The power of story: how do we get the CEO to believe?

Your team knows content strategy and a good old fashioned brand narrative will support the business and audience goals -- and help differentiate you.

But the CEO and executive team are not convinced. What do you do? Here's a place to start.  

Five Ways to Begin to Build an Exceptional Content Strategy

1. Start with WHY. What's happening that content strategy will help solve?
2. Get competitive. Show how the competition is out-shining you with story.
3. Explain that you are building on their foundation. Many people are resistant to admitting that change is needed ... or they just don't want to let go of what they've built over the years. Content strategy is not starting over. It's building on your strengths.
4. Leverage analytics. Illustrate the current audience journey with numbers. Explain how content strategy can move people in different ways.
5. Share your ambitions for the brand, and establish KPIs for those ambitions. Let them know that you plan to set up measurable key performance indicators, so you can continually improve.

Here's a short list of common benefits of content strategy and how to calculate content strategy ROI.

Is the C-Suite Still Not Convinced Content Strategy Is Needed?

They should be.  I recently spoke with Judith Lukomski, the founder of Transitions Today Performance Consulting, who helps executives find purpose through work and helps ease organizational issues. She says network and influence are beginning to drive organizations -- the executive hierarchy is dying -- and executives need to trust their teams to provide value.   I could closely correlate with content strategy struggles some common issues she sees:  

• There are gaps between ACCEPTED and EXPECTED values in the company. I often see this between brands and their audiences as well.
• Teams are not empowered to change and evolve. People are driving content; if it's not changing, then your brand will become stagnant.
• People who feel they are making a difference in the company -- and in the world -- are often the most successful. To make a difference, they need to believe. To believe, you need a strong brand story. For employees. For consumers.
• Individuals do not want to give up control and want credit, which indicates a trust issue. Collaboration among people and departments is so important to content strategy -- trust is a must.

Do these issues sound familiar? They might be at the bottom of what's keeping those executives from moving forward.  Need help talking to your team about what content strategy can do for your brand? Let's have an informal lunch or coffee talk (virtually or in your area!).