Founder Brand: Turn Your Story Into Your Competitive Advantage

The key to using storytelling in your brand is to know how to tell your story and target the delivery of the story to the correct audience, to the niche that wants the product or service your business provides.

There are three keys to becoming a publisher as a founder: Founders should be active and posting at least three to five times a week on social media, specifically on Twitter and LinkedIn. Founders should start a podcast focused on their niche. Founders should make public speaking a priority, whether or not they like it.

If you have a founder who is willing to become the face of the brand, ready to be active on social media, and passionate about telling the company’s story, building a “founder brand” can be an incredible way to build a business, especially if you’re entering a crowded, competitive, or even brand-new market.

When I write an explainer, they are two to three sentences long. The perfect length for a short conversation. The format is like this: You know how __________________ (insert the problem or old way of doing things that you aim to change)? Instead of __________________ (problem/old way), we have a __________________ (solution/new way). We call it __________________ (name of the product or brand).

What is the founder’s (your) backstory? What’s the problem your business exists to solve? Who’s the villain your customers are facing? What’s the solution that you offer? What are the benefits of using your product?

Share commentary on meetings you had, people you met with, trends you’re seeing. Use these relationships to your advantage as a content creator.

Today, people want to buy from people. We want to work with people who we know, like, and trust. And this is why I believe that the clearest path to success in marketing (if your goal is to build awareness for your brand) is to start with the founder. A founder with a brand gives your marketing efforts superpowers. A founder brand builds trust, creates lasting relationships, and conveys expertise, leadership, content, and personality.

Level 1: Master the art of storytelling. Develop and refine your story. Level 2: Become a publisher. Don’t wait for people to tell your story. Get on the offensive and go out and tell it. Level 3: Master the feedback loop. What can you learn from your metrics?

The goal of marketing is to make sales easier. I say that because good marketing builds awareness, trust, and credibility.

It all starts like this: define a niche, build an audience of people in that niche through your content (which gets people to know, like, and trust you well before they are ready to buy from you), listen and learn from that audience, and then design products and services that match those people’s needs.