The Art of Effective Storytelling in Public Relations
Think back to childhood. Chances are your imagination was ignited by stories of people, real or fictional, whose actions were worthy of admiration or amazement. Whether being regaled with the feats of famous national, religious or cultural figures, or hearing about ordinary people performing extraordinary deeds, you loved a good tale.
Now, as an adult and a public relations professional, your passion for a good story can be put to profitable use as you work to obtain positive media exposure for your company or client. An interesting story — conveyed in a single news announcement or a multiphase publicity campaign — is a proven way to break through the communication clatter and ensure that your strategic messages reach their intended audiences.
What factors make for effective storytelling? And how can you apply them to your PR efforts?
Case study: SPCA International
The SPCA has long understood the power of personal and individual stories to move its audience to action. To help raise awareness of local animal shelters, SPCA International began its Shelter of the Week program, a campaign designed to share the stories of local shelters, support their communal deeds, and raise funding. The society began featuring shelters on their site on September 3, 2007. To date, roughly 24 shelters have shared their history, photos, and success stories.
On a separate section of the site, pet lovers are also encouraged to share their own adoption success stories and photos.
Six tips for crafting a compelling story
In their book, Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, Chip and Dan Heath discuss why some communication succeeds wildly and other communication simply falls flat.
We've taken the liberty of adapting some of the best practices described in the Heaths' book and coupling them with several other tactics that can help you succeed in conveying key messages. They can be used in your everyday practice to amplify releases, pitches, and campaigns.
1. Know your audience. Determining whom your messages should reach is only one step in defining your audience. You also have to understand the key influencers who will be writing about your company, and identify their audiences as well. Therefore, take the time to research targets, and resist the urge to send your story to those unlikely to be directly interested.
2. Keep it simple. Don't bury a good idea under a lot of fluff, jargon, or generality. Keep your lead front and center, and express your thoughts clearly and concisely.
3. Stay fresh. There are various ways to keep things new and interesting. Not only do you want to make sure your message is timely and relevant, you want to create something that grabs — and holds — audience attention.
4. Be honest. Transparency is key. Resist the urge to color the truth. The more candid your approach the better your ideas will be received.
5. Demonstrate credibility. Whether from within your organization or from without, the sources you use should add validity to your story. Third-party authorities are one source for instilling confidence.
6. Spark interest. When a story packs an emotional punch, people are more apt to take action. As the adage goes, people buy on emotion and justify on fact. Instead of relying on broad generalizations, give a face to your story by focusing on individuals with whom your audience can identify. If appropriate, also consider getting the help of celebrities who have stories that directly support your own.
While not every story needs to contain all six points, incorporating the majority will give life to your ideas and help drive your message home.
Case study: Kleenex
It's time to let it out™ You in or you out? is the tagline of Kleenex's initiative to get people to express themselves in meaningful ways and not keep things bottled up. They went across the country filming people and asking them to share their stories. Some of them made it into TV commercials while others were posted to the company's Let it Out™ website — a place where consumers share their own stories, download videos of others "letting it out," view reports, post comments, and more. Kleenex also launched a blog dedicated to the cause. The Let it Out™ campaign came about after a survey conducted by Kleenex Brand and Segmentation, a division of Yankelovich, found that although 80 percent of respondents believe it is healthy to expression their emotions, only 15 percent actually did so.
How BurrellesLuce can help
Let BurrellesLuce assist you in planning, monitoring, and measuring the media coverage given to your organization. Here are some of the ways we can enable you to maximize the value of your media relations activities:
- First, we can help you target your messages to those most likely to write about your efforts using the industry's most comprehensive online media directory. Take advantage of free, unlimited e-mail distribution of all your news releases.
- Next, we can monitor your coverage from every form of media. We deliver exactly the news you want to see, complete with all photos and graphics.
- Then, you can gain insight through our automated and customized media measurement services.
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