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The Secret to Building Timeless Brands
How to build a brand that lasts on social media
Read Time: 3 Minutes 2 Seconds
Hey — Ryan here.
In today’s edition:
how to create stories that keep audiences hooked
why recurring presence beats one-off marketing
the secret to building a brand identity that lasts
In the last edition, we showed you how to ride the wave of viral trends to boost your brand's reach.
But today, let's talk about the other side of the coin:
Building a brand that lasts.
Because while chasing trends might earn you 15 seconds of fame, truly great brands are timeless.
Their secret weapon?
Storytelling, but done right.
It's a strategy for weaving your brand into your audience's lives—and staying there.
1. The Tension Loop
Great stories don't just end.
They make you need to know what happens next.
Think Marvel movies: They don't just finish a story.
They plant seeds for the next three.
Each end-credit scene you watch serves as a hook that keeps you invested in their universe.
And this helped turn Disney’s $4B investment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2009 into a multi-billion dollar empire today.
But here's what's interesting:
Small brands are mastering this technique too.
Take Bad Hambres.
They're not just sharing videos selling their frozen bean and cheese burritos.
They did this:
They’re creating multi-video series sharing:
Each video ends with a cliffhanger, suggesting the viewer should follow to see what happens next.
And once the viewer follows, they’re hooked into this brand-building journey.
Same with Chunkyfit: Their protein cookie content is more than a constant barrage of advertisements.
It's an ongoing series about:
Here’s the pattern:
Create tension → Release it → Create new tension → Release it again → Repeat
Because every good story is fueled by conflict.
But make sure each video feeds into a larger narrative.
That's how you turn single customers into long-term fans.
They're not showing up just to buy a product.
They're invested in your brand’s journey.
2. The Mere Exposure Effect
In the old days, marketers prayed a billboard would catch your eye.
Now, they target your social feed.
But the brands of the future?
They'll take a neat chunk out of your daily routine.
This is the mere exposure effect in action:
the more you post your brand’s content
the more they will interact with your brand
the more they will grow to like and trust it
the more likely they are to buy
You see, the mere exposure effect “describes our tendency to develop preferences for things simply because we are familiar with them.”
Netflix has mastered this.
They're made for binge-watching, but they also:
By creating these endless contact points with viewers, Netflix turned watching their shows into a no-brainer.
Think about it through a customer's eyes:
When a new show drops, you're not just seeing the trailer. You're seeing:
Cast interviews in your feed
Fan theories on TikTok
Viral clips on Instagram
Deep-dive analyses on YouTube
You may have heard that classic marketing rule about needing "7 points of contact before a customer buys.”
While it's outdated, the principle remains true: The more someone sees you, the more they trust you.
And Netflix has turned this into an art form.
That's the power of constant presence.
It's about making your brand feel like a natural choice.
3. The Identity Blueprint
The biggest brands don't sell products.
They sell who you become when you buy them.
Look at Lululemon and Patagonia's playbook:
Patagonia could just sell jackets.
Instead?
They sell environmental activism.
Their famous "Don't Buy This Jacket" campaign actually increased sales. Why?
Because this was bigger than selling products—they were selling membership in a movement.
The same goes for Lululemon:
They could market yoga pants and call it a day.
But scroll through their content where they:
Notice what's happening:
You’ll notice most of their marketing isn’t even about their products.
It’s even in their bio.
It’s about their community: a group of like-minded people dedicated to wellness.
When you wear Lululemon, you take on that identity.
When you wear Patagonia, you're declaring your stance on environmental issues.
This is why these brands stay relevant while others fade:
Basic brands: "Here's what our product does"
Smart brands: "Here's who we are"
Great brands: "Here's who you become"
The result?
When someone walks into REI and sees a Patagonia jacket next to a competitor's, they're not just comparing features.
They're choosing which story they want to be part of.
How did you like today's newsletter? |
Thanks for showing up this week. We’ll see you in the next :).
Sincerely,
Ryan
P.S. We’re launching something exciting in the next few days and we can’t wait to share it with you…