Think of our story as a structure with individual substories as its building blocks. The way we approach it, each substory is like a brick laid at a certain angle, some stacked on top of the previous one, while others take a different direction to form the structure’s contours and depth.
The art behind strategic communication is storytelling. Strategic communicators use various methods and mediums to tell stories, which merely amounts to different ways to lay the same brick. Web design, earned media, advertising, video and photography, and social media should ideally share the same messaging but in unique formats and tones through each channel.
The real difference is the stories themselves; each helps build a broader picture like a mosaic.
We have a passion for storytelling and love uncovering the unseen and leveraging the low-hanging fruit. Consolidated into three categories, here are the types of stories to search for to shape your broader story.
Human-interest
Find success stories and others that tug at your audience’s heartstrings. It’s no secret that humans connect to humans. It’s no surprise, then, that humans gravitate to other stories that relate to their own. They may come as a customer who serves as a real-life, positive example of succeeding with your product or service.
Milestones
Milestones have meaning. Otherwise, humans would have no place for them. Use major milestones to mark the beginning or the end of a project. Or pin them in the middle of your narrative arc. It’s up to you. The point is, “Use milestones — past, present and future, strategically and sparingly to help share where you’ve been, where you are, and what your goals are,” says Anita Brightman, A. Bright Idea founder and CEO.
Issues & Opportunities
Your organization has a mission. Whether your mission is profit-driven or civic, issues exist that you intend to solve. Within those issues, you have countless stories to share. The issues your organization addresses present opportunities to share the impact of your work granularly and in general. This may be taking a white paper and creating a summarized, digestible version for social media or turning it into a blog post. You may also find stories that occupy the natural nexus of holidays and days of awareness and your strategic communication goals.
This is to say that every organization has ample stories to tell. The trick is knowing how and where to find them. Email info@abrightideaonline.com to connect with us about some of the remaining questions you have.