Why Brands Should Aim For Transparency
While brand storytelling is not a new concept, its resurgence can be attributed to the explosive growth of social media and content marketing – two of most influential marketing strategies that have opened new opportunities for brands to tell their stories to a wider audience.
But, let me ask you – how many brands tell the ‘real’ story? ‘Real’, as in revealing even those gut-flinchingly uncomfortable truths about one’s business. I reckon there are few such Brave-hearts. Very few. In fact, many brands and companies feel that it’s taboo to tell the other side of the story – whether that’s sharing information about why their products or services aren’t perfect, or even sharing news that may show weakness in their market.
The problem is this sort of brand utopia creates heightened risk in an economy where information is created at a break neck pace and transparency usually comes out as the winner. So this begs a question. Should more brands be thinking about being upfront with their consumers about their weaknesses?
Should they only share stories of puppies and rainbows, or is the world ready to hear the whole truth? It very well may be the later, and now may be the best time to start. Why now?
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Consumers want honest stories from brands now. If you're not transparent, you'll get found out.