Corey Blake left his career as a Hollywood actor in 2011 to become an entrepreneur and pursue his passion for storytelling and filmmaking. With 20 years of communications experience, he’s learned a few lessons about compelling stories.
Corey joined us for a webinar in January and shared a few storytelling techniques that marketers can use to humanize their brands. One powerful tactic he discussed is celebrating your philosophy, customers, and staff through content.
Here’s an overview of the conversation along with clips from the webinar:
1. Celebrate Your Company Philosophy
Your company philosophy outlines your brand values and serves as the cornerstone of your business. When you showcase this philosophy through content, you’re forging an emotional connection with your audience and inviting them to take part in a more meaningful mission with every purchase.
What does this look like in practice? Corey shared a couple examples. Tony Hsieh of Zappos highlighted his company’s unique culture in his book “Delivering Happiness.” John Mackey, co-founder of Whole Foods Market, also wrote a book — “Conscious Capitalism” — to illuminate the ethos of his business and trace its rise to supermarket stardom.
Hear what Corey had to say about celebrating your company philosophy through content:
2. Celebrate Your Customers
Acknowledging your customers’ challenges and helping them overcome those obstacles will help you form relationships on a deeper level. But before you can relate to their struggles, you have to get to know them.
For example, Corey worked with a company that produced materials for families with children who have disabilities. By talking with customers and understanding their priorities, Corey was able to create stories that more accurately reflected their lives and celebrated the customer journey.
Hear what he had to say about celebrating your customers through content:
3. Celebrate Your Staff
Your staff members power your business. Using content to reveal the faces behind your brand is an effective way to personalize your company. For example, Corey cited Which Wich’s Project PB&J. By empowering franchisees to help combat hunger, Jeff Sinelli, Which Wich chief vibe officer, is giving staff members a chance to connect with their communities and make a positive impact.
Hear what Corey had to say about celebrating your staff through content:
Influence & Co. has much to celebrate, and we’re sure your company does, too. By embracing your philosophy, customers, and staff, you’re taking huge strides toward expressing what makes your business so special.
Not only that, but by sharing authentic stories, you’re also shifting away from promotional messages to relationship-focused content and reminding audiences that you’re human, too.
Click here to see the rest of our webinar with Corey.
