OFF-MUTE ๐
๐ฌ Corporate storytelling is extra complicated right now.
๐ฅ Most companies are feeling all the headwinds of a turbulent market and preparing for the impacts of:
๐ธ Inflation
๐ Supply chain challenges
๐ A retreating stock market & potential recession
๐๏ธ Even companies that have weathered well face an inherently cynical media environment.
๐ข ๐ โTrust usโ growth metrics no longer cut itโreporters are now digging deeper into company claims.
โถ๏ธ ICYMI: Watch our video that explains the backstory behind the growing distrust between the tech community and the press.
๐ค So, how can corporate communicators control their story? Our President Jason Morris suggests these four strategies (hint: they also just happen to be good PR practice in all market environments):
โ๏ธ Double down on third-party validation. Reporters have grown skeptical of companies overhyping growth and valuation metrics. Today, they need to see more proof of success. PR teams should prioritize customer and partner storytelling, independently verifiable metrics, growth-based awards like Inc. and Deloitte, and other assets as a way to corroborate their story.
โ๏ธ Shift to an external narrative. The past few years have seen companies lean into self-reflective stories about corporate growth and success. In the absence of metrics to crow about or on the heels of layoffs, telling those types of stories can be tough or impossible. Itโs a good time to get away from talking about what the brand has done and get back to why people should care. Identify the โwhyโ in your company narrative and inject your point of view in timely outward-looking conversations with less financial scrutiny.
โ๏ธ Lean into digital content. At a time when some companies might be nervous about putting spokespeople out there, owned content has become a more attractive option for distributing stories yet maintaining consistency of the messaging across channels (i.e. website, social profiles, blog, newsletter, podcast). Companies have an opportunity to share their thought leadership beyond earned media and reach new audiences using strategic content marketing.
โ๏ธ Use data to show and tell. Data is a great way to show the scale of the business and push a trend narrative. Whether itโs data mined from across the customer base and anonymized to show a larger trend or external surveys juxtaposed against public data, data reports can be a tentpole piece of content for your entire marketing communications plan for a quarter or two.