Companies are devoting more and more effort and resources to content marketing. However, it is not uncommon to confuse content marketing with brand storytelling. In a recent conversation with various marketing colleagues, we realized that there is a certain degree of confusion that many people have between content marketing and brand storytelling.

 

Brand storytelling and content marketing are by no means synonymous. Brand storytelling is a very broad category, which includes all the messages that the brand transmits, internally or externally, intentionally or not. From this perspective, content marketing -which is defined as a practice developed by brands to publish educational and promotional content to their prospects and clients- is a subcategory of the brand narrative. Let's see why it is important for marketers to clearly understand this taxonomic differentiation.

 

If you are in the marketing department and you work with the contents, most probably you are producing posts for the blog of the company and its brands, articles, videos, memes, GIFs, e-books, pillar pages, informative guides, and webinars. All this appropriately adapted to the communication channel where you are publishing this content and to the targeted audience. The objective? Attract new customers, communicate and engage with existing customers, create and strengthen brand loyalty.

 

But the efforts of the marketing department can be neutralized and even destroyed if other components of brand storytelling are failing in what they convey. In the brand storytelling we can include what it communicates on its website (including the pages dedicated to products and services), messages about the fundamental value proposition, unique sales propositions, and differentiation messages, as well as press releases, presentation of the company on social networks, comments that users post about its products and services, messages that the sales team transmits to potential customers, messages from the support department when they talk to customers and what the media publish about the brand, among other aspects.

 

Even if the messages from the chatbot (which are also part of the brand storytelling) do not match what the marketing department wants to achieve with an email marketing campaign, for example, the results will not be what they were looking for. As you can see, there are many elements in brand storytelling, and not all of them can be controlled by either the marketing department or other departments of a company.

 

Successful companies and brands that have achieved controllable narrative consistency have done so through cooperation between different departments (marketing, external communications, internal communications, public relations). It is the only way to build brand storytelling that lasts over time and earns the trust, admiration, and respect of customers, who will repeatedly show their preference for your brand and not for those of your competitors.

????About the author: Irina is the founder and managing director of Channel Plus America and Mega DM. She has worked for more than 25 years as a public relations and strategic communications consultant for different global brands. She has created thousands of content pages and specialized in managing digital marketing platforms and tools. She is passionate about producing valuable content that helps her clients connect with their audiences by creating unforgettable experiences. Irina is a great lover of history and the fine arts. Also, she is an animal advocate and has an amazing Pomeranian who joined the family as CHO (Chief Happiness Officer) several years ago.