Storytelling in PR
Storytelling is an effective way to communicate , It helps to showcase a brand’s values and beliefs. A lot of brands use storytelling to demonstrate their values and beliefs.
One has to consider the fact that storytelling is the essence of human thought and communication.
Everything can be organized into a story and embedded in a narrative that enables us to remember and acknowledge. Stories give context and a framework within which all fragments have meaning.
Stories Used by Professional Communicators
For the professional communicator, there are sometimes too many stories and sometimes not enough. They have to take advantage of a host of common stories to be understood quickly.
Context is important. It is worth looking at the foundations of a story, its history and its structure. For instance, Burt’s Bees is a brand that uses natural products.
They present themselves as a brand that is environmentally conscious and promotes living sustainably.
Their storytelling focuses on the founder of their company, Burt Shavitz, and how his nomadic lifestyle has impacted the products that the company makes. Their videos called “Burtisms’ impart pearls of wisdom from Shavitz, a former beekeeper.
Begin with a Story
A PR professional should always begin with a story.
There should be certain questions like, where a business is going, how is it going to get there, and what is the purpose of the journey. That roadmap should be shared with the audience.
The audience today does not enjoy materials full of factoids anymore. They might get bored with the factoids given to them or might change them into a narrative of their own. They might end up with a wrong impression or no impression at all.
A story should not just be entertaining although entertaining stories are popular too. A story should be comprehensible and clear and the storyteller should make themselves understood even if they do not have the luxury of getting a lot of time from the audience.
If there is no time to build a story in the mind of the listener, the main message should be tucked into a story that is already embedded in the common consciousness.
There are plenty of universal stories and if one of them can be tapped, there is an opportunity to make an emotional connection that will make the story compelling and memorable.
Knowledge of the Audience
Before constructing a story, a thorough knowledge of the intended audience is needed. Building stories for people of similar culture and background is easy. It might not be that easy for businesses who want to connect with a broader public audience.
Audiences of such businesses might be dispersed by their choice of media. They may be culturally and socially diverse.
They might also have different levels of education or knowledge regarding products and services.
To discover a PR story for a company, it is wise to go to the target audience for advice. Research is essential.
Read more from Ronn Torossian
Ronn Torossian on Enterpreneur
Ronn Torossian on Crain’s
Ronn Torossian on Forbes
Ronn Torossian on 5WPR
Storytelling is an effective way to communicate , It helps to showcase a brand’s values and beliefs. A lot of brands use storytelling to demonstrate their values and beliefs. One has to consider the fact that storytelling is the essence of human thought and communication. Everything can be organized into a story and embedded in a narrative that enables us to remember and acknowledge. Stories give context and a framework within which all fragments have meaning. Stories Used by Professional Communicators For the professional communicator, there are sometimes too many stories and sometimes not enough. They have to take advantage of a host of common stories to be understood quickly. Context is important. It is worth looking at the foundations…