When done correctly, corporate storytelling creates points of personal connection, thus making an idea understandable for everyone who hears it. In short, it does more than personalizing the message; it humanizes it. That said, it works only at a perfect moment.
Step #1: Set Adequate Expectations
Do a Google search using the phrase “storytelling in the corporate world.” The displayed links proclaim the power and importance of a corporate message like a tidal wave roll over and envelope you in a sea of excited enthusiasm.
Your search will deliver everything from what storytelling is, how to tell a good story, and even how to evaluate your tail. Each result is a promise to provide you with everything you need to spin a compelling yarn that will engage and inspire the audience. For your employees, it will motivate them to wake up every morning and salute the corporate colors flying overhead. Your heartfelt message will move customers so much that they will beat a path to your door. It is a wonderful scenario. However, it is also an unrealistic expectation. Hidden like a single grain of sand on a vast, sandy beach is a link that you may have to read more than once to get its message.
Obviously, your employees are not likely to endorse your brand as if it were their own product or service. However, creating an amiable atmosphere at the office with the help of small talks and stories will keep their hearts warm. This is a great way to build workplace loyalty.
Step #2: the Media Is the Message
Mark Schaefer’s 2018 article “Three reasons why your corporate storytelling just won’t work anymore” challenges popular belief about the use of anecdotes to deliver your corporate message. Mark points out that the theme of his article will likely “not go over well with a lot of people.” Getting past this initial reaction to his headline is important.
Let me explain why.
Andy Warhol once said that “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” Unfortunately, because of social media, everyone is famous at the same time. Besides overwhelming us with “infomercials,” Schaefer states that the public no longer believes what corporations are telling them. His reference to the Delta in-flight commercial about “moving at the speed of the world” is telling.
If you were to stop here, you might think that storytelling has become little more than Madison Avenue doubletalk, with the sole purpose of trying to trick you into buying the messenger’s version of the Brooklyn Bridge.
Step #3: Tap into the Authenticity Within
Because of the low confidence in corporations, and referencing the Edelman Trust Barometer Report, capitalizing on what Shaefer calls the “high trust in people, i.e., friends, technical experts, subject authorities” is worth noting.
The trust in people is the reason why Schaefer doesn’t suggest that we do away with storytelling entirely. Instead, he argues that we ought to “rethink how we tell it, where we tell it, what we tell … and even who tells it.”
The last point about the “who” tells is especially important. When done right storytelling will energize or re-energize your employees sense of purpose.
It makes sense when you consider the fact that your employees are people – in truth, they are the market because they are in the market. If your people understand your message, your customers and prospective customers will understand it as well.
With this in mind, the message your employees share should not just shape and advance your corporate culture internally; it should also showcase it to the market. One of my favorite examples of an employee sharing the company message is Johnsonville Let Its Employees Come Up With Ads, And The Results Are Hilarious.
Step #4: Take It to the Streets
In the end, the key takeaway is that you need to include your employees in the telling of your companies story. When you do, you create a collaborative culture of shared beliefs that will transform your organization and its message.
So where do you begin? Here are a couple of pointers to get you started:
# When you begin collecting the experiences that you want to share, start with a pilot program involving a small group of employees.
# Don’t exclude any employee or limit it to a select and familiar few as we all have something to share.
# To ensure that your employees are not delivering a fake or insincere message, give them the freedom to be open and honest.
