Storytelling matters. Stories increase audience engagement and message retention. In this presentation, we discuss why stories matter, how to incorporate story elements into PR content, and finally, how to measure the results.

1. Why Storytelling Matters to PR

2. Hello!
#pdxcc14
@sarahskerik
of @prnewswire

3. @sarahskerik @prnewswire

4. @sarahskerik @prnewswire

5. @sarahskerik @prnewswire

6. Overview: why stories matter
• Context
– Attention market & audience preferences
– What makes messages stick?
• Narrative power
• Emotional connections
• Why story “stickiness” is important for
brands
– The social – search connection
– Earned media – importance & evolution of
• The tactics
– Determining outcome
– Divining story themes
– Measurement
@sarahskerik @prnewswire

7. @sarahskerik @prnewswire
Stories rely on the intended audience to
develop their own imagery and detail to
complete and, most importantly, to co-
create, whereas content does not. link

8. @sarahskerik @prnewswire
Not only are the language processing parts in our brain
activated, but any other area in our brain, that we
would use when experiencing the events of the story
are too.

9. Narratives inspire action and can galvanize people to
act, even in times of strife.
“Narratives are open-ended.
They don't have resolution
…and there's an invitation to
all of us to participate in
that narrative, to help
determine what the
outcome is going to be.”
- John Hagel, Deloitte Center for the
Edge
Link
@sarahskerik @prnewswire

10. Audience behavior can make or break a campaign.
Our messages are competing
for attention with people’s
friends, spouses, children …
and kittens.
Content that isn’t read drops
out of sight quickly.
Social media popularity
dictates a lot of what we see
across the web.
They’re a communicator’s
nightmare.
@sarahskerik @prnewswire

11. People are looking for ever more specific information.
@sarahskerik @prnewswire

12. Intel today speaks in specifics, rendered in stories about people
“like me”
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13. Your audience has already busted your silos - even if your
organization doesn’t know it yet.
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14. Everything you publish is a digital ambassador for your brand.
@sarahskerik @prnewswire
http://inkhouse.com/downloads/watch_read_tweet.pdf

15. WHAT MAKES MESSAGES STICK?
@sarahskerik @prnewswire

16. 5 keys to making your story stick:
Simple
Unexpected
Concrete
Emotional
Credible
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17. Your story must have a point, and that point is a specific
audience response.
Inspiration
ConfidenceEnthusiasm
@sarahskerik @prnewswire

18. WHY STICKINESS IS IMPORTANT
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19. @sarahskerik @prnewswire

20. However, social is more
important than you may
think and these numbers
indicate.
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21. SearchMetrics
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22. Social media popularity absolutely informs search engine
rankings & drives overall online visibility.
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23. 68%of millennials likely to
purchase based on
their friends social
media
recommendations.
Source: Harris Interactive Poll, January 2014

24. @sarahskerik @prnewswire
NYT: Why do people share online?

25. +80%+38%
+80%
Earned media is more effective than branded content
Source: In-lab study by Nielsen, commissioned by inPowered, March 2014
@sarahskerik @prnewswire

26. Everything we publish can gain earned media credibility.
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27. … and here’s why.
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28. Google is publicly acknowledging that every
time your brand gets a mention in a story, that
counts as an implied link that affects your SEO,
that affects how many links there are to your
website, which in turn affects how well your
site shows up when someone is searching for
your brand. In short, PR is SEO.
- Christopher Penn, Shift Communications.
@sarahskerik @prnewswire

29. Earned
media
Social
sharing
Search
rank
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30. THE TACTICS
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31. Align campaigns to specific business outcomes.
Decide how success will
be measured.
Focus on generating the
outcomes that will
contribute to success
Understand & develop
messages for each
element.
@sarahskerik @prnewswire

32. Atomize your content & surface all of the story angles.
Movies
Music
Mom
Travel
Power suckers
Enthusiasts

33. Be interesting.
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34. Be interesting, cont’d.
@sarahskerik @prnewswire

35. SocialRadar
Unequivocal
headline
Multiple
visuals
including a
demo
Call to action!
Download
here!
@sarahskerik @prnewswire

36. Bullets and
bold highlight
key points
Writer
anticipates
reader
questions
Social links
invite
interaction

37. Put the audience front and center … in all messaging

38. Provocative headline
draws readers in.
Subhead adds more detail
Lead paragraph starts with
an interesting statement,
not boilerplate.
Bold font and provocative
section heads draw
readers’ eyes in, and build
more attention.
Restrained use of links
directs readers to a
specific call to action.

39. All boilerplate material,
event information and
branding (except the
mention in the subhead)
are moved to the
bottom of the release.
The higher-value real-
estate at the top of the
message is solely
devoted to gaining
and keeping reader
interest.

40. Messages that are
easy to scan are
easy to share.

41. Visual elements increase press release views by almost 10 x.
@sarahskerik @prnewswire

42. Source: 2013 PR Newswire & PR News Multimedia Survey
http://blog.prnewswire.com/2013/08/27/79-of-pr-pros-believe-video-is-underutilized-infographic/

43. But visuals are
added to only
14% of press
releases.

44. @sarahskerik @prnewswire
MEA$UREMENT

45. PR measurement has to measure more than PR output.
@sarahskerik @prnewswire
• Rethink earned media. A tweet
from the right person can be as
valuable as media pick up.
• Measure results over time.
• Assess results holistically,
assessing individual tactic
success and as well as the
whole.
• Strive to quantify PR outcomes
in the context of business
results.

46. Tie outcomes to your organization’s marketing funnel.
(Yes. Your organization has one of these.)
Reads
Clicks
Amplification
(rinse & repeat)
Other actions, leads,
downloads, etc.

47. Measuring PR’s impact on search & the top line
• Is your company web site appearing
higher in search results for specific
keywords?
Search rank:
• Are more people searching specific
keywords finding your company web site?
Search query volume:
• Are PR messages driving visitors to
specific pages on the company web site?
Increased inbound
traffic to specific web
pages:
• Is PR attracting more people with high
potential to become customers? Are they
spending more money?
Increase in lead score
or improvement in
conversion rate:
@sarahskerik @prnewswire

48. Thank you!
@sarahskerik
Linkedin.com/in/sarahskerik
http://promotions.prnewswire.com/discover.html
http://www.slideshare.net/prnewswire/why-storytelling-
matters-for-pr-how-to-measure-it