Your company story is unique; it’s what separates you from the hundreds (maybe even thousands) of companies in your industry. But, telling a good story and having a good story are two very different matters.
You know a good company story when you see one, but you don’t see them nearly as often as you should given the recent and major shift in content creation. Finding a remarkably produced story is like finding Waldo in a crowd of Waldos – it’s hard.
When you do find a particular story that is expertly crafted, you’re drawn in. They reach you on an emotional level. They make you feel a certain connection with the brand. They make you read on and want to learn more about them … and the longer you spend on a company’s website, the more likely you are to make some kind of purchase.
Here’s a look at 6 companies that tell a remarkable story:
It wouldn’t be GoPro if it didn’t have a video help tell their story. The majority of their story is told through incredible footage taken on their wildly popular cameras. This alone makes GoPro stand out; too many companies tend to do the cut-and-dry blocks of long text that I can assure you never get read all the way through. But, it’s not just the video that makes GoPro’s story telling great; it is the combination of stellar video with simple but powerful copy. In a few short words, they are able to tell a story more effectively than most companies can do in 1,000 words.
“The world’s most versatile cameras are what we make. Enabling you to share your life through incredible photos and videos is what we do.”
It’s succinct but beautifully written. The focus is not on what they make, it is on what they help YOU make – beautiful videos.
The rising power in the car industry is telling a story none of their competitors are telling, or can tell for that matter. Their name alone tells a powerful story, paying homage to the famous, genius inventor Nikola Tesla. But, the strength of their story goes well beyond the inspiration for their name.
Touted as “cars without compromise,” they are just that. Tesla’s innovative automobiles combine impeccable design, raw power, and total sustainability, with the latter being the most important aspect of their remarkably crafted story. Tesla’s mission is, “To accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable transport.” They’re not another car company like their competitors, no, they’re an alternative energy transportation company attempting to make sustainable transportation a reality for the entire world … they just happen to make brilliant cars.
Their story is told as if they’re global pioneers – and it’s working.
Blue Bottle Coffee is by far my favorite. It may be because of my unhealthy obsession for coffee or because of my passion for history, either way they won me over to their brand – and I’ve never even tried a drop of their coffee. That’s how powerful their story is.
Blue Bottle Coffee goes back in time when telling their story – way back – as they tell the history of how coffee came to Europe in the late 17th century. Their name is derived from the very first coffee house opened in Europe after Vienna repelled the invading Ottoman Turks – The Blue Bottle.
Their story engages you right away. You want to know more about them. But, who they are isn’t just a fun historical anecdote; they’re a company devoted to good tasting coffee with none of the gimmicks. They exist, because the world shouldn’t have to drink bad coffee.
Okay, okay … you might be thinking by now, “These are all B2C companies!” And, you’d be right. A lot of people believe that B2C companies have it easy when it comes to marketing their story. They have interesting stories to tell, where as B2B companies are boring and uninteresting, right? Wrong. One of the most profoundly true statements I have ever heard regarding this, from Meghan Keaney Anderson’s article 10 B2B Companies That Create Exceptional Content, is nothing is uninteresting if you look at it the right way. I cannot begin to express how accurate this is, and how if more people took this to heart their efforts would reap astonishing rewards.
With that said, let’s take a look at a few B2B companies who nail this:
The kings of Internet marketing, Hubspot nails storytelling. They use the perfect combination of video and written word to convey who they are and what they do.
Hubspot does quite a good job at tailoring their approach to be about you, the customer. Like GoPro, It’s less about what they do, and more about what they do for you. Hubspot talks bout their innovative approach to marketing called Inbound Marketing, but they do so in a way that makes their method sound like the best one, and the right one for your company. They do this by offering solutions to the problems that their customers have.
Like all the other organizations on this list, Hootsuite does a really good job at taking the focus off them and placing it on their customers. When discussing who they are they have this to say:
“We are creators, innovators, and builders dedicated to revolutionizing the way you communicate.”
Notice how they’re not revolutionizing communication … they’re revolutionizing the way YOU communicate. The only shortfall of their about page is how little they tell about what they actually do beyond helping people communicate more effectively.
Intel begins by saying they do so much more than make processors, which is what they’re most known for. Instead, their pursuit of innovative technology is all designed with humanity in mind, “To make amazing experiences possible for every person on earth.” With this assertion they’re not just building processers and technology, they’re building greater human experiences. That’s powerful!
Intel wants to make it possible for the world to accomplish even more unbelievably incredible things, and they way they hope to do that is by making the best possible software and hardware on the market. The technology they produce is almost secondary – the things the world creates using Intel technology is the primary focus.
While these organizations are well known by most of the world today, they all started with an idea and a vision for what their passion could become. Every organization has the potential to Grow Regardless, but capturing that passion in words and telling people how you’re changing the world is the best place to start on your journey to share your vision.
Don’t treat your story as an afterthought, something that you haphazardly piece together because you feel like your website needs an “About” page. You are building your company’s story everyday you go to work, with every interaction, and every relationship built. Stop neglecting your story; grow it, cultivate it, and nurture it, because for many people it is their first and most important encounter they have with your company. First impressions matter more so than ever. Your story is your best attempt to create a lasting impression on the world.
So, ask yourself – are you telling a remarkable story?
