How To Tell Your Brand Stories
Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash
Storytelling is Everything in Corporate Communications.
When it comes to corporate communications, storytelling is more than just a buzzword.
It’s essential.
Whether you're doing content marketing or building brand awareness, stories are what draw people in.
But we all know how hard it can be to find those stories, right?
That’s why having a strategy to uncover and leverage stories for media outreach and content creation is crucial.
Well-told stories are transformative for brand reputation, customer engagement, and even employee morale.
Let’s explore strategies to find and share the stories that will resonate with your audience.
What Makes Brand Stories Effective?
Good brand stories hit the following sweet spots:
Relevance: Good stories resonate with your target audience. Who’s your audience—customers, employees, investors, regulators, or maybe even your CEO who checks their Google Alerts religiously? Understanding who you’re talking to shapes the way you tell your brand's story.
Timeliness: Timing is everything. Whether it’s planning around product announcements, getting ahead of negative media coverage, or ensuring seasonal news gets noticed… well-timed stories can make or break your strategy.
Human Interest: Don’t underestimate the power of personal stories. If your employees have compelling backstories or your product made a difference in someone’s life, these are gold for both social media content and press releases.
Value Alignment: Always ensure the story aligns with your company’s values and broader messaging. Stories that stray too far off-brand can confuse audiences or dilute your message.
When you and your team consistently find stories that hit these markers, you can boost your brand's visibility and trustworthiness across multiple channels—whether it is earned media, blog posts, or internal communications.
Finding Stories Within Your Organization
The process of finding stories inside your company is similar to what a journalist does:
Research, ask questions, and dig deeper.
Instead of relying solely on marketing or PR departments, widen your search to teams like customer service, R&D, and HR.
Here are some effective ways to source internal stories:
Employee Interviews: Have informal chats with employees from various departments. Whether it's about a new project they’re working on or a personal achievement, these conversations often lead to great storytelling opportunities.
Customer Interactions: Your customers are your best advocates. Use customer feedback, reviews, or testimonials as the basis for stories. Reaching out directly for deeper insights through surveys or social media outreach can also work wonders.
Key Date Tracking: Keeping an eye on company key dates—whether it’s anniversaries, new hires, or significant product developments—provides opportunities to share success stories that resonate.
The more you extend your reach beyond the usual suspects in marketing, the more likely you are to find stories that appeal to a broader audience.
Path 1: Turning Stories Into Multichannel Storytelling
Once you’ve found your stories, the next step is sharing them with audiences. The way you present these stories will depend on the platform—press releases, social media marketing, blog posts, podcasts, YouTube videos, and infographics all serve different purposes.
A story that works well in a blog post might be equally effective in a LinkedIn article or an Instagram post. Here’s a breakdown:
Video Content: Your raw 15-minute interview footage can be edited into multiple formats, from a 10-minute YouTube video to a 30-second TikTok or Instagram reel.
Written Content: That same interview could become a blog post, a LinkedIn post, or even the subject of a white paper.
Infographics: Data-heavy stories or product features work best when condensed into visually engaging graphics, which can be used across social media channels.
Make sure your stories are consistent with your brand voice. If you’re a B2B tech company, your tone should be professional but approachable, while a consumer-facing brand might want a more casual or fun vibe.
Photo by Sam McGhee on Unsplash
Path 2: Getting Others to Tell Your Stories (Media Outreach)
Pitching stories to media outlets and influencers is harder than ever due to shrinking newsrooms and changing digital landscapes. But it’s not impossible.
Here’s one roadmap for successful media outreach:
Target the Right Outlets: Identify journalists, influencers, and publications that cover stories similar to yours. PR strategy is more effective when aligned with the outlet’s focus.
Short and Sweet Pitches: Keep pitches short. If it’s more than a paragraph, it’s too long. Aim for a three-sentence summary of why your story matters.
Build Relationships: Networking with journalists and influencers isn’t just about pitching. Engage with their content, follow them on social media, and make sure you’re on their radar well before you need to pitch a story.
Follow-Up Strategy: If you don’t get a response, follow up after 48 hours. If there’s still no reply, wait another 48 hours before trying again. If you’re not hearing back, it may be time to move on.
By sharing your stories through social media, blog posts, and videos, you make it easier for journalists and influencers to find and share your content, especially when a substantial amount of the research has already been done.
Image via Unsplash
Brand Story Success: A Competitive Advantage
Storytelling in corporate communications is not just about checking a box. It's one of the most strategic assets that can differentiate your brand in a crowded digital marketplace. Whether you’re focused on building brand awareness, improving customer relationships, or boosting employee engagement, well-told stories are key.
By focusing on relevance, timeliness, human interest, and alignment with company values, you can uncover compelling stories that resonate deeply with your target audiences—whether they’re customers, employees, or the media.
Be proactive in your efforts. Build an ongoing culture of storytelling within your company, and remember, consistency is key.
The most successful brands are those that engage continuously with their internal teams and broader communities, looking for meaningful narratives to share. And once you’ve found those stories, make sure to adapt them across multiple platforms and formats for maximum reach.
In media outreach, building strong relationships with journalists, influencers, and content creators can make a measurable difference in how your stories spread. When done right, brand storytelling isn’t just about promoting your product—it’s about building trust, fostering connection, and elevating your market presence.