By David All

In today’s digital and social age, brands have direct access to customers and potential customers, and they should be investing time, energy and money into leveraging that access to increase awareness of their products, services and even their company cultures.

Actually, they need to make those investments to survive and thrive. Brands can’t depend upon impulse buys anymore because that breed of shopper is virtually extinct. A Deloitte study released in November found that nine out of 10 consumers know what they’re buying before they enter a store, and 83 percent narrow their choices to select brands in advance.

To get on the short list, companies must make good impressions early and often. They can take storytelling cues from the media to achieve that goal, practicing the art of what marketers call “brand journalism.”

I’m not talking about issuing press releases or producing advertorials. Most releases don’t even convince the press to write stories, let alone persuade customers to spend money. And the blatant sales pitches of advertorials are as likely to alienate consumers as to close a sale.

Brand journalism isn’t about news, either. Companies absolutely should build content around product launches and new services, but the stories (plurality is the key) need to go beyond reporting that Brand X launched Product Y. The content, preferably with a multimedia mix, needs to fascinate readers and viewers.

Boeing hit the mark with a feature story designed to showcase the braking reliability of one of its massive jets. As communications director Todd Blecher noted in a blog post about brand journalism, “That story had it all for our audiences: iconic airplane, an interesting test activity, and great visuals.” The result was more than 1.1 million video views and far broader reach with Boeing’s message than a traditional news release.

While the indirect goal of brand journalism may be making a sale or winning a client, the immediate aim is to educate and inform.

The Deloitte study shows that consumers are searching for meaningful information, with 75 percent saying they are smarter shoppers than a year ago. In addition to reading product reviews by both experts and consumers, shoppers turn directly to brands for information.

Journalist David Kiley lauded Ford as an example of a brand that excels at educating consumers through the “Ford Social” section of its website and other efforts. A year before introducing the Ford Fiesta into the U.S. market, the company built the case for that brand by giving away 100 cars and chronicling people’s experiences while driving them.

So how do other brands start doing what the Boeings and Fords of the corporate world are doing? Planning is the first step.

Every successful newsroom, publishing house and entertainment shop knows that good stories take forethought. Their teams consistently pick the right subjects, the right formats (text, audio, video), the right methods (feature, Q&A, humor, etc.), the right timing and the right promotional tools for every situation because they plan.

Brands must do the same if they want to be top of mind when consumers walk into a store or go online to make a purchase.

Lenovo, one of the largest global brands and the world’s No. 2 PC manufacturer, understands that. My consulting team, which includes a veteran journalist, worked with Lenovo to craft a storytelling strategy aimed at showcasing the quality, dependability and functionality of Lenovo products for consumers.

The company has great stories to tell, such as the role of Lenovo computers in space, but it hasn’t been telling them consistently and effectively. After an extensive research process, we helped Lenovo’s social media experts around the world start thinking like journalists. They now take editorial direction from a central team, brainstorm regularly online and offline, and produce content around a detailed calendar of events, product launches and more.

That kind of framework will bring focus to any company’s social media endeavors, and focus will inspire the kinds of stories that win the hearts of consumers. 

Marketing has evolved and will continue to do so. Brands that want to continue to reach their business objectives will take lessons from those that are leading this change and deploy the appropriate resources to succeed.

David All is the founder and chief creative officer of the David All Group. You can read a case study of DAG’s work with Lenovo and follow him on Twitter @davidall.