Writing Brand Stories That Communicate Core Messages

𝗕𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀: 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗿𝗮𝗳𝘁 𝗮 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁𝘀 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 🔵 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘀. 🔵 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘶𝘱, 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘤𝘵. The biggest brands don’t just sell stuff — they stand for something bigger. They shape conversations, change perspectives, and spark real-world change. So, how do you craft a story that doesn’t just connect but ignites a movement? 𝟭. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵: 𝗜𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲. Not just making money, but a cause worth fighting for. Look at Patagonia. They don’t just sell outdoor gear. They’re fighting for the environment. Your brand’s “big why” should connect to a universal problem people really care about. 𝟮. 𝗡𝗲𝘅𝘁, 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹. People don’t buy from companies. They buy from the people behind those companies. Share your stories — the struggles, the wins, the moments that shaped your mission. When Yvon Chouinard launched Patagonia, it wasn’t about clothes. It was about protecting the planet he loved to explore. 𝟯. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗻, 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘁. Words aren’t enough. Actions matter more. Align your practices, partnerships, and initiatives with your mission. Show people you’re committed — not just talk. 𝟰. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻, 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. A movement isn’t a monologue. It’s a conversation. How can they get involved? What actions can they take today? Create spaces for dialogue, participation, and advocacy. 𝟱. 𝗧𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱. Use visuals, real customer stories, and data that inspires. Make your message shareable — because inspired people share things that matter. 𝟲. 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆, 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁. Movements don’t happen overnight. They’re like a snowball rolling downhill — gaining speed and size. If you stay true to your message and keep pushing forward, your movement will grow. Trust takes time, but it’s the only way real change sticks. My final thought? Brands that create real impact don’t just sell products — they shift mindsets and spark action. And it doesn’t matter if you’re a start-up or a giant. Your brand can lead the next big movement. Are you ready to make it happen? Because the world’s waiting for your story.

Let me say something that might get me kicked out of the marketing clubhouse: A lot of your messaging problems are really meaning problems. I’ve been on both sides of this, the executive war rooms debating word choice for hours, and the in-the-trenches moments trying to help people feel something again after their fourth webinar of the day. And here’s what I know: People don’t need more clarity. They need coherence. A real narrative doesn’t just “position” you. It places people inside your world. It helps them make sense of what’s happening, what’s changing, and what the hell to do next. I’ve built brand stories in some of the most exhausting, commoditized, and acronym-choked spaces around, and the only thing that’s ever worked is leading with a story that connects. Not sells. Not shouts. Connects. That’s the job now. Not perfect messaging. Not jargonless clarity. Connection. With conviction. A great narrative: Moves faster than your org chart. Helps your people explain what they do at dinner. Shows your customers they’re not alone in what they’re navigating. Keeps everyone, inside and out, anchored when the product pivots, the market shifts, or the next shiny AI tool hits the stage. I’ve had execs cry during message reviews. Not because it was emotional. But because it was true. Because for the first time in years, they could hear themselves inside the story. If your story doesn’t feel like it belongs to the people building your company? It won’t matter to the people buying from it. Narrative isn’t frosting. It’s the frame. And right now? It’s the only strategy that cuts through the noise without adding to it.

🐬 Flip the messaging <> content dynamic: Most content teams start with articles ideas, keywords, or requests for content. Then they sit down to brief the content and figure out what it's actually going to say. 🧨 Instead, 𝗳𝗹𝗶𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁. Sit down and map out the core messages that your company should be communicating in *all* content. High-level themes, ideas, and POVs that align the stories you want to tell as a company. Example: 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥. This is a POV that we can take as a company. We can explore it in many different ways. And we can create a nearly infinite number of unique pieces of content from this one simple idea. 🧨 Develop 𝟰 - 𝟭𝟬 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗲𝘀 like this. This is your messaging framework. All the content you make should flow from—and align with—these key messages. (Otherwise, why bother making it?) 🧨 Use these to both 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝘀 and 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀. Starting from scratch, you can unpack the idea to come up with ideas for specific pieces of content to tell the story. And when you're getting blasted with requests for blog posts and ebooks, you can ask stakeholders to align those requests with your messaging framework. You can even push back if the requests aren't in line with the messages you're focused on telling. 🧨 Finally: 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀. They won't last forever. So, every 3-6 months, reassess the big-picture stories you're telling as a brand. Update the messaging framework. Then dig back into execution.

If your brand’s story doesn’t move people, it won’t move markets. For years, I focused on value props and feature lists. We had a better product. More reliable. Faster. Objectively superior. But we still kept losing deals. Until one day, a prospect told me the hard truth: “You’re telling me what it does. But I need to feel why it matters.” That line hit like a freight train. So we stopped leading with logic and started telling stories. Real ones: ➤ About a founder who built our product to solve a problem she lived through. ➤ About a customer who cried on a Zoom call because we saved their launch. ➤ About the fear, doubt, and triumph that don’t show up in case studies. Here’s what happened next: 🔹 Engagement tripled. People didn’t just “like”, they reached out. 🔹 Positioning got clearer. Story gave context to our value. 🔹 We stopped selling. Customers started believing. Because facts inform. But stories transform. If you want your brand to stick in someone’s head or their heart, you can’t just show up smart. You’ve got to show up human. So ask yourself: What story are you telling? And more importantly, who feels seen when you tell it? Curious? Read the full breakdown here: https://lnkd.in/dq-CiYVM