Inspire and resonate
Every company has a story; something unique to tell. This might be the way the CEO came up with a business idea, it may be the way a revolutionary product came to fruition or it could be your company culture. The important thing is your story should resonate with people and inspire. Whether your story is funny and relatable, inspiring and motivating or an emotional tale of overcoming adversity make sure you communicate emotions effectively. This is key for successful PR storytelling.
Visual PR storytelling
As people increasingly use mobile and PR has gone digital, visuals have become increasingly more important. Can you tell your story using a graphic or images? PR storytelling that can be done in easy-to-digest, shareable formats is powerful. With billions of us using social media, think how your content can be formed to work with this in mind. Many news outlets don’t just share text, video and other mediums have become increasingly important tools.
Be flexible
Journalists often have topics they’re especially interested in and having an idea set in stone of what you want to talk about isn’t realistic if you’re to get coverage. Research what your preferred outlets are covering. Does this or can this fit with your brand in any way? Be flexible with what you’re willing to talk about.
Creating stories
It can be tempting for brands to ‘create’ stories – after all, it isn’t always possible to have fresh exciting things to say all the time. This should be avoided, though of course, sometimes there’s an element of being reactive involved; specific stories will appeal when they’re about something timely.
Adapt your story for your platforms
PR stories don’t just have to be shared with media outlets. Your own blog and social media channels are a good place to start. While stories need to evoke different feelings and emotions whatever the platform, the way you execute your PR storytelling should adapt based on your medium. Think about the way you structure your content as this can have a big impact. The right breaks in content, sentence length and the use of well-placed images can transform your story.
