Building Trust Through Social Media:
Branding Storytelling Examples to Emulate and Avoid

Merit Beauty has grown its brand online by making deliberate choices about how it shows up. Instead of chasing viral moments, their focus was on emotionally grounded storytelling. Their content across Instagram and retail channels and tight product line turned into real growth, with more than $100 million in revenue and a customer base with real brand loyalty.

By contrast, White Glo’s “Make the white choice” campaign became a cautionary tale overnight. Plastered on buses and trams in major Australian cities, the message landed poorly, to say the least. In a time where people are keenly aware of dog whistles, locals loudly wondered how such a slogan cleared approval. The public response was swift, and the brand’s tone-deaf approach became the story.

Brand storytelling doesn’t have to be dramatic to be effective. In fact, some of the strongest narratives are quiet, consistent, and anchored in a clear sense of identity. The difference between stories that connect and those that collapse often comes down to alignment: message, audience, context, and delivery.

Whataburger’s Museum of Art is a standout. What started as a playful tribute to fan art evolved into something far more impactful. The “WMOA” now lives as a permanent social content series, highlighting community-submitted work from artists across the U.S. The gallery exists on Instagram, but the ripple effect is larger: it’s helped Whataburger reinforce cultural relevance, show appreciation for its audience, and establish a kind of emotional shorthand with over thousands of engaged followers. The food is the backdrop. The story is about belonging. 

Contrast that with Pepsi’s 2017 protest ad featuring Kendall Jenner, which remains one of the clearest examples of tone-deaf brand storytelling in recent memory. The spot, which shows Jenner walking into a protest and handing a Pepsi to a police officer to magically diffuse tension, tried to ride the momentum of youth activism without respecting its complexity. The backlash was immediate. Viewers called it exploitative, trivialising, and offensive. Pepsi eventually pulled the ad and issued an apology, but the damage was already done. 

Both campaigns were built for visibility. One honoured its audience. The other misread them. Whataburger invited real people into its narrative and gave them space to contribute something meaningful. Pepsi inserted itself into a movement it didn’t belong to, hoping to borrow resonance it hadn’t earned.

Storytelling at the brand level isn’t just about what’s said. It’s about how, when, and why it’s said. And whether the audience believes you had any business saying it in the first place.

Social media users are highly attuned to what feels genuine. They scroll quickly, skip promotions, and increasingly value posts that feel grounded in real experiences. Brand storytelling responds to that behavior with a more human approach.

A consistent narrative—shared across social media posts, videos, and conversations—makes a brand feel familiar. It builds a sense of recognition, not just of the name or logo, but of the values behind the brand. Over time, that familiarity supports trust.

Advertising still has a place. But its role has shifted. It brings visibility. Storytelling brings depth. Together, they can drive strong performance. Separately, ads without context often feel forgettable.

Trust is not created through reach or frequency. It grows through alignment. When a brand’s message, tone, and behavior are consistent across its social channels, it builds credibility. That consistency—reinforced over time—translates to loyalty.

Marketers who are using social media to build brand trust are doing a few things well. First, they’re paying close attention to how their brand voice sounds in different formats. Whether it’s a carousel post, a Reels video, or a customer response, the tone feels intentional.

Second, they’re publishing authentic stories. These may come from founders, team members, or customers—but they reflect something real. These brands often encourage user generated content, not just for engagement, but because it helps build a public image that’s less curated and more honest.

Third, they’re aligning social media with other key pieces of the customer journey. That includes linking content to SEO efforts, maintaining a consistent voice across email and site content, and reflecting the brand’s values in how it communicates with prospective customers.

Brands also gain credibility when they make space for feedback. A Google Business Profile with a visible history of reviews and responses signals a willingness to engage, not just promote. That openness is increasingly valued.

A strong brand story supports more than just content creation—it helps shape the entire marketing strategy. From how a brand introduces itself to how it launches products or responds to criticism, that narrative becomes a guidepost.

It also helps unify efforts across social media platforms. Whether you’re running influencer marketing, paid campaigns, or organic engagement, having a clear, consistent story makes it easier for your audience to understand what you stand for.

In practice, this might mean aligning the design and copy of your social posts with the messaging on your website. Or it might mean highlighting social responsibility efforts in a way that speaks directly to your target audience. When these efforts are grounded in a clear story, they resonate more easily.

Writing a brand story doesn’t require poetic flair or elaborate phrasing. It starts with answering a few clear questions:

• What are we here to solve?
• Who do we help—and why do they trust us?
• What values shape how we operate?
• What moments matter most in the customer journey?
• What proof points back up our claims?

Those answers should shape how you show up across your social media strategy, how you create compelling content, and how you handle the everyday work of creating content that reflects your brand’s reality.

You can start small. Consider sharing more about your team, your process, or what motivates your work. Consistency and authenticity matter more than polish. A steady cadence of thoughtful, honest content goes further than sporadic bursts of promotion.

Start by identifying what your brand stands for beyond its products. A strong brand story explains why your company exists, what values guide it, and how your offering improves the lives of your customers. Ground the narrative in real experiences. Who built the business? Why? What problem are you helping people solve? Keep it simple, clear, and consistent across channels. It doesn’t need to be clever—it needs to be honest.

Misjudging tone is one of the biggest risks. Brands that confuse cleverness for connection often find themselves misunderstood—or worse, resented. The White Glo example is a reminder that slogans and campaigns should be vetted by people with different backgrounds and sensitivities.

These principles help structure a story that holds attention:

• Circumstance – the setting or background for the story
• Curiosity – a reason for the audience to stay engaged
• Characters – people or personas the audience can relate to
• Conversations – real dialogue or insight that adds dimension
• Conflict – tension or a problem that needs resolution

A storytelling brand integrates its message into everything it shares. This means applying the same approach to each post and interaction, not just big quarterly or semi-annual campaigns.

Internally, it requires alignment among your team, so the same values show up in product decisions, customer service, and marketing. Consistency is what builds recognition and trust.

Trust comes from predictability and sincerity. If your social media accounts feel like extensions of a living, thinking business—run by people, not bots—your audience will notice. Use your platform to show your work, highlight customers, respond to comments, and admit when things go wrong. Trust isn’t won through perfection. It’s earned by showing up consistently and treating your followers like participants, not just a target market.

Marketers are shifting from performance-first strategies to long-term reputation building. They’re sharing more behind-the-scenes content, spotlighting customer engagement, and using their platforms to talk about values, not just features. Increasingly, they rely on social proof—like user generated content, influencer collaborations, or dedicated page review sections—to build legitimacy. They’re also adapting content to each platform’s native tone, rather than copy-pasting ads across channels.