Purposeful storytelling is what makes your brand unique. It is the connection you build that gets your audience excited and invested in you rather than any other brand. However, measuring the impact of your storytelling can be a challenge.
To help you gauge the success of your efforts, we’ve outlined 5 metrics that can track its effectiveness. We’ve also identified 5 key performance indicators (KPIs) for our nonprofit friends – just keep reading!
1. Brand Awareness
Effective storytelling spreads the word and helps your brand gain traction. Through surveys or focus groups, you can get an idea of how aware people are of your brand and its purpose. Additionally, you can track metrics such as website traffic, social media engagement, and media mentions to gauge your reach.
2. Brand Perception
Brand awareness is one thing; how people perceive your brand is a whole other beast. The feedback gained from surveys or focus groups can also reveal the extent to which your brand connects with people. Monitoring customer satisfaction and your Net Promoter Score (NPS) can show whether the perception of your brand matches your intention.
3. Customer Loyalty
Storytelling should tap into your audience’s emotions, creating a bond that keeps them coming back for more. Repeat customers value your brand and are more likely to remain loyal. Analyzing customer retention and repeat purchase rates can disclose current levels of customer loyalty, enabling you to pivot your storytelling if necessary.
4. Sales
Although storytelling is not solely focused on driving sales, it can certainly have a positive impact on your bottom line. As your storytelling evolves, track revenue and conversion rates. With the slew of brands people can choose from, your storytelling could very well be the deciding factor that translates into a sale.
5. Employee Engagement
Last but not least, we recommend looking inward. Are your employees connected or even aware of your overarching brand story? If the answer is no, it is difficult to expect the outside world to care. Implement employee surveys or dive deeper into turnover rates and productivity to see how invested your employees are in your brand story and purpose.
For nonprofit organizations and philanthropic foundations, measuring the impact of purposeful storytelling may require a slightly different approach. Nonetheless, these insights can be used to refine strategies to help you achieve your mission and goals.
1. Donations
One of the primary objectives of purposeful storytelling may be to increase donations. Therefore, track the number of donations and the total amount of funds raised to estimate your true impact.
2. Advocacy
If inspiring advocacy is one of your goals, assess the number of signatures on a petition, the number of people attending a rally or event, or the number of letters or calls to elected officials. All markers will reveal if your storytelling is resonating with your audience.
3. Program Impact
By tracking program participation rates, changes in outcomes or behaviors, and feedback from beneficiaries, you can assess how your storytelling is translating into real action.
4. Partnerships and Collaborations
Partnerships and collaborations are often critical to achieving your goals. Tracking the number and quality of these connections can be a major KPI in determining the effects of storytelling on these relationships.
Purposeful storytelling is the heart of your brand and connects you with your audience. To ensure it is effective, track a combination of quantitative and qualitative metrics to get a well-rounded view of its impact on your brand. Through the valuable insights you gain, you can make data-driven decisions to refine your storytelling for even greater engagement and resonance.
