Stories are at the heart of PR, whatever business you have.
As a business owner, you and your story are the heart of the business.
Being able to use your story to get known, to build relationships and your reputation can be so incredibly powerful.
Guess what?
Journalists are not interested in business, marketing or branding!
Instead they are looking for STORIES – which you will most certainly have.
So today I want to share with you 3 key themes that appear in the media time and again (because their readers/viewers are interested in them) that create a great hook to get your story snapped up.
The scope for the themes can be quite wide and most are more life-related than purely business-related – BUT the stories that come out of them are likely to relate to the moments and experiences that shaped you. This will often naturally lead to how and why you came to set up your business.
Owner managed businesses, owned by passionate people, who have built a business out of a desire, their passion or circumstance have incredibly powerful stories to share.
So let’s dive in and uncover how to frame them!
TRANSFORMATION
This is things like ‘rags to riches’. Stories where somebody has transformed in some way. You will see this theme being very popular with entrepreneurs talking about how they have gone from having no money to being a 7 figure business owner.
This example is not necessarily a transformation that everyone can relate to so DO NOT worry if you do not have that story. It doesn’t have to be a monetary transformation, it can be overcoming shyness in your childhood to now being a regular, comfortable user of Facebook Lives (just like me! I’ve spoken about this on a number of podcasts – here’s one: An Introvert in Public Relations. Going from shy and introverted to being seen and helping others do the same.
It’s thinking about how your life, or an aspect of your life has been transformed or gone from one extreme to the other in some way
Other potential transformational stories could include
- your health – going from a couch potato to a personal trainer!
- your body – overcoming a health condition and finding a new hobby!
- your mind – overcoming mental health issues and going on to start a business!
These stories can inspire people as they can identify with them. That is exactly what the media are looking for.
What transformations have you gone through in your life?
THE LIGHTBULB MOMENT
Was there a pivotal moment that changed your life? Perhaps when you had your business idea, someone you have met in the past, a near death experience? You will see a LOT of stories on this where people share the moment where everything changes as a result.
These stories can be linked to a transformation but looking at it from a different angle.
MASSIVE CHANGE
Have you gone through massive change in your life? Perhaps you have been made redundant, had a big career change, moved from the city to the country, gone from employed to self employed?
This story type is also very relevant to me as I have talked quite a lot about being made redundant when I was pregnant which led to me setting up my freelancing business, ultimately leading to Cheerleader PR. I love the fact that I can talk about my experience openly (despite it being a very difficult time in my life) as I know it will help other people who have been in the same situation. Here’s me talking about it in The Guardian.
These are changes in your life that other people can identify with or be inspired by.
All of these story ideas are not just about your business and what your business sells, but they can be things that are a part of YOU as a business owner and a personal brand. These story opportunities allow you to raise your profile not only as a business owner but as a human! (And remember, people buy people).
You also have that benefit of being able to include a link to your business if the piece applies to what you offer which helps with your credibility and your website SEO.
How else could you use these stories?
Not only can these stories help you gain media articles but you can also use them in your:
- blog
- social media
- media bio
- podcast interviews
- link to awareness days
My final statement on this is a big caveat…..
NEVER EVER feel like you need to share something really personal that you are not happy to share. I have built up the courage over many years to share my stories and talk openly about some of my personal experiences.
You have to be ready and willing to have that out in the public domain (whether that is through your social media or traditional media).
Make sure you are comfortable with what you are sharing.
If you are willing and able, then you WILL reap the benefits. It will make you more relatable, people will get to know you more, your motivations and you will fit in with the wider theme of other people who have had their own experiences that are similar to yours.
Hopefully this has given you some ideas about how to share your story to the media!
If you are ready to share then go back through your story and pull out those key moments that have led you to where you are now (always the best place to start!)
If you need help with pulling out those key strands of your story and how to use them in the media then I’m have availability this month for 2 hour 1:1 Strategy Calls. These are bespoke to you and your business and focused on developing a PR strategy which you can action to get yourself known and noticed in the media and beyond.
To book your Strategy Call click here.
Here’s where you can catch the replay of my FB live session covering all of the above:
https://www.facebook.com/CheerleaderPR/videos/1253473988379644
