If your target group, identity, and USP are set, the last big lever is your brand story – how you make people feel, move, and belong. Hans From Space treats story as a system with three fundamentals: Resonance, Energy, and Identity/Identification. Here’s the playbook, grounded in psychology and current research.

Resonance: How do people see themselves in your story?

Stories persuade when they transport us – when attention narrows, time dilates, and we mentally “enter” the narrative. 

That absorption (called narrative transportation) is strongly linked to shifts in beliefs and attitudes. Build for transport and you unlock meaning, not just messaging.

Source: Green, M.C. (2024). Narrative transportation: How stories shape how we see and believe. (review).

How to build resonance within your brand story?

Source: Reber, R., Schwarz, N., & Winkielman, P. (2004). Processing fluency and aesthetic pleasure.

Lead with a human-scale conflict → choice → consequence arc.

Use concrete sensory detail (place, texture, stakes) and a single, vivid protagonist—founder, user, or community member.

Keep the cognitive load low: simple structure, familiar schema, and clear visuals increase processing fluency, which in turn boosts liking and truthiness.

Energy: design the emotional charge that travels

Content spreads when it carries arousal – feelings like awe, excitement, anger, or anxiety that rev up the body and prompt action.

High-arousal emotions consistently predict sharing and conversation; neutral cleverness rarely moves. Plan the emotional contour of your story the way you plan its plot.

Source: Berger, J., & Milkman, K. (2012). What Makes Online Content Viral?

How to build energy among the target group?

Source: Berger, J., & Milkman, K. (2012).

Choose one primary emotion per asset; don’t blend five.

Pace toward a peak moment and a clean end: people remember the peak and the finish disproportionately (the peak–end rule). Craft both on purpose.

Pair emotion with action doors: “Join”, “Try”, “Build with us”. Energy without a next step dissipates.

Identity & Identification: turn recognition into belonging

People don’t only buy – they become through identification. We align with groups that mirror our values, and we stick when a brand helps us enact “people like us do things like this.” Decades of research on social identity and self-congruity show it.

A fit between self and brand—and identification with brand communities—predicts preference and loyalty. Recent work connects brand-community identification to higher well-being and loyalty, especially online.

How to create identification within customers?

Source: Oyserman et al. 2017 – An identity-based motivaiton framework for self-regulation

Name the tribe clearly: who we are, what we value, what we refuse. Design rituals, symbols, and language members can use with each other (not just with you).

Make progress visible: badges, roles, or public milestones convert private identity into public signal.

Remember Identity-Based Motivation: the identities that drive action are context-triggered and dynamic. Surface cues that make the right identity accessible in the moment (e.g., builder, protector, creator), and friction looks like “proof I’m the kind of person who persists.”

Putting it together at hansfrom.space

With your TG, identity, and USP locked, here’s a lean build you can launch this month. Let’s wrap it up in 5 crucial points:

Source: Alaybek, B. et al. (2022). Meta-analysis of the peak–end rule.

1. Signature Narrative (Resonance + Energy)

Write one canonical story (400–600 words) with a single protagonist, a real obstacle, and a decision that embodies your USP. Map the emotional peak and the last line first (for the peak–end effect), then draft toward them.

2. Story Blocks Library

Break that signature story into reusable blocks—origin, aha, customer turnaround, community moment, future vision. Keep each block cognitively fluent (plain words, strong contrast, familiar patterns).

3. Emotion → Action Pairing

For every block, define the arousal target (awe, urgency, delight) and the matching CTA. Publish with that pairing intact across formats (short, long, email, social).

5. Community Hooks (Identification)

Codify belonging: a shared phrase, an onboarding ritual, and one recurring communal act (monthly build thread, Friday “ship room,” member map). These cues make the right identity accessible in context.

5. Operate Social-First

In 2025, growth comes from participatory stories inside communities, not just reach buys. Social-first brands that listen and co-create with their communities are outperforming on revenue and momentum—optimize for community, content, and conversion loops.

Quick checklist

  1. Does your core story transport? (human protagonist, stakes, imagery)
  2. Is the emotional peak unmistakable and the end memorable?
  3. Is every asset easy to process at a glance (copy, layout, contrast)?
  4. Which identity are you activating here—and what cue makes it salient now?
  5. What arousal are you aiming for, and what’s the immediate action it fuels?
  6. Where does the community show up inside the story (rituals, roles, shared wins)?

Sources

  • Green, M.C. (2024). Narrative transportation: How stories shape how we see and believe. (review). ScienceDirect
  • Reber, R., Schwarz, N., & Winkielman, P. (2004). Processing fluency and aesthetic pleasure. PubMed
  • Berger, J., & Milkman, K. (2012). What Makes Online Content Viral? JSTOR
  • Ashforth, B.E., & Mael, F. (1989). Social Identity Theory and the Organization. JSTOR
  • Kim, J.H., & Sirgy, M.J. (2015). Self-congruity effects: a critical review. Wiley Online Library
  • (2025) Relationships between consumers’ social identity, brand community identification and brand loyalty. Taylor & Francis Online
  • Alaybek, B. et al. (2022). Meta-analysis of the peak–end rule. ScienceDirect
  • Deloitte Digital (2025). State of Social 2025: community, content, conversion. Deloitte