By sharing stories of impact and advocating transparently, mission-driven companies can take leadership beyond their own company and use their business voice as a force for change. Learn more about these business strategies, which are part of the Government Affairs and Collective Action Impact Topic in the new standards for B Corp Certification.
Individual businesses will not achieve systemic change. Collective action is necessary to meet the scale of the challenges and drive the shifts required to create a just, regenerative future for business, all people, and the planet. Working collectively requires companies to communicate — transparently and publicly — with fellow business leaders, policymakers, employees, community members, and customers about better ways of doing business. This communications strategy is valuable for the future that impact businesses seek and acts as a market differentiator in attracting changemakers, from employees to partners to customers to brand advocates, to join their mission. For Certified B Corporations, it’s a requirement of the Government Affairs and Collective Action Impact Topic in the new standards.
By sharing your organization’s story, you inspire others and help establish new business norms. Talking about new ways of doing things is critical to meaningful change. Using your voice in calling for practices and policies that raise the bar for all companies is part of being an impact business. Transparent advocacy itself sets a new standard for businesses and expectations for consumers.
The new standards for B Corp Certification recognize that every business can practice thought leadership to reach beyond its individual company walls and help drive systemic change. As part of the Government Affairs and Collective Action Impact Topic, B Corps are called on to share their business stories through speaking engagements, research papers, articles, and other channels and help advance a more equitable, inclusive, and regenerative economy. At Bark Media, we help clients across the impact sector use strategic communications to share their stories and achieve measurable outcomes.
This strategy involves more than an individual or business saying, “Here’s what we did.” It includes reasoning, learning, and pivoting; it is guided by goals and data-driven decisions that help determine where clients are having the most impact and where their time and resources could be most effective.
What Thought Leadership and Collective Action Storytelling Look Like in Practice
Transparent communications about advocacy efforts reinforce company values and create an opportunity to share examples that others can use, adapt, or build upon. As a complement to a published policy on company advocacy, a thought leadership story can explain why your company is advocating for a policy and how it advances your company’s impact, goals, and collective action.
Publicly sharing examples of what works and what doesn’t, and how your practices or products continue to evolve, provides an authentic look at your business. Using genuine stories of change can help you connect with new customers and partners, deepen relationships, and avoid impact-washing claims. Entertaining storytelling — conveyed through articles, speaking engagements, research papers, and other methods — also sticks with people more than facts.
Telling the story of your impact initiative often means taking people behind the scenes for a look at why and how the change happened and what it means for your company. If you have a mentorship program, share how you manage it. Highlight the impact it is having on mentees (and mentors!) — in their words, when possible — as well as your business. Thought leadership can take several forms beyond your company’s social media, website, email, or other communication channels. Sharing publicly to drive systems change can include:
- Speaking at events or giving guest lectures at educational institutions.
- Creating blog posts or articles on an external webpage in collaboration with stakeholders.
- Publishing research papers on a social or environmental topic.
- Enabling open-source access to technical knowledge for others to use.
As for what to cover, consider: If your company works with a sustainable financial institution, you can share what led you to that decision, how you made the switch, and the impact it is having on the world and your bottom line. If your business is partnering with a nonprofit biodiversity organization, you can highlight a research project that will help protect a wildlife preserve and provide local workforce opportunities. If your company’s leader speaks at an impact leadership summit, you can share the session video and highlight key points from the discussion.
Communications Strategies to Connect Changemakers for Collective Action
B Corps and other mission-driven businesses can incorporate thought leadership and other communications in their impact measurements. With a focus on measuring what matters, Bark Media works with clients to align content with clear key performance indicators tied to their organizational impact and business goals. These measurements are crucial to advancing collective action, as they can help companies identify potential partners and follow up with additional information or opportunities that deepen their connections.
Thought leadership is not one-and-done. After the article, paper, or presentation is shared, it’s important to stay connected. Follow-up articles, emails, and other communications create the opportunity for further engagement and support collective action for systemic change. Ongoing engagement can deepen relationships, advance your mission, and build powerful communities of impact.
How to get started: Read our content marketing series to learn more about how to build storytelling into your company’s work.