If you’re anything like me, hearing (and, to be honest, saying) the word “content” in reference to digital and marketing materials is a pet peeve. The generalized term includes just about everything on the web and consequently gives carte blanche to a trend of producing before planning.
Due to its broad definition, content ideas can be hurled across boardrooms more confidently than Tom Brady playing a high school football team. It’s tempting to produce sporadic materials rather than consider the daunting array of channels, opportunities and steps required to tell your company’s narrative.
Think of it this way, a marketing director- who advises their team to “produce more content” without understanding specific objectives risks futile efforts. It would be like telling a travel agent to “book a trip” without giving a destination, timeframe or reason for your trip.
To solve this predicament, a Brand Positioning and Narrative Lab addresses your company’s core values and sets the table for the executive team to build a path forward. Understand that it’s never too late to begin or reevaluate a company identity. Entering the process with eyes and ears open is crucial, and why a third party like Red Fan Communications is often the best partner to help nail down your positioning strategy. It ensures a thorough analysis of who you are and where your intended audience is.
Identify your message
Every organization and employee is in the business of sales. The ultimate goal is for clients to buy a product or service. So get to the point, detailing what your company has to offer. Identify the core messaging hook that differentiates you from the competition and live by it.
Highlighting key service attributes includes developing concise company overviews and comprehensive fact sheets for internal and external distribution. Ensure every employee understands the core message and can portray the philosophies externally. Customer service and sales representatives should be able to reiterate fundamental messaging details to clients and investors with the same precision as the communications team crafting press releases to media outlets.
Once you identify consistent messaging, the real story begins to take shape. Until core values are established and detailed, creating a narrative is essentially turning on an empty washing machine — working but achieving nothing.
Decide the best outlets for your platform
Think about the marketing and communications obstacles you’ll encounter. Mapping where and how departments will translate the narrative is essential. Then pepper in the channels and offerings at your disposal — billboards, social media, digital advertising, consumer blogs, and print and televised publications, to name a few. It gives you billions of options but can breed chaos.
For example, Subaru is known for its top-of-the-line dependability and safety features. That has effectively become public knowledge through excellent narrative work and awareness. Publicizing award rankings show Subaru’s industry dominance while prioritizing safety features and vehicle longevity— as opposed to performance and luxury —showcase company standards.
On a smaller scale, award recognition from publications is only one avenue to show the expertise through a brand narrative. Others include knowledgeable thought leadership articles in print and broadcast, presentations or panel participation at conventions, and innovative or trailblazing accomplishments in the industry.
Conversely, a company may look to portray stability or community activism — a position that could not be told the same way or by the same publications as displaying expertise. While insurance companies like Nationwide provide expert service, its narrative aligns more with customer service and sustainability. The company’s roots exist in providing insurance for value cars and small farms without having financial shareholders. Therefore, marketing and communications efforts celebrate community wins, hometown sponsorships in Columbus, Ohio, and utilizing a company jingle to reinforce customer-first values.
Pick your team and be the narrator
The next step is to identify company spokespeople. Maybe it’s a founder or CEO, an industry expert or celebrity advocating for your brand, or a combination of individuals with specific specialties. Ultimately, you want to be the one who builds the public persona.
Choosing who will speak to media controls the message and influences how opportunities are identified. It also allows you to develop positioning statements and bylines in alignment with your speaker’s tone.
Understanding a spokesperson’s areas of expertise can yield results and widen audience reach to an array of publications and topics. A CEO’s business knowledge would be best utilized during a round of funding or the company’s industry impact. Likewise, a lead technician or chief product officer is most equipped to discuss the technological implications of the company’s product on the industry in trade-specific publications. Providing media outlets with the best expert available only strengthens the company’s industry position.
Go channel surfing
Not every campaign will be picked up by CNBC or the Wall Street Journal. But that doesn’t mean an initiative to spread your story can’t reach a massive audience or impact credibility. Targeting appropriate channels is an excellent way to apply and extend a brand narrative while staying up to date on relevant news.
Be excited and shoot for tier-one placements like the New York Times, TIME magazine, Forbes and NBC. In addition, industry-specific publications are the lifeblood of developing credibility in your field and eventually increase the ability to land tier-one placements. TechCrunch VentureBeat, Wired and The Verge are great examples of technology-driven publications with loyal and captivated audiences that reach millions of eyes every month.
Don’t forget about your local publications as well. Business Journals, local news stations and newspapers are excellent ways to bring stories to a concentrated audience and make personal connections.
In addition to written publications, broadcast television and radio are cogs that can’t be overlooked or underestimated. The emergence of podcasting has added another layer of broadcast that requires consideration. In these instances, spokespeople should consider media training to equip themselves with tools to answer questions on the spot that relay back to the brand story.
Communication tools such as website interaction, newsletters, email notifications and social media also play a part in executing the overall brand narrative. Keeping everything and everyone in sync helps tell a compelling and well-balanced story that will become the heartbeat of your company’s public persona. The “content” created for these brand narrative mediums becomes less reliant on rapid production and incentivizes the quality of each interaction. By developing a detailed and well-thought-out strategy, your story will gain momentum and begin to write itself.
