Serial servings: How reoccurring content can connect brands and consumers – The Martin Group

Good news for the narrative-minded: Storytelling is having a moment.

From athletes to attorneys to upstart brands, informing followers on the specifics of who you are, why you matter, and why you demand their attention is key to generating interest in what you do. For some, it used to be as simple as an “About Us” tab on a website. But with social media users’ seemingly insatiable desire for interesting content and new content streams, these individuals and organizations now have an opportunity to tell their story in an engaging, original, and—with the right concept—episodic way.

And this opportunity and interest is married with hard statistics. In the Sprout Social Q2 2025 Pulse Survey, respondents were asked what they most want to see from brands on social. The development of original content series came back as one of the top requests.

This is emblematic of the burgeoning interest in content series, serialized storytelling that guides followers throughout a succession of strategically developed communications. Whether in the form of blog posts, video series, or even podcast productions, each can sustain interest, create anticipation, and encourage followers to keep coming back for more. 

But before embarking on creating such content for your brand or business, it’s important to have a deeper understanding of what this type of content is, how it works, and how you (or a trusted agency partner—wink, cough) can create and best utilize it. 

What is serialized content?

Storytelling is about introducing readers or viewers to a specific topic of interest, guiding them through specifics of this topic with different characters and settings, then building to a satisfying point or conclusion. Do it well and you earn the trust of your followers—as well as their continued interest.

With an interconnected, strategically planned content series, creators can tell their story over multiple blog posts or episodes in the same way as a chapter novel or episodic television has done for years. In addition, this acts as a natural extension to the way the modern consumer utilizes such platforms as Prime Video and Netflix. They want to be carried through the twists and turns of an eight-hour binging experience, one in which they learn new things, meet new personalities, and invest in a larger explanation of a single entity.

Planning and executing reoccurring content can deliver on this interest, all while recruiting new business for brands at the center of the story.

Why does it work?

According to some 2026 trend reports, this type of branded content has become one of the most effective ways for companies to reach modern audiences. In recent years, many consumers have become wary of traditional advertising, especially with the deluge of ads flooding their social feeds and preferred streaming services.

This has led more and more brands to shift toward storytelling that, instead of nakedly hawking goods and services, tells a bigger story about their culture, people, mission, and values. As noted by Sprout’s trend reporting, the attention around a brand name for brand name’s sake is fading. Much like the needed connection that spawned the initial popularity of social media, people are following people, not brands. They want to invest in the beginning, middle, and end of traditional storytelling; trace the steps of the characters involved; and be drawn into the emotions of their adventures.

In terms of straight return on investment (ROI), compelling storytelling can boost eventual conversions by 30%. And as noted in a recent study by Stanford Graduate School of Business, ones that are well crafted can be 22 times more memorable than facts alone.   

If brands can use the assets at their disposal to leave their followers with poignant stories, they can connect with the needs of the modern consumer, earn necessary recognition, and establish two-way loyalty necessary for a long-term relationship.

How can you create and use it?

There are lots of shapes for this content to take, whether long-form journalistic pieces, testimonial videos, short-form documentary-style productions, or even one-on-one interviews between interviewee and subject. Stories can be told in many ways.

But before choosing the form of your series, you should first establish the basics: the purpose of your project, its intended audience, and your long-term strategy for interconnecting the series in an engaging and entertaining way.

Your purpose—whether spotlighting the community involvement of your staff or detailing the connection between your product and personalities of a specific demo—needs to thread the series together and be big enough to build off of, piece after piece. You need to understand your audience and the targeted mechanisms—on social media, Substack, and elsewhere—that need to be employed to enhance your efforts. Your long-term strategy needs to be clear-eyed enough to know where you want to go before you embark on your content journey. This means planning, calendars, and a direction—facilitated by living, breathing communication professionals—that guides your story to its intended destination.

In the end, your stories and series should be satisfying to the reader or viewer—and that’s the thing about this type of storytelling that can’t be forgotten. Whether commercial fiction or illuminating corporate impact, a story needs to connect with its audience in order to be successful. If you can establish this connection with your brand of reoccurring content, then you can make it work for you.

To learn more about The Martin Group’s work, click here. To see how we tell our stories every month, click here.