Brand Storytelling FAQ
Contents
A) Brand Storytelling FAQ
B) Personal Branding FAQ
A) Brand Storytelling FAQ
Great storytelling is like sculpting. To create great statues you
have to cut the flab, sharpen the crucial points and work on refining
the nuances till it becomes a masterpiece worth worshiping.
1) How do stories help in brand building?
Brands are built by consistent communication of the attributes in an
interesting way. Storytelling meets all these conditions and Stories stay in our mind or memory. Branding is also about staying on top of the mind and becoming memorable for the right qualities.
2) Can storytelling (of my company and products) help me get customers?
Yes storytelling can surely help us attract more customers and
sometimes the customers may buy after a long time. They liked the
story, wanted to buy the product but did not have money or need at that
point of time.
3) What are the key benefits of storytelling over other branding techniques?
Storytelling is a powerful integrator. It integrates:-
- Personal with business brand
- Online with offline brand
- Social media with mass media
- Self interest with others interest
- Education with entertainment (Edutainment)
- Emotions with logic
- Electronic, print and other mass media (Transmedia storytelling)
- Young generation with the old (Transgenerational)
And most important of all, stories humanize our mechanical world.
4) I can’t write stories. So what do I do?
You have two options, one is to take coaching to learn and practice
to refine the skill. The easier option is to take the help of a ghost
writer (or rather storyteller) who can give shape to your thoughts and
ideas.
5) What is the ideal length of a story?
There is no ideal length as such but the matter must be interesting
enough. Stories can be told in a single line and anecdote or can take
the shape of a autobiography or even a series.
6) I am an entrepreneur interested in a combination of personal branding plus business branding. Will storytelling be useful?
Yes, storytelling is immensely powerful in integrating personal and
business brand. People love to read the stories of people and the
stories of organisations and products can be weaved into the story of
the entrepreneur or the people behind them.
7) I am a CXO aspiring to become a CEO. How will storytelling help me?
You can share your successes (through anecdotes/stories), inspire people and weave your
perspectives into the story itself. You can even use storytelling in
your formal and informal presentations to the board.
8) I am a CEO and believe in leadership by example. How can I benefit by storytelling?
You have to be a role model and your anecdotes and stories must
demonstrate that by being inspiring, sharing your vision and
superordinate goals of the organisation. You can share your successes,
inspire people and weave your perspectives into the story itself.
Storytelling is about connecting with people and helping people to
see, what you see and as a CEO that is exactly what you want to do.
Supportive evidence
B) Personal Branding FAQ
1) What is Personal Branding?
Personal Branding is a way of communicating, what makes you different and special or the unique value you can offer to your employer or client. According to Wikipedia, Personal Branding is the process whereby people and their careers are marked as brands.
Richard Branson, Madonna and Oprah Winfrey are just a few of the incredibly successful people who have used personal branding and now many middle management professionals as well as self-employed professionals use Personal Branding.
Enlarge, Excel and Evolve (Our Unique Approach to Personal Branding)
2) How is Personal Branding different from Image Management?
2) How is Personal Branding different from Image Management?
Personal Branding is based on authenticity, while image management is a spin or a projection (sometimes of what you are not). Image management builds a image for the outside world while Personal Branding is based on the real and genuine strengths, values and passions.
3) What are the benefits of Personal Branding?
3) What are the benefits of Personal Branding?
A product brand offers a USP (Unique Selling Proposition) to the customer and in the same way a Personal Brand offers a Unique Value to the employer or client (in terms of strengths and passions of the person, which are of value)
- To get buy-in for promotion
- To brand yourself as an expert of knowledge or skills
- To raise your credibility among customers, financial institutions
- To project your strengths and your uniqueness
- To counter any negative publicity or rumors
- To become a celebrity in your own right
Though anyone including a student can go for Personal Branding with long term interests, it is more useful for the following categories of people (any situation where the person is more critical than the product)
Professionals-Architects, Lawyers, Doctors, Consultants, Actors, Professors & Experts
Senior Managerial Cadre- Sr Managers, GM, VP, CEO
Entrepreneurs- Specially Small and medium business entrepreneurs (raise credibility among banks and venture capitalists)
5) When is the right time for Personal Branding?
The earlier you begin, the better it is but it becomes critical when you want to make fast track career growth.
6) What are the major tools for Personal Branding? How is it done?
Digital Tools-Linkedin, Quora, Facebook Page, Personal Portal, E-newsletters and so on
Offline Tools-Print & TV Media relations, Books/articles publishing, Associations, Conferences and so on.
It depends upon several factors like existing branding, scale of branding (regional, national, global), domain (broad or niche) and the time you are ready to put in.
But it cannot be done in days and weeks and it rather takes one to three years to create a successful personal brand.
8) I prefer to maintain a low profile. Will Personal Branding create unnecessary publicity?
It is upto you, if you want to be branded within the company, among clients or general public. If you wish, you can control media & visibility and avoid publicity among general public.
9) I can do my own Personal Branding? Why should I hire a Consultant?
A Consultant can provide the following information and benefits:-
- Saving of time and effort
- Technical knowledge relating to SEO, blogs and other digital branding information
- Make it a systematic, consistent and step by step exercise
- Ensure consistency and discipline in branding efforts
- Common errors and pitfalls
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Dr Amit Nagpal, PhD is a Personal Branding Consultant and specializes in personal branding with a holistic touch. He is based in New Delhi, India and can be reached at amitknagpal@gmail.com
