How Frodo can teach you to craft a better story

Storytelling is not just for bedtime. It's a powerful tool that can transform your PR game and help you build lasting connections.

Think about it. When was the last time you remembered a list of facts, statistics, or technical jargon? Now, compare that to a story that touched your heart, made you laugh, or left you thinking. Storytelling can activate emotions, memories, and the imagination. Odds are, you'll recall the story long after the details of that dry, data-packed press release have faded away.

Connecting on a Human Level

In PR, our main job is to bridge the gap between clients and their target audience. Stories have an incredible ability to make complex ideas relatable, emotions palpable, and information memorable. When you tell a story, you're not just disseminating facts; you're creating a human connection. Whether it's a heartwarming tale of how the company's product changed someone's life or a behind-the-scenes look at the team's journey, stories allow the audience to see the people behind the brand so they can relate to their experiences, struggles, and triumphs. Our lives are made of shared experiences, and when you share a story with your audience, you create a lasting impression.

Although storytelling can help you create connections and sell products, it’s also pivotal for increasing both brand awareness and loyalty. Crafting a brand from scratch requires an understanding of storytelling, what is the personality of the brand? What are its values? What is its history? “PR is the spoke of marketing that shares the brand story to your customers, your potential customers, your employees, and the media,” says Gina Nowicki, marketing and communications specialist with Prowly.

Crafting Memorable Messaging that Cuts Through the Noise

Nobody wants to be forgotten. Storytelling ensures that your message isn't just heard but remembered. When you wrap your message in a compelling narrative, you're handing your audience a mental sticky note to remember you by. In a fast-paced, information-overloaded world, grabbing and holding your audience's attention is a real challenge. A well-crafted story can captivate your audience from the very first sentence and keep them engaged until the end.

But how do you take a brand, or a message, and make it a story?

Think of Frodo.

No, really. Frodo is a great example. He’s a hero, and his story follows one of the most classic narrative structures in literature. The hero’s journey. First, Frodo is living an ordinary life. But he’s not entirely happy. He dreams of adventure and the world outside the Shire. Then, he gets a call to adventure. He goes through trials and struggles and undergoes transformation before returning home, a new person.

You have the opportunity to cast either a brand, or its audience, as the hero. Just like Frodo, they will answer a call, be transformed by an ordeal, and return home changed. For example, Mr. Clean coming in clutch with his magic eraser and answering the call to save your walls from your kids’ scribblings. Or, your ideal customer with your product in hand, stepping up to change their situation.

The conflict in your story is the problem that the product, service, or brand can solve. What are the pain points of the audience?

The plot of your story is the customer’s journey as they discover how the brand can solve that pain point.

Now, you only have to choose the timeline of the story. Is it going to start at the very beginning? How your brand came to be? How you saw a need, and lept to the rescue? Or will it be the current timeline, the story of a customer who finds you for the first time?

Get emotional (that doesn’t mean it’s all Sarah McLachlan and sad puppies, you have the full gamut of human emotion to play with), get real, and pay attention to the stories your competitors are crafting to ensure yours is unique.

The Power of a Well-Told Story

Storytelling isn't just for novelists and filmmakers. It's a fundamental tool that can elevate a brand, forge genuine connections, and leave a lasting impact. It's the art of sharing your client’s journey, values, and vision in a way that resonates with people on a human level.

Next time you're crafting a press release, drafting a social media post, or preparing for a media interview, think about how you can infuse storytelling into your message. It might just be the secret sauce that takes your PR efforts from good to legendary.

Remember, in the world of public relations, it's not just about what you say, but how you say it. And when you say it with a great story, you're speaking a language that everyone understands and remembers. 📖✨

Need help with crafting the perfect story for your brand?

Don’t worry, at Formidable, we’re experts in the art of translating your brand story into relatable and engaging public relations.