Storytelling, brand, credibility.

We are bombarded with studies that prove that stories can move and convince people. But what makes a good story? How do you find, write and distribute stories that win the hearts of your customers and cause them to change their habits and beliefs? And what does this have to do with brand management and the highly acclaimed "content marketing"?

Storytelling must bring something to the brand

Content marketing is currently the hip savior. As if content hasn't always been disseminated in marketing communications. Storytelling, often mentioned in the same breath as content marketing, also existed in the past in PR, customer magazines, entertaining TV spots, in brochures and even in some ads. However, the triumph of storytelling/content marketing, which is undoubtedly exciting and effective, is largely based on the fallacy that stories placed in the digital world are free. This is expressed in the buzzwords "owned media" as opposed to "paid media." However, storytelling/content marketing is by no means free of charge, and stories do not usually spread on their own.

Storytelling and content marketing must therefore be measured against what they bring to the company and what they can achieve. A connection to the brand is indispensable.

It is true that content marketing can be understood as the strictly neutral communication of knowledge or entertainment. The value then lies in the fact that a company can distinguish itself as an opinion leader and as a credible publication service provider and thus somehow strengthen trust in the brand. But only indirectly. But then it remains a rather insignificant building block in the marketing mix and can in no way replace other forms of advertising, as some producers of content marketing would have us believe.

Many protagonists of storytelling also reject any form of advertising and information as counterproductive and prefer to only entertain. Admittedly, simple or even heavy-handed sales advertising with features and functions does not help stories to be read or heard to the end. But storytelling by companies should be honest about the fact that it has to bring something to the company. The pioneer of content marketing, Red Bull shows how to use it to successfully promote brand and product. The company's own magazine, TV station and online channels offer a wide range of entertainment topics related to extreme sports and all kinds of top performances. However, all the stories in it lead directly or indirectly to the brand's core advertising message: Our drink gives you wings and thus helps you master such extreme challenges.

Communicating uniqueness through storytelling in B2B

Most German industrial companies claim to be innovative, quality leaders and reliable service providers. And in many cases this is true. But this is precisely why it is difficult to differentiate oneself with these buzzwords alone. That's why people often like to focus on the functions and features of the products. However, this alone does not even convey the technical benefits of a product to the customer, let alone the all-important psychological benefits. Nor is it possible to present a picture of a company's know-how, expertise, attitudes and values - in short, its uniqueness. Yet companies are always unique. It is only necessary to honestly elaborate this unique core of a company, of a brand.

Basis of all brand stories: a short, concise positioning story

In a good strategic positioning process, this is exactly what is done. It examines what the market looks like, how the competition is structured and presented and how it can be differentiated, what the needs of the target groups are and what the DNA of the company is. In the DNA, history, values, attitudes, real behavior and ideas about the future are imprinted. From all this information, a positioning story and a brand steering wheel can be derived, which includes essential points such as "Who am I? How do I differentiate myself and in what tone do I communicate?". This is then the basis and guideline for content marketing, if content marketing is understood as the definition and execution of all content messages of a company.

In the best case, companies with their agencies and consultants manage to express the uniqueness of the company in one sentence or even in one word or image, not only focused and strategically correct, but also creative, i.e. surprising, striking and emotionally appealing. These are then the best brand stories that make images pop into your head.

Stories: Treasures from the company

Once the core message and the core story have been defined, the storytelling can begin. This is where the tight band is loosened again somewhat and you can provide concrete and pictorial evidence of what you mean by quality, innovation or the partnership so much vaunted in the service sector, for example, and above all how you really live it. Honesty and credibility are indispensable. That's why internal communication is also a top priority. A rich treasure trove of stories can be found within the company - you just have to discover it. Employees are happy to help in the treasure hunt. Well-communicated stories, in turn, can motivate employees to behave in a way that is in line with the brand and get them excited about the brand.

Content not only digital, but multichannel

With small, self-contained stories that vary the core story, the company can present itself to a wide variety of target groups and stakeholders at the relevant touchpoints and enter into dialog with them. Really good stories are retold, they spread digitally as well as via classic media and "mouth-to-mouth", such as the founding myths of Silicon Valley companies...

Stories are best told, shaped and spread

• from different perspectives; customer, end customer, employee, applicant, community, financial people,
• in different formats such as personal stories, professional articles, field reports, videos, pictures, reports, interviews, studies, white papers,
• via various platforms and media, both digitally on the web, in newsletters, social media, communities, blogs, mobile apps and internal networks, as well as via print media such as PR, advertisements, advertorials, customer and employee magazines. Even at life events and personal contacts such as sales presentations, emotionally staged stories work better than dry facts alone in PowerPoint presentations.

Relevant content at the right time in the right channel

High-quality, attractive content generates reach and link building in the digital media landscape and contributes to search engine optimization.
But most importantly, content marketing and storytelling aims to create relevant content that creates goodwill for the company and thus indirectly influences customer behavior and steers them in the right direction. To be truly effective in this, it is important to be oriented towards customer behavior and the buying process. If the content is precisely aligned with the needs and usage situations of the target groups - and this at all points of the customer journey, customers or stakeholders can also be convinced and sustainably bound to the company.

This requires relevance, i.e. the right content at the right time in the right channel. A well-known requirement that is becoming increasingly complex these days.

• The right content means creating relevance for the individual, responding to their needs. People - even the B2B decision maker is a human being - primarily do not buy products, but ideas and solutions to their problems and therefore the needs for emotional confirmation and trust also dominate. Stories must not only be entertaining in B2C. Stories make brands touchable, tangible and credible.
• Right timing means delivering different content in "real time," depending on whether a decision maker is in the information, decision, or after-sales phase, or whether a consumer is near a store or in the store. In the general information phase, for example, it can be advisable to distribute neutral stories, study evaluations, white papers there that do not directly address the products, but instead increase trust in the company/sender because they convey knowledge or suggestions or profile the company as an opinion leader/thought leader.
• Right channel means selecting the optimal combination from the channel variety that is developing at breathtaking speed and then also telling the stories in a way that is appropriate for the channel. Good content needs amplification for this; hardly anyone searches for stories or studies on a corporate website. Promoted posts, on- and offline advertising, i.e. paid strategies, are usually the first to help achieve the desired distribution and reach.

Digital providers are developing solutions at high speed and throwing them onto the market with great zeal. These range from simple customer journey analyses to more or less automated targeting programs to smart data from big data. Elaborate algorithms and programs are not always sensible or possible; for many B2B companies with a limited number of customers, it already helps to take a closer look at the customers' benefit expectations and decision-making processes.

Well-told, creatively staged stories that fit the brand bring success

If you know more, you can tell stories better and make them human and exciting. Convincing and retaining customers is then easier. Despite the extremely changing situation with new channels and technologies and brands, people remain essentially the same in one respect: they are attracted by surprising ideas, strong storytelling and emotions. The new channels and technologies offer incredible opportunities to tell and share such stories: Stories in simple, clear language that create lots of images in the mind, or stories in pictures and moving images that appeal not only to reason but also to emotion. They are actually far more effective than many other forms of communication.

The most important thing, however, is that all the stories directly or indirectly contribute to the brand, that they create trust and/or prove the core message, that in the end everything comes together again. Then not only can the efficiency of the communication measures be improved through cost-saving synergies, but also the effectiveness and thus the ROI can be increased quite substantially.