This is not content marketing. Content marketing is a part of storytelling. Brand storytelling refers to every message your brand sends out, purposefully or not. When I create a story for your brand it will be a purposeful narrative that connects your brand to your customers, focusing on the values you share.

Storytelling must go beyond the products and services to create something your audience wants to be a part of. It must show that you “get” your customers, understanding who they are and what they need. I have gone about it a couple of different ways.

Data-Driven Storytelling

Obsess over the data. Find the common themes in your content, out in the mainstream world, and what’s being said in the news.  The top 5 articles across all your properties were PCB articles. Sales for PCBs in 2019 reached $100 Billion. 2 of the top 4 reasons a PCB fails is because of component issues. Make story out of that data that your customers can relate to.

Audience-Centered Storytelling

Take the “brand” out of brand storytelling. Let go of your ego. Consumers are in control, not the brand, and the sooner an organization accepts that, the better. Customers are being bombarded by content. They don’t need to listen to your story. They can find ways to skip past your content.

So…find what the audience needs and lead with that. If you are obsessing over how big the logo is, that’s not going to happen. Provide value first and worry about the brand after – it will always follow once you’ve hooked your audience. Much as I hate to say it, we should look to Coca-Cola for great examples of audience-centered storytelling.