Book Review: Building a Story Brand
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I just received Building a Story Brand, and I haven’t put it down all day. It isn’t long or complicated, only a very straight-forward book helping you brand your small business.
My mentor, Crystal Oakes, has recommended this book multiple times while starting our mentor-mentee relationship. I’ll say; it went in one ear and out the other most of the time. That said, I’m glad I had someone able to make a recommendation about the book before picking it up.
I initially won the book in a giveaway package from a local bookstore in my area. I didn’t know if I should discard the email notifying me that I had won the book, or take it at face value. It’s doubled in value after I opened the packaging and utilized a few of its resources inside.
My initial impression of the book reminded me of the emotional intelligence books that I’ve found in Barnes and Noble a few times. Helpful and exciting, but not necessary in the scheme of things.
After reading the two-page introduction, I knew I’d want to read the whole book.
Section 1
Section 1 is all about prefacing what is to come and why it’s important to keep branding in mind for your small business.
You might think it’ll be alright to skip this section, but bear with me and read through to the end.
While it might preface about what is to come, Section 1 in Building a Story Brand can show you more about the importance of having a story brand. I also believe it’s helpful to understand how you should view your business when constructing your brand.
You might see your brand and your story as essential parts of your business, but it’s important to know that your business isn’t about you or your company for that matter. It’s about your client and customers.
Section 2
Now for the meat of Building a Story Brand: Section 2 will be about building your story brand.
This section delves into subsections for each arch that you will need to know about your brand’s story. There are seven subsections in all, and you can create your story brand chart at www.mystorybrand.com.
Each section is only about five pages long and won’t take you long to read through. I’d say it’d probably take you an afternoon to create your story brand and read through the section.
Be prepared to reread this section. While the units aren’t long by any means, they pack a lot of information that might turn head a bit.
You’ll understand what the concept is trying to convey. You’ll even understand the logic that the examples showcase. You’ll still have to reread and use reference points when it comes to creating your story brand.
Create your overarching story brand for your business and then go further and delve into your services and products. You might have about 6 or 7 sub-story brands that should revolve around your overarching story brand for your small business.
Section 3
You won’t have completed the essence of Building a Story Brand if you don’t know how to implement the strategies.
Section 3 is all about learning how to use the story brand ideology in your small business. You can relay each of your subsections to your customers or your employees, but you won’t reach many of your ideal clients if you don’t effectively use the methodologies in place.
You might be thinking this is another section you can skip over. “I’ve learned all about my brand now. What don’t I know about how to utilize it on my website or in my company culture?”
I’d say you need a lot of help to impart your new brand identity strategy if you had to use another formula to make it useful.
To start, Building a Story Brand says to redo or make a new website. Learn what was changed when you completed your story brand and make those changes more prevalent on your website. You’ll be singing your brand story from the rooftop with a clear voice.
Next, implement it into your business culture. See how others in your small business can relate and implement your small business’s new brand story.
If you’re nervous about implementing a new brand strategy for your small business, realize it might not be unique for your business. You might understand certain aspects of Building a Story Brand and already have them implemented in your small business. If that’s the case: congratulations!
Consulting Building a Story Brand will give business owners a clear and concise way to showcase their business strategy to others. You might not need much help when it comes to your small business, but it can help show how your business impacts others.
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