How to Build Trust in Content Marketing with Your Leadership Team 

Brand storytelling, or content marketing, is a core strategy to generate leads, retain a loyal audience, and elevate awareness. Yet we sometimes hear from clients that their leadership colleagues often choose to fund quick-return tactics over longer-term content strategies.

We know this struggle and salute your efforts.

Christopher Lott and Trina Soto-Clarke, Communications & Marketing Manager Philanthropy at MedStar Health Research Institute

Brand storytelling—blog articles, infographics, videos, podcasts, social content, and more—is essential for modern marketing. Consider these statistics about the importance of content:

• 97% of marketers say content marketing is an essential part of their strategy
• 76% of marketers surveyed said content marketing helped them generate both demand and leads in the last 12 months
• 70% of marketers would rate leads generated through content marketing as “high quality”

It is easier than ever to demonstrate real return on investment (ROI) for content marketing, with tools such as Moz, HubSpot, and LookerStudio organic search query dashboards. You can use these tools to deliver real data to help C-suite executives embrace the short- and long-term value of content marketing.

But before you can build strategies that align audience needs with your business objectives, you need to get your leadership and marketing teams on the same page. Here are some tips that have helped our clients launch successful content marketing partnerships with their institutional leaders.

Speak Their Language

You wouldn’t launch any campaign without a deep understanding of your audience, and the C-suite has personas and goals like any other.

When you’re making the case for content, connect it to your organization’s broader goals:

• Enrollment/customer acquisition: Organizations that use content marketing see lead growth 165% above and conversion rates nearly six times higher than those that don’t.
• Brand management: 62% of marketers surveyed said content helps nurture audiences, and 52% find it helps grow loyalty with existing customers.
• Advancement and philanthropy: Deepen brand loyalty and add engaging CTAs to drive donations. Alumni emails that include engaging video content, for example, can see 65% higher click-through rates than those that don’t.

Identify the KPIs that resonate with your leaders. Some are focused on increasing website visits, while others are driven by lead generation or conversion rates.

Related reading: 3 Ways Stamats Specialists Leverage Personal Higher Ed Marketing Experience for Clients

Telling stories of success can move mountains, especially when they’re backed up by the data leadership needs. There are plenty of concrete, data-backed examples out there of how content marketing can advance organizational objectives.

Consider how Stamats client University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center Department of Neurology leveraged content marketing to drive trainee enrollment:

• Stamats crafted career storytelling articles such as “6 Learnings on My Journey from Medical Student to Epilepsy Attending” and “A Day in the Life of a Neuro ICU Resident”
• The articles shot to the top of organic Google search results, outranking competitors and national organizations
• These stories appear in AI Overview search content, driving student enrollment and media placements

We recommend creating trackable events in your analytics product when you build these stories in your website. That way you can present real data that communicates a blend of quick wins that are driving action and long-term value alongside other marketing tactics.

Related reading: ‘Do You Do SEO?’ We Do, and You Should Too

Propose a Phased Approach

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and your leadership will likely be leery of going “all-in” on content marketing no matter how convincing your pitch. At first, it may be more effective to focus on a single department or service to pilot your content marketing program.

Frame your storytelling as an ongoing strategic initiative and start small while building on successes. Prepare a plan that includes:

• Realistic timelines for deliverables
• Appropriate resource allocations
• Regular reporting and analytics to demonstrate ROI

For example, you could start with a series of articles on alumni outcomes to boost adult student enrollment or a hub of short videos featuring cardiologists to drive appointments. Aim for discrete targets with outcomes that can be measured and reported.

Related reading: Storytelling & Connections Lift the Patient Experience

Set Up Stakeholders as Thought Leaders

Savvy brands are collaborating with organizational leaders to produce original content that positions their executives and stakeholders as industry thought leaders. This way, leaders get a hands-on role in content marketing and can see the first-hand benefits of how storytelling advances the brand.

If you need a hand making the pitch or launching your brand storytelling initiatives, Stamats’ experts can help. We have decades of experience in content marketing strategies. We help clients navigate important conversations and implement successful campaigns that drive results.