The Lost Art of Storytelling
Earlier this week someone told me, “Andrea, at times you’re quiet, but when you speak, it’s always a story.” Unbeknownst to them, that was a huge compliment, because at Fallston Group, telling our clients’ stories is part of what we do each and every day. When it comes to public relations and content writing, storytelling is truly an art – and in recent years, I’ve witnessed it fading. Ironically, my colleague sent me a sponsored LinkedIn post earlier this week, noting, “this isn’t how it works…” The opener was: GET MORE CLIENTS! Build credibility, authority & stand out from the competition… We guarantee that your story (custom-written by us) will appear on 300+ media websites across the United States. You’ll be able to legally use all their logos on your website and in your marketing in just a few days! Out of respect for the company, I won’t share the actual post, but my first gut reaction was, “Gross! How incredibly misleading!” Anyone with a computer can type up an article, and anyone willing to spend the money can capitalize on a variety of new “pay to play” media opportunities. Here’s the problem – it’s not storytelling/earned media – it’s paid ADVERTISING. To truly build reputational equity, you must go beyond paid media…and, work harder than simply distributing a press release. The real art in storytelling involves building meaningful relationships with news outlets, pitching a story, securing print, radio or TV interviews, and (every PR storyteller’s dream) in the best of scenarios securing a significant feature in a publication that is targeted and important to a client. This is news which can also be repurposed and shared across many digital platforms. Fallston Group is not a typical PR firm! I say with full confidence that we work to secure meaningful and scalable stories for clients. What is “meaningful” varies by company and what their unique goals happen to be. Some may only raise the awareness they need via a story in the local news – others need international coverage to make an impact and move the business needle. I am proud to pitch our clients’ stories, because they have news to share that truly makes a difference for their customers…and if something isn’t newsworthy, we have an honest conversation about it while continuing to farm within the “good news factory” we’ve established. If you’d like to discuss storytelling for your company, feel free to email me at andrea.lynn@fallstongroup.com, call 410.420.2001 or visit our website. Remember our mantra – “If you don’t tell your story, someone else will. And, if someone else tells your story, it certainly won’t be the story you want told.” Rings true for us every day!
