Telling Your Story Through The Power of PR
Once upon a time, PR might have been seen as an industry where there was lots of schmoozing; coffee on tap, long liquid lunches, fancy dinners at swanky restaurants or ‘hosting’ journalists and clients at events. However, the journalist pool is shrinking. Fewer journalists and smaller entertaining budgets mean tighter deadlines, and – unfortunately – less time for lunches that last for hours…
The world of PR has changed dramatically over the last few years. The rise of the blogging industry and social media platforms have produced more chances than ever to get your story told. But, when there are many other brands trying to grab the same opportunities, how do you make your story stand out?
Research
To be able to tell a good story you have to completely immerse yourself in it and understand it from top to bottom. This means doing your research on the company. What are the stories that make up the company history – good and bad? What er their unique selling points? How do your target customers feel about the company? Familiarise yourself with the full brand history – once you know the in’s and out’s of the company, you can begin to pinpoint your story and how you want to convey this to the consumer.
Understanding your customers
Understanding where your customers best receive and find information will help you as a company to find your voice, and this will offer clues as to how you connect with them and get your story across. Companies talk to their audience in different ways depending on who their audience is; successful campaigns will pinpoint the best ways in which to tell the brand story.
Focus
It is important to put focus on what you want to get across when pitching your brand to the media and to potential customers. What are the key features of your brand or product? What makes you different from your competitors? For example, it could be how your products are made, or the story of how the brand started. If it is a specific product, what is a stand out feature? Nail what you want to place focus on and you have the start of your story.
Why
Ask yourself what is your business’ ‘why’? Anyone can talk about what their business does or what a specific product does, but the key to connecting with your audience on a deeper level is to explain why you do what you do and why the consumer needs your product. This will also build on the brand story.
Be aware of what doesn’t make a good story
Try and think like a journalist – ask yourself why they would be interested in your story or product. Is it truly news? For example, a company rebrand may be exciting to the company and its employees, but it isn’t necessarily newsworthy (unless you are Apple or similar!!).
Creating a story – whether brand or product related - can sometimes seem a bit like a minefield. It is something we do day in, day out so please contact us if you wish to talk!