Date: February 12, 2025
Podcast Title: Wide Open – A Business & Marketing Podcast for Photographers & Creatives
Episode 30: Brand Storytelling for Impact || How to Tell a Better Story
Episode 30 Description: Brand Storytelling for Impact || How to Tell a Better Story
Brand storytelling is important for any business – after all, you’re always telling a story, but you can always tell a better one. For any business, being able to clearly communicate impact is crucial for growth. But how do you build a compelling case that showcases your value in a way that resonates with potential customers, clients, or funders? That’s exactly what we’re diving into in this episode of The Wide Open Podcast with Emily Taylor, Principal of teenyBIG.
Emily specializes in helping nonprofits at a turning point articulate their impact to secure funding for their next stage of growth. However, her expertise in crafting a strong “Case for Support” is just as applicable to for-profit businesses looking to refine their messaging and connect with their ideal audience.
What is a Case for Support?
A Case for Support is a clear, compelling document that illustrates an organization’s value, the transformation it creates, and why support—whether in the form of funding, investment, or business—is needed. While traditionally used in the nonprofit space to gain funding, the concept is equally powerful for businesses looking to attract customers and clients who believe in their mission.
Key Takeaways from This Episode
- Why storytelling is essential for business growth and how to communicate impact effectively.
- How to gather and use client insights to shape your messaging—even if you’re just starting out.
- The core elements of a strong story: Context, Approach, Action, Impact, and Opportunity.
- How to tell a compelling story even when you don’t have all the traditional elements.
- Actionable steps for creating your own Case for Support to strengthen your brand messaging.
Applying This to Your Business
If you struggle with making your value clear to potential customers or clients, applying the principles of a Case for Support can help. By listening to your audience, identifying key patterns, and structuring your messaging with impact, you can create a business narrative that resonates deeply and drives action.
Want to learn more? Emily is offering a free white paper on Telling Stories with Substance. Download it here!
About Emily Taylor
Emily Taylor, Principal of teenyBIG, helps nonprofits at an inflection point clarify the impacts they are making in their community today, as well as their potential to increase these impacts with additional funding, so they can raise next-level dollars.
Emily Taylor works with nonprofit leaders whose organizations are at an inflection point – they’re ready to gain the funding they need for their next stage of growth. Leaders who seek Emily’s expertise know they need to fully show their impact beyond a few good stories but aren’t sure where to go next.
To achieve this, Emily applies her individualized listening methodology with an organization’s community, allowing teams to ‘see their value’ through patterns, measurable shifts, and first-hand quotes. She helps them show their impact through the eyes of those the organization serves and builds clear language around it.
As a result of this process, Emily’s clients are able to paint a solid picture of their impact for funders – one that tells the full story of how people’s lives are changed for the better and how more can be done with appropriate funding. Her clients are empowered to show the organization’s worth and fight for growth funding.
Emily attributes her success to her unique ability to balance left and right brain thinking – to make sense of people’s emotions and motivations and apply them to storytelling, finding the common ground that brings us humans together to solve problems.
FIND EMILY ONLINE:
TeenyBig Website
Connect with Emily on LinkedIn
Links & Resources
Business Coaching for Creatives
Wisconsin Branding Photography
Free Branding Class
Business Tools, Resources, & Freebies
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to WIDE OPEN and leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform. Have a question or topic you want us to cover? Reach out to us at hello@sylviadamaris.com.
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