Five Ways To Tell Your Clients' Stories
⌛ By Kaylin R. Staten ⌛
Hourglass Media constantly evolves, from what we offer to healthier, authentic, beautiful ways to communicate with our target audiences. We offer public relations, writing, resources, and other things. With more than one billion words to our name, we’re dedicated to showcasing the narratives of organizations and individuals in myriad formats.
One caveat remains the same: we love telling stories. That could look like an article combating a certain stigma, a video interview with a vintage flair, or a photo showing children’s happy faces.
Streamlined results are lovely, of course, but we build relationships that last the test of time. That is our favorite part — working with amazing people on fulfilling projects. We help organizations in myriad sectors find their voices, and we give fellow communicators and others a hand up in their behind- the-scenes workloads and lives.
Here are five ways you can tell your clients’ (and your own) story:
Get to the heart of the story.
What is your client’s why? What is the client’s reason for being? What do they combat, and how do they achieve their goals and objectives? When you sit down, whether it’s at a discovery meeting or your 106th meeting, always aim to uncover the real story. Some people are open books, wearing their cause’s hearts on their sleeves. You may know their entire life’s story and organization’s history after one meeting. Other people, on the other hand, don’t divulge information quite so easily. While I enjoy a good soundbite as a PR person, I also really enjoy getting people to open up about their experiences. I’m genuinely interested in answers when I ask the questions because I love peeling the onions of others’ personalities and narratives. Getting your clients outside of their comfort zones will yield more authenticity and launch them toward their dreams. We aim to find clients’ communications purpose through the RPIE process and craft messages that will reach clients’ customer avatars.
Know which methods work best.
You have to meet your client where they are. Chances are, they’ve hired you because they want to solve a pain point. They know the value of social media, but they may not have the prowess you do to communicate through clever captions on Instagram and 15-second funny snapshots on TikTok. TikTok is likely not going to work if you’re trying to reach the older generations. On the opposite end of the token, most traditional methods of communication won’t resonate with Generation Z and millennials. Be in a constant state of learning about your client, the industry, target audiences, best practices, and more. If you’re a natural lifelong learner, that will serve you well. If you don’t have that mentality, that’s OK. It’s a learned trait! You can learn through qualitative and quantitative research, such as surveys, social media monitoring, focus groups, strategic planning, and more.
Multipurpose your content.
I have been preaching about integrated approaches for content for a long time. It takes approximately six touchpoints for a person to effectively receive your message -- and even longer for him or her to act upon it. One way you can create and cultivate evergreen content is to use your content for multiple purposes. For example, this blog post has its own string of strategies, from posting about it on social media to new-found ones like recording an audio version. Always be on the cutting edge of new tactics, especially ones in technology. Being ahead of the curve will serve you well with your company and with your clients.
Evaluate throughout the process.
We all want to see the fruits of our labor, right? Instead of just focusing on evaluating your project or campaign at the very end, analyze if what you’re doing is working throughout the process. Are people seeing and hearing your messages and acting on them? Do you need to change a message or platform? Are your clickthrough rates looking on par with expectation? No matter how busy you get, choose 5-10 evaluation measures to consistently evaluate. For example, we keep track of the number of stories we tell per quarter.
Be passionate about your work.
I’ll be honest here. I haven’t always worked on projects and campaigns that have fulfilled me. At the very beginning, I took on whatever work I could, even if it didn’t tie into Hourglass Media’s overall mission. Now, I have the flexibility and freedom to pursue and accept clients that have the same makeup. I also don’t want to limit myself, either. I want to continue to learn, grow, and help people from all different backgrounds. At the end of the day, I am passionate about storytelling. As Hourglass Media continues to grow, our storytelling will get stronger. Play to your strengths as well. While all of us want to learn new skills, don’t forget about the ones that make you and your company who you are.
Kaylin R. Staten, APR, is an award-winning, accredited public relations practitioner and writer based in Huntington, WV, with 18 years of professional communications experience. As CEO and founder of Hourglass Media, she uses her compassionate spirit and expertise to delve into the heart of clients’ stories. She is a recovering perfectionist, mental health advocate, wife, boy + cat mom, and Leia Organa aficionado. Connect with Kaylin on LinkedIn.