How to embrace your business’ story to help kick your PR goals in 2023

As humans, we’re born storytellers, telling stories since the beginning of time as a way to connect and learn, to entertain each other, and to build and nurture relationships. Yet the majority of the business owners I meet find it challenging to talk about themselves and their businesses without minimising their impact, or defaulting to technical or industry jargon.

Storytelling in business is crucial and should be celebrated. Whether it’s events in your personal life that have shaped you, what problem you set out to solve when you launched your business, or something unique you’re doing now, if you’re a founder or business owner , you have an important story to tell.

Not sure where to start?

Here are some tips to help you harness the power of storytelling as part of your wider PR strategy for 2023.

1.????Connect with your past

Something I ask every guest on my podcast, Influence Unlocked , is ‘Tell me about the 3 most defining moments in your life that have shaped who you are today, and why?’

On the surface it might seem a little personal. But what I’ve learnt in my years of working closely with entrepreneurs and industry leaders to secure media coverage is that it’s personal experiences that really shape a person, and which people find most interesting and relatable. Invariably, the experiences they recount have played an instrumental role in why or how my guests arrive where they are today in business, sport, or life, so the relevance is huge.

I guarantee that if you give some thought to this question yourself, you will uncover opportunities for media coverage to audiences who will find your story refreshing, interesting, even aspirational.

2.????Embrace your failures

Why hide the highs and lows if sharing them might help somebody else facing the same challenges? Mistakes make us human. They also help us learn how to overcome difficulties more effectively in the future. As business owners in a world full of positive news and success stories, sharing our struggles makes us relatable.

Of course, success should be celebrated. But it’s our failures that lead us towards the path of success. Take The PR Hub client, Jaimie Fuller. We worked with Jaimie while he was at the helm of compression apparel brand SKINS, then through the period the business filed for bankruptcy. Now Jaimie has started over (with global sports tech company eo ), one thing that stands out is his willingness to embrace his mistakes and talk about them openly . This humility is endearing and not only interesting to read about but also an opportunity for others to connect with him and his journey.

3.????Put your business to the ‘pub test’

Unless you’re dealing with specialist media, you should always be thinking about communicating your message in a way people can easily relate to. ?

We have a client in the telco space called Swoop (ASX:SWP) with some amazing, market-first offers for fixed wireless broadband internet. When we’re speaking to an industry publication, we talk to the technical aspects of their products because it suits the audience. But it’s a consumer focused product, so from a PR perspective, it’s also important that we capture their advantages and benefits through a consumer lens.

If you were at the pub with friends or at a casual networking event, how would you describe your business? What problem are you solving? Why should people care about what you have to offer?

4.????Tell customer stories

Spend time getting to know your customers. Ask them to share their stories. How has your product or service changed their lives? Solved their problems? Transformed their business?

You might be surprised by how many people will be happy to share their story of what it was like working with your business. From a PR perspective, customer stories appeal to media as they’re by ‘real people’ whose story might slot in with the current news cycle, or stories they’re looking to produce down the track. If you go down this path don’t forget to set aside some time to guide them as most customers will not have experience being interviewed by the media and will be looking to you for some tips.

Storytelling can be invaluable for business brands seeking to build deeper, more human relationships with their audiences.

The same goes for the media. So spend some time considering what stories you can tell about your business journey or offering, who you think might be keen to hear them, and start pitching!