The missing ingredient in your content

This weekend, I watched six strangers get up in front of over a hundred people and share deeply personal information.

It wasn't therapy. It was a production called The Monti here the Triangle area of North Carolina that’s been around since 2008. It’s like This American Life.

One speaker talked about the tiny triumph of posing naked after a life of crippling anxiety about her appearance and an absolutely debilitating divorce. It was devastating.

Another confessed to a diehard dedication to the downfall of student government and his own rigging of an election to highlight the hypocrisy he saw in it. It was hilarious.

They were all true stories. Yes, they were crafted. Most likely there were some liberties taken with the truth, but the nugget of “this really happened” was there.

Now, I’m in the business of content marketing. And one of the hot buzzwords of today is ‘storytelling.’ Brands need to be storytellers.

But can a brand actually do that? Can a brand do what these people did? Be truthful? Be compelling? Bare part of their very being before an audience?

Can a brand be brave?

Because that’s what these storytellers were. They were creative, they were crafty, they were open and honest-- and they were downright brave.

When industry folks tout success stories of content marketing, there are some standouts that always make the list:

Dove.

Kleenex.

GoPro.

Casper.

They’re all doing really interesting, really engaging content marketing work. But is the brand being brave?

No.

Theses brands doing exhibit bravery. Instead, they showcase bravery because it’s their customers who are brave. It’s the women in the Dove campaign that learn to love their curls and their curves. It’s the extreme athletes in the GoPro videos that risk their necks. And the brand celebrates their bravery.

So your brand might not be brave, and that’s okay. But your customers are. Help them showcase that bravery. And that in itself is an act to be celebrated.