#04 – Using Authentic Storytelling to Build a Community Around Your Brand

with Jessica Kellner, Co-Founder of BARK Media

Bonus Material: Download the Companion for this Episode

Jessica Kellner is one of the four co-founders of BARK Media, a B corporation located in Lawrence, Kansas. With more than 40 years of combined experience, Jessica and the other members of the Bark Media team specialize in helping beneficial brands thrive by authentically connecting with their audience.

Bark Media sees marketing as more than just a means of favorable metrics. It views it as an opportunity, almost an obligation, to build a relationship with a community around your brand and company. 

In this episode, Jessica shares a list of valuable insights with us. She talks about Bark Media’s unique marketing approach, the importance of collaborating with others in your space and industry, key lessons she has learned while growing a business, and practices she finds essential to elevate a brand’s impact and create sustainable success.

Want more episodes on brands using marketing for the greater good? Listen to:

• #48 – Crafting a Purpose-Driven Content Strategy with Giselle Waters, Associate Director of Content Strategy and Social Impact at Mad Fish Digital

• #22 – Tim Frick: Sustainable Agency CEO, a Published Author and a True Agent of Change

• #07 – Motivated by the Heart and Asking for Meaning as Compensation, 27 Years as a Social Entrepreneur and Over $2MM in Contributions with Russ Stoddard — CEO & Founder of Oliver Russell

• #10 — LOACOM Cultivates Chemistry with Purpose-Driven Clients to Make the World a Better Place with David Fortson, CEO & Co-Founder

Co-Founder Jessica Kellner (Middle) with the BARK Media Team

“Not every person that you interact with is going to end up being your strongest advocate. But the more people that you can interact with, the more really strong advocates you’re going to end up with.” — Jessica Kellner

Topics Discussed: 

• Why authentic storytelling is a valuable marketing tool.
• Jessica’s experience with the green living community and sustainable lifestyles.
• What makes Jessica and her co founders perfectly suited for running BARK Media.
• The importance of collaborating with others in your industry and being involved in the right communities for your business.
• The fundamentals every brand needs to execute an effective communication and marketing plan.
• Jessica’s background in the house and home industry.
• The biggest challenge Bark Media faces daily and how its team makes strategic business decisions
• The first step to marketing your business and telling your brand story.
• Lessons learned from growing a business; value of a slow growth model.

Links from the Episode:

• Jessica Kellner on LinkedIn

• BARK Media  

• Mother Earth Living 

• Jessica’s book, Housing Reclaimed 

• Bioneers Conference  

• B Corp Champions Retreat