Storytelling in PR: How to become the Author of your own Story

Similar to a good movie, the story of your startup should capture and inspire the audience from the beginning to the end credits. Films, books and TV are among the most successful storytelling formats of our time and provide us with the right script for the right PR and captivating content marketing. The ingredients of gripping scripts not only help you to find the golden thread of your own story, they also bring more variety and fun to the role of the narrator.

Become the hero of your story

Your startup, which only gets a face and a personal touch through its founders, should be portrayed as a versatile personality and have the ability to gain the support of the audience. This includes being funny and emotional, as well as having your little flaws and not being completely perfect. Just as important as the personality of the main character is their goal. If the audience can identify with that very goal – be it winning back their loved ones, finding out who the killer was or “revolutionizing the way we get around” (Uber) – they will understand, follow or even applaud every step that brings you closer to your goal.

Obstacles: Luck in misfortune

Have you ever seen a movie in which the hero sets himself a goal and then achieves it easily, relaxed and without any obstacles? Who would like a story like that? Challenges, such as the battle with competitors, market barriers or other setbacks, are often very painful for the business idea, the product and for the management. However, this is a real opportunity for your startup’s actual communication strategy. Obstacles, such as those currently faced by Uber or Airbnb in various major cities, give a startup even more of an opportunity to assert itself and prove that its goal is serious and its motivation is high. Small or large stones on the way to a successful business give the actual storyline dimension and scope.

Hanger, suspense and reward

… or “hook”, “hold” and “payoff” – these fundamental principles of storytelling are closely linked to what is probably the scarcest resource of our time: Attention. Both the individual chapters and the screenplay as a whole should engage our audience. Whether we are writing a press speech or a guest article, we should always ask ourselves what the best hook is to lure the audience in (“hook”), how we can keep them interested (“hold”) and how we can reward our audience’s attention (“payoff”). Ideally, the whole thing should be approached from the back by first considering how we can best reward our audience. Every part of the story should bring added value to the lives of our users and evoke inspiration, emotions, special insights and joy in them. In order to build up the right arc of suspense and not lose the audience, a good narrative technique is required above all. An entertaining writing style, lots of illustrative material, well-structured content and crisp headlines will keep even the laziest reader happy. The right ingredients to entice and capture the audience right from the start are exciting headlines, surprise moments in pictures and videos, exciting events – and of course cute kittens.

Photos: Alex Eylar CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 & Bill Toenjes CC BY-NC-ND 2.0