Every brand has a story. But not every company's website tells that story effectively, in a way that compels users to find out more. Does yours? Follow the steps in this guide to make your brand stick in your users' minds and turn it into a valuable marketing asset. If you find this deck useful, check out the rest of our ‘better B2B website' series on our SlideShare profile, or at: http://knowledge.dontbeshy.com/better-b2b-website

1. Telling your
through your

2. has a story.
Every

3. But not every website effectively
tells that story.

4. It should. Here’s why.

5. Even in the B2B world, customers
make purchase decisions based on
two types of reason:

6. To do its job well, your website needs to
appeal to both sides of the brain:
EmotionLogic

7. A really good brand story, just like any good story,
appeals to your customers’ emotions.

8. That’s why the best B2B
websites take advantage of the
power of a really good brand story.

9. A website that communicates a strong brand story:
Captures visitors’ attention

10. A website that communicates a strong brand story:
Captures visitors’ attention
Creates an emotional connection between
your audience and your brand

11. A website that communicates a strong brand story:
Captures visitors’ attention
Creates an emotional connection between
your audience and your brand
Differentiates your brand

12. A website that communicates a strong brand story:
Captures visitors’ attention
Creates an emotional connection between
your audience and your brand
Differentiates your brand
Makes your brand more memorable.

13. So, how do you build a website
that tells your brand story better
than JK Rowling could?

14. Use our website brand story checklist:
Define your brand
Tell a story
Get personal
Aim for consistency
Leverage your logo

15. Define your brand
Tell a story
Get personal
Aim for consistency
Leverage your logo

16. Before you can get to work
communicating your brand story
to your audience, you need to
make sure you know exactly what
your brand is.

17. Start by asking yourself three questions:
What’s your offering?
What’s your USP?
What’s your brand’s personality?

18. What’s your offering?
The kind of brand you create will depend on
the services and products you offer.

19. For example...
A payroll software brand should naturally
portray a sense of trust and security.
A teambuilding events company could build
a brand based on ideas of fun and connection.

20. What’s your USP?
Your USP (unique selling proposition) sets you apart.
Focus on creating a brand concept that communicates this.
What do you do differently?
What makes your offering unique?
What can you give customers that none of
your competitors can?

21. What’s your brand’s personality?
Is your brand fun and spontaneous, or
trustworthy and analytical?
Are you a rebellious game-changer, or more of a
traditional, no-surprises sort of brand?
The personality you pick for your brand will infuse your
entire marketing strategy, including the tone and style
of your website copy and design.

22. Beware of using internal company lexicon or
highly technical industry jargon when
coming up with a brand concept.
Rather, put yourself in the end user’s shoes
and define your brand in a way that’s
accessible and easy to understand.

23. For a full crash-course on defining your
brand, check out this blog.

24. Define your brand
Tell a story
Get personal
Aim for consistency
Leverage your logo

25. is an inherently human trait and a powerful
marketing and communication tool.
Your future customers can’t resist a good yarn.
So give them one.

26. What your brand story isn’t:
Boardroom Flavour was formed in 2014 by Joe Soap and Jane Doe.
They pride themselves on providing food that is innovative, tasty,
and healthy. Today, Boardroom Flavour caters some of the biggest
corporate events in London. Last year, they were awarded the
prestigious London Taste award.

27. What your brand story is:
Amateur chefs Jane and Joe were tired of being fed congealed mini pizzas and cold
sausage rolls at the corporate events and business meetings they attended. After
one-too-many bowls of stale crisps, they joined forces to create Boardroom Flavour, a
catering company that believes inspired food fuels inspired business. Now, Jane’s love
of innovative presentation and Joe’s genius for flavour profiles is transforming London’s
corporate events into a foodie’s gourmet dream. In 2016, London Taste named them
catering company of the year. But they’re not in it for the accolades; they’re in it for the
love of flavour. After all, who says business needs to be bland?

28. A good brand story:
Communicates your values
Appeals to emotion
Tells the stories of the people
behind the brand
Explains why – not just how
– you started your company
Reveals your inspiration and passion
Is infused with your brand’s personality
Underpins every webpage and piece of
marketing you create.

29. Make the most of your ‘About us’ page.
This is your chance to tell your story, so make sure you do it well!
Consider using videos, interactive timelines,
‘meet the team’ features, or moving infographics to
really engage your visitors.

30. Then, keep telling your brand
story on every single page of
your website.
BRAND
STORY

31. That doesn’t mean retelling the
actual story again and again
(that would be infuriating).

32. It means constantly communicating
and reinforcing your values and
your raison d’être at every opportunity.

33. Every single time you respond to a web
comment, write a blog post, design an ad, or
hold an event, you’re telling your brand story.
Make sure that your
underpin everything you do.

34. Define your brand
Tell a story
Get personal
Aim for consistency
Leverage your logo

35. No matter how great your brand
story is, if it doesn’t resonate with
your customers, it’s useless.

36. Remember, even in B2B, you’re still
selling to human beings.
To communicate effectively, you need
to know your customers inside out.
What excites
them?
What scares
them?
What’s most
valuable to them?

37. Tell your brand story in a way that your
customers can relate to.
If you customers are largely conservative,
don’t go the quirky, crazy route.
If they’re young professionals, on the other
hand, an innovative, cutting-edge brand will appeal.

38. Define your brand
Tell a story
Get personal
Aim for consistency
Leverage your logo

39. Make sure your entire website is on brand.
Stick to the same tone of voice, look and feel,
colour palette, and style throughout.
Aa

40. Similarly, aim for brand consistency
across all your channels.
That way, your customers can easily
recognise your content.
@

41. Define your brand
Tell a story
Get personal
Aim for consistency
Leverage your logo

42. Your
functions as a quick
and easy way to identify your brand.

43. Don’t settle for a less-than-perfect logo.
Find one that embodies your brand story
and resonates with your audience.
twisted melon

44. Make it easy for customers
to identify your website by
making your logo highly
visible on every webpage.
01435 998 765twisted melon

45. No one said it was going to be easy.
A truly brilliant B2B website has to tick a lot of boxes.
Not only does it need to tell your brand story, it also needs
to generate leads, serve content, educate and
delight your customers, and more.
Building a website that does it all can be a
challenge, especially if you’re trying to do it all in-house.

46. Don’t be Shy is a B2B marketing agency based out of London
and Manchester, but we like to travel. We have the tools and
experience to take your raw brand story and translate it
into something your website visitors won’t be able to resist.
Get in touch with us here.
Get some help.

47. Transform your website from
content chaos to
content perfection
If you found this deck useful, check out the
rest of our ‘better B2B website’ series here.
TRANSFORMING
YOURB2BWEBSITE
INTO A LEAD
GENERATION
POWERHOUSE
Chat soon!