. But what the hell IS a brand story?

Here’s some tips to help you figure it out…(with a little help from Inc.com)

Three Steps to Writing a Great Brand Story

• Take a notepad and write your past, present, and future story. The story of your company and brand starts with the founder and why he or she started the business in the first place. Include anecdotes, interesting facts, and a testimony of what has brought the organization to this point. Every great brand story considers the purpose and dream that birthed the company, and understanding what has brought you to this point and where the company is going is a strong place to start.

• Develop a statement to sum up why the company exists.  It is neither a mission statement nor a vision statement; a brand statement considers what matters to customers and stakeholders and the deeper purpose of the company. It goes beyond the money you want to earn and sets an ideal future to reach for, driven by values. It asks, “Why are we here?” and “How are we making the world a better place?” By answering these questions, you find the seed from which you’ll build your statement.

• Write a story around that statement. The statement you created becomes the starting point for what will become your brand story. A great brand story is succinct and tells the narrative of your brand, including where you’ve come from and where you are going. A great brand story must be true, authentic, and honest.  A great brand story must also be deep rooted in purpose. When there is a purpose driving your story, audiences engage. It invites the audience to be part of where you are going and is written conversationally. It shares your heart and why you do what you do, and as a story, you must learn to tell it masterfully.

Golden Rules:

• Think about the customers’ needs first and your brand objectives second.
• Aim to create and distribute your content without requiring anything in return.
• Make it worth the audience’s while to share it with others.
• Keep it simple.
• Define your content goals. Your goals don’t need to be complicated. You may want to increase traffic, improve online, or grow your subscriber list

So, the end goal is to produce content that your audience not only wants to consume but will seek, content that’s deeply and personally relatable, content that people interact with and share with their networks.

While there are a multitude of ways to create truly memorable and compelling content, I believe documentary storytelling has amazing potential. Everyone wants to belong to a culture or community. People want to see inside the world of like-minded people.

For many brands, video has become an important form of storytelling, whether it’s educational, entertainment, or a mix of both…

So go forth and tell your story… get a short video made for your website and social media! (Er, was that too hard-sell?)