It’s an ages-old comment.

When company leaders think about their business, more often than not they say something along the lines of, “Our people are our greatest asset.”

This has long been true in business, of course.

Without good, quality people, a business’ environment and atmosphere runs the risk of being toxic.

However, let’s take a look at this statement from a content perspective.

If you are trying to tell the story of your company, don’t make it about a product.

Most people will have little connection to what you produce.

Instead, make it about your people because that’s what we connect with.

I have seen more companies during this past year post content that revolves around their employees rather than what they are trying to sell.

That is encouraging.

I have advocated for this approach since long before I left my position as the Orlando Sentinel’s tech reporter in May 2020.

One of the latest of these posted Friday.

The Orlando tech company accesso (lowercase because why not?) posted a blog about Jack Chan, the company’s sales director for the Asia Pacific region.

The writer clearly has storytelling chops.

It’s a very cool look into Chan, how he discovered accesso, his previous jobs and other information that helps paint a picture of who Chan is.

If you move beyond the Chan piece and dig into the blog more, you find this company does a fantastic job of mixing people-oriented stories with posts that can establish it as a thought leader in its industry.

There are listicles.

There are, again, profiles of its workforce.

There are posts essentially advertising their products.

Too many businesses stop at the advertisement-like posts and that just isn’t content I’d return to see on a website.

What does that mean?

I won’t return to a website if all they have are advertisements about what they create.

Yes, there is a place for that but it’s more appealing in a mix of creative content that people learn from.

The trick is to create a brand and you do that by sharing your stories.

When I need a solution to my virtual queuing problem, I am going to return to the company and spend money with the one that has spent its time telling me about its people.

That last point is important.

You see, I’m not naive.

I get it.

Businesses need customers and any content you create should have that as its goal.

So of course, the end goal is to drive revenue but that just is not an immediate return in today’s business climate, one that has opened up a world of opportunity for those who tell great stories.

I spoke with someone in Orlando tech several years back about this and they looked at me like I was speaking a different language.

“How can I convert through a blog about my employee? Why is content important if it’s not going to get me revenue?”

Because it develops reputation, connections and a business personality.

Funny thing is I now see that person creating content regularly so I’m glad they have come around to the reality that content is king, queen, princess, prince.

They have figured out that people and their experiences are their best content.