Tell your company’s story with these doable ideas

“Tell your unique story.” It’s one of the most common phrases that media companies use when explaining what a sponsored content program can mean and do for a local business.

But how well do you tell your own story about your company?

I often hear media companies mention that they could do a better job of promoting themselves. Using your very own marketing solutions that you sell to advertisers, for your own marketing, makes a lot of sense. But I want to spend time today on more organic and content-driven ideas you can do to tell your story.

1. Make your About Us pages great + examples

The best About Us pages do more than describe what a media company does, but rather they explain why it exists. They dive into the organization’s purpose and role in the community, helping readers understand the mission behind the work. 

Sharing your company’s history adds a level of credibility, and for newer outlets, it’s just as important to explain the story behind your founding, like the need or gap you saw.

Really detailed About Us pages that showcase your expertise, experience and value, really do tie well to Google’s E-E-A-T priority, so that’s another reason to focus on this.

Here are a few pages I really like:

• Berkeleyside: Their page explains not only what they cover but why they were founded in the first place. It’s a very mission-driven approach that leaves you feeling positive.

• The Texas Tribune: They show their readers how they’re funded, what their editorial standards are, and what they believe in. 

2. Go behind the scenes

Take your audience behind the scenes by using your video tools to showcase what your reporting process actually looks like. This is a great way to tell your story by showing how you do your job.

That could be things like going into the weather center at a TV station, showing how you build concepts for the cover of your magazine, explaining what goes into your editing process for a story or what a typical day looks like for a reporter.

Here are a few good examples:

• KXAN shows what a day in the life is like for a reporter: A KXAN multimedia journalist took her audience through how stories are decided, how she puts together her story and how it gets on air.

Here’s an example from another TV station that did a more traditional segment explaining their process.

And here is a nice video from a meteorologist showing how they get going in the morning for their broadcast.

• The Philadelphia Inquirer’s “Behind the Story” Series: They launched a product where their journalists walk readers through the reporting process of big investigations and local stories. It shows their expertise and helps showcase how and why they do their work. 

• KING 5 shows off their office as more come back to work: When people started coming back to the office after COVID, this TV station did a tour of their office, showing the people and explaining the jobs. You could clearly still do this today, maybe even having videos on each department.

3. Build quarterly impact reports

One of the easiest and most effective ways to tell your story is by showing off your work through an Impact Report.

They are a great opportunity to highlight the stories that led to change, spurred conversation and engaged your audience. You can weave your team into these reports allowing the audience to meet the people who made the work happen.

Remind readers about positive changes you have made in the last quarter, like new newsletters or features you have added to your product.

It’s all a great opportunity to remind your readers about the value you are bringing the community and why their support is more important than ever. It’s all part of telling your story.

🤝 We’d love to share how we can help you

Email me at david@davidarkinconsulting.com today to find out how we can help with your content, revenue and marketing needs.