The Impact of Storytelling in PR: Enhancing Brand Trust and Awareness

Never underestimate the power of a good story and the ability to tell it.

Sounds straightforward right? It’s not always as easy as it seems but a good PR media relations campaign hinges on the storytelling.

Done right, storytelling can be very powerful. It can bring a brand to life, help build trust in it and of course, build brand awareness to encourage more customers, visitors to the site or whatever the purpose of the story is.

Every brand has a story or stories to tell and it's up to good PR practitioners to work with them to identify those and tell them in a compelling way.

Think about their audience - what will interest them? If your brand operates in the food sector for example, their potential audience will want to read about food and food related topics and issues.

Timing is another important factor to take into consideration - get your timing right with a good story and it can fly.

So just how do you go about identifying those stories:

Newsworthy

If you’re working on a B2B or trade campaign, is there something newsworthy happening in the business that you can talk about? Is there a major milestone, a new product launch, a partnership agreement secured or has the business had a record breaking year. We recently ran a 60th anniversary campaign for leading confectionery wholesaler Hancocks when they celebrated the milestone birthday. We told stories around the business and the 14 depots dotted across the UK winning coverage on TV, radio, trade publication and local titles linked to the stores.

Relevancy

Is the brand or concept your client is promoting relevant right now? Can they add to the news agenda with some insightful opinions and comments? Our award winning campaign with Communities Inc and their project Stand By Her did just that. We helped them reach a national audience with workshops, developed in partnership with Nottinghamshire’s Women’s Aid, aimed at men to reduce violence, intimidation and harassment of women by equipping men to act as allies and challenge misogyny. The result? Off the back of national news coverage, at least 1,000 men are now expected to receive the Stand By Her training.

Expertise

‍Is the brand an expert in something? That could be anything ranging from motoring to health and fitness to experts in building sustainable housing. If they have knowledge in a particular area, then there are lots of stories to tell about what they know. Take a look here at our work with LeaseCar.uk.

Customer stories

Sometimes, the customer has a great story to tell about your brand so let them. We often put together case studies with a client's customer and work with them to tell the story of the brand. This is a good way to add relatability to your story telling - their story is likely to resonate with other potential customers - and bring added trust to the brand.