Crafting Your Story

Editor's Notes

• #2: Hi, I’m Arleigh Vasconcellos… and I love PR! Today I’m going to teach you about how to craft your company story… Okay, now that we’ve got that out of the way. Take out a piece of paper and a pen. Don’t worry I’m not going to make you take notes I just want to do a simple quick 1 min exercise to get you all thinking in the PR mindset. You can make it about your self or your company. Let’s get started Answer this question: What do you want people to remember or do as a result of hearing your story? Say your answer out loud right now. Don’t try to be clever, or quirky, or catchy – you’ll freeze up. Just say what first comes into your mind – now write that down. It may not be “the perfect” key message. It may need a bit of work. But it’s a start. This is your story… Why is this question so important? Because it creates the foundation for your communications and messaging to both your internal and external public. More on internal vs. external audiences a bit later. For now I want to talk about the parameters for crafting you story. Your story can be about your company, your personal brand, your team within a larger organization… Essentially, it means figuring out and crafting your central idea, or as most people call it – your key message. A key message is the number one thing you want your audience to remember or do as a result of your story. It’s the core of your business or the proposition.
• #3: I like to call it the BIG idea. It’s figuring out and capturing what exactly you want your audience to remember about you, your company, basically the important information about you that you want people to take-away with them Your story is the living, breathing final product of your research, brainstorming, and creation This can be your product, the service you offer, your expertise, whatever it is that makes you or your organization unique. For example Virgin, Richard Branson’s baby. The brand that he has nurtured from it’s lowly beginnings as an entrepreneurial and eccentric mail-order record business. He has created a story and has crafted and woven this story into all of his business dealings over the years since he first started way back in 1970. All of the various Virgin companies have eccentricity and entrepreneurial spirit at their core. It’s a story that BOTH employees and customers know well… I experienced it first-hand when I worked for Virgin Holidays in the UK – the company considers Sir Richard’s story an integral part of it’s culture and communication.
• #4: So you’ve got a basic idea about your story – either personal or for your organization, so the next step is to ask what do you want to achieve? In the instance of Virgin they want employees, consumer and investors alike to know that the brand and various organizations are free-spirited, successful and go against the norm of traditional stodgy business… This isn’t necessarily the case in how they operate day-to-day... However, it’s the perception that Virgin has crafted which has served them well throughout their years of growth and dealings. A few tips I always use when crafting a story are Your story must be: Researched Thought out Focused Realistic I really like the anonymous quote here, as it helps to underpin the importance of communications and brand in creating a company story. “The birth of a brand is achieved with publicity, not advertising.“ For the most part, successful organizations have a solid brand and with that brand comes the story, which is the connection and meaning in what the organization is about.
• #5: Now we’re into the audience side of the equation As I have touched on already with my reference to Virgin, what makes the brand so successful at building and believing in their story is that they have considered all of their audiences… They are just as excited about influencing and getting their employees engaged with their company story, as they are with getting their investors, the general public, and their target consumers. In doing this they are creating pockets of influencers at every step of their business. So when you start to think about your story first ask yourself who ARE my audiences? Who do I want to influence? Why? A solid company story can help you to connect with these groups
• #6: About now you’re asking this all great, but how do I create my company story… I’ve said some words out-loud, but how do I get started?
• #7: Who am I: This is the why… your key message. The shorter your key message the easier it will be for you to say, and for your audience to grasp and remember. But there is such a thing as too short. Brevity should not come at the expense of meaning. The length of a Twitter message – 140 characters – is a good guide. Your key message is essentially your mission. And you story is an elaboration of your mission, but still try to keep it short. An ideal company story should be no more than 3-4 short paragraphs. Why I’m here: The topic of your story should be your key message. Check that you’re not confusing your company purpose and your company story by ensuring there’s a verb in your key message.   For example, your purpose might be “tracking user sign-ups for your application”. Rewrite that into a key message by turning “tracking” into a verb: “We track all of new users, thus we capture great data.”   Teaching: These are the how, what, where. How do you accomplish your mission, what drives your company, where do you get your inspiration… Vision: This is the area where you get to dream, so dream big – don’t be afraid. As well think about your language. What words fit your brand, your culture. Vales in Action: Is it specific and concrete?   Your audience should be able to “see” your key message. If it’s full of jargon or abstract, conceptual words they won’t understand, you’re not going to create the impact you want. For example this message “Implementing urban design principles will ensure that this road project is sustainable”. That says nothing, do you understand that statement? Instead, it could be transformed to “Adding bikelanes and walkways will reduce pollution.” That’s a great story, it’s concrete and people will remember it! I know what you’re thinking: Does your story say something your audience doesn’t know?   Your audience is there for something new. Don’t give them clichés. For example “People are our greatest asset”. Yawn! What specifically do you mean? Instead try: “As we’ve grown, we’ve needed different types of people.” Much more interesting.   This doesn’t mean that you have to come up with something clever. There’s a risk that if you come up with something clever, your audience won’t get it. Clarity trumps clever.
• #8: Pretty straight forward… - What is my end goal for my message? What impact am I trying to generate? Is it easy to understand? Is it specific and concrete?
• #9: Finally, test your key message First, can you remember it! You need to be able tell your company story without looking at your notes. Test yourself.   Then say it to a friend – see if they can say it back to you. You may find that they say it back to you in a way which is easier to grasp. In which case change it.   An hour later, ask your friend if they can still remember.   Then find another friend and see if they can still remember it a day later. If they can, well done – you’ve got yourself a memorable story!
• #10: Craft your story and remember these five points while you’re doing it… Be smart: Think about your message and your audiences Be educated: Who are ALL of your influences and target audiences. Who do you want to “sell” you company story to? Be creative: Think about your personal or corporate personality… what are their traits? Be integrated: Make sure your company’s personality is incorporated into your story. As well, ensure you consider all of your target audiences when creating your story – how many people is the story for? Be attentive: Don’t be afraid to hone your key message and adapt to changes in your business and your brand. Make sure your story evolves along with your organization as it grows.