Putting colleagues at the centre of editorial storytelling
Did you know that over one-third of consumers want to see brands produce more content related to their workforce? We take a look at the value of colleague-focused editorial storytelling – and how it could help you build strong connections with your audience.
Press releases. New product or service announcements. Annual reports. If you’ve ever visited a brand’s news portal or corporate blog channel, it is likely that you’ve come across one (or all) of these types of branded content before.
While these insights might help comms leaders to communicate the latest and most topical information with consumers, audiences are keen to hear more from the people behind the brands. In fact, more than one-third (39%) of consumers want to see companies put out more content related to their workforce.
So, for comms leaders and marketeers who want to add another string to their editorial bow, meet the needs of their audience and showcase a more human side of their brand, colleague-focused content should be a no-brainer.
Put simply, this refers to branded content that is centred around telling the stories of employees – highlighting their achievements, successes and contributions, both in the business and beyond – to showcase the diversity and calibre of talent that make up the workforce.
These colleague narratives can be told and presented in a variety of ways, whether it’s a Q&A article, a multi-sourced interview feature, a bite-sized video or a dedicated social media post. While the format and focus are likely to depend on your overarching comms strategy, one thing will remain the same: sharing the real voices of employees.
Putting people at the heart of the story
Organisations are increasingly recognising the benefit of vocalising their values, visions and aims through the lens of their employees as part of balanced and varied content output. With so much content out there, it will be important for brands to be able to communicate what makes them unique – and show audiences why they should engage with them.
In March 2023, global tourism company Tui Group announced that it had revamped its employer branding approach to focus on “authentic messages from employees”. The revised tactic was unveiled in a short video, which comprised a collection of self-recorded clips from the head office teams, airline crew and travel representatives – giving viewers a real look at what it’s like to work for Tui straight from the source.
Additionally, the British retailer Co-op has a section on its website dedicated to colleague stories. Covering a range of topics from support for environmental initiatives to involvement in local causes, colleagues are able to share unique insights about their roles – and detail how they are contributing to the firm’s overarching vision of “co-operating for a fairer world”.
Meanwhile, at Speak Media, we are on a mission to find and tell the stories that matter to our clients – unearthing interesting accounts and recognising people with a good tale to tell. As a regular part of our process, we scour social media platforms like LinkedIn to get a sense of what our clients’ colleagues are talking about. Through this, we identify individuals with interesting perspectives or impressive achievements that could be the start of a standout interview feature.
Could colleague-focused content support your comms strategy?
So, why are brands increasingly looking to incorporate colleague-focused stories into their comms strategies? From an employee’s perspective, it can be exciting and motivational to be invited to share insights for content that will be published on the company’s website or social platforms.
Not only can this have a positive effect on staff engagement but it can also have benefits for comms leaders and marketeers. Publishing colleague-focused content can help organisations build authenticity, establish a brand identity and create more human connection with external audiences.
The way you promote this content can also impact the way it is received by audiences. Involving colleagues in your content creation process and encouraging them to share the results on their own social channels could be key to helping your content reach new people. In fact, research from LinkedIn found that when content is shared by employees on social media, it can get twice the engagement of content that has been shared by a company account.
But, like any other area of content creation, the success of employee stories will depend on the strength of the story, the substance behind the subject matter and the effectiveness of the format. In the words of the Content Marketing Association: “Employee stories are powerful when they are packed with purpose, relevance and emotion.”
Whether it’s an employee celebrating a recent award win or a team of people spearheading an exciting new initiative, start looking inwards at your existing workforce to find inspiring colleagues with a great story to tell.
Of course, these narratives will vary from business to business, but it will be important to ensure that these stories closely align with your brand’s purpose – and demonstrate how colleagues are living and breathing these values daily.
So, the next time someone gets a shout-out at the all-hands meeting or a co-worker writes a post about a professional achievement on LinkedIn, ask yourself whether it could be the start of a compelling piece of colleague-focused content.
Want to find out how to implement a best-in-class editorial strategy that connects your organisation with your always-on audience?
Contact Charlotte from our client services team: charlottewillis@speakmedia.co.uk