10 TIPS

Tell me a fact and I’ll learn. Tell me a truth and I’ll believe. But tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever.”

- Native American Proverb

Copyright © 2015 PR Newswire Association LLC. All Rights Reserved.

In this era of information overload and an adult attention span of 8 seconds, communication professionals now have to work harder to grab the attention of their audiences.

Copyright © 2015 PR Newswire Association LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Our brains release oxytocin andcortisol – chemicals that promote engagement, connection and empathy – whenever we hear a story.

Copyright © 2015 PR Newswire Association LLC. All Rights Reserved.

92%of consumers prefer brands to make ads that feel like stories.

Copyright © 2015 PR Newswire Association LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Storytelling is POWERFUL,

Before the Web, the only reason you wrote a press release was to get press coverage. Fast-forward to

today, news releases traverse millions of websites and social networks, serving as a powerful

storytelling tool that tells your brand’s story to a wider audience. With that said, we should all

recognize the fact that the media is no longer our one and only audience, but also the end consumers

who are reading our news online when researching their purchase decision. Yet, in this increasingly

competitive marketplace, how can communicators set themselves apart from the crowd? The secret

to create a unique connection with your audience, as proven by neuroscience, is by telling a story that

inspires them. When brands incorporate storytelling elements into news releases , it can help breathe

life into their brand stories and allow them to lead their audiences to think, act and be engaged.

In this eBook, we will walk you through the important elements of effective storytelling and offer

some easy-to-follow tips on how you can leverage news releases to inspire conversations with your

target audience.

but where to start?

Copyright © 2015 PR Newswire Association LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Know Your AudienceDo some research on the demographics of your target audience.This is an essential step to connecting with your audience anddriving engagement.

Develop a clear picture of whom you will be targeting and whatthey care about, then create the structure, tone, content, andvisuals of your story that will best resonate with your listeners.

Remember - You don’t matter until you know what matters toyour customers.

Copyright © 2015 PR Newswire Association LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Knowing your key audiences and understanding what matters to them are vitalif you want to angle your story in a way that draws their attention and engagesthem in a meaningful way. Here is a list of things you should research to reachyour target audience and make your stories relevant to your local markets:

• What are the most popular media channels in this local market?

• Which media is the best channel to reach your target audience?

• Are they active on social media?

• What is the mobile usage in this key market?

• What are the norms, values and social behaviors of your audiences?

• What are the challenges they face that you could help them to solve?

• Why should they care about your story?

Remember your primary objective and identify the elements that will interestyour audience, then customize the story to create a personal, emotionalexperience to engage them. As different media caters to different audiences,you need to know which are the right channels to reach your target audience.The first step you can take is to download these white papers to gain someinsights into the media landscapes and different local media consumptionhabits in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Value of Knowing Your Audience

Japan ChinaHong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and Malaysia

For other Asia Media

Landscape white papers,

download here.

Copyright © 2015 PR Newswire Association LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Asian Media Landscape White Papers

Help The ReportersMost journalists get swarmed by hundreds of story ideas each week.

What can you do to help them when they are plowing through all theboring press releases that are irrelevant to their audiences? No one likesto be treated as some sort of email landfill. If you want your story to getnoticed, you need to help make the reporters’ lives easier. Provide a well-written and relevant story that is easy for them to retell their readers,then they will be more willing to help you as well.

Copyright © 2015 PR Newswire Association LLC. All Rights Reserved.

With the explosive growth of digital news, journalists are under tremendouspressure to keep up in the swiftly evolving environment. Exacerbating thisfact is the ever-shrinking newsrooms and increased workload. Researchindicates that 68% of reporters are more unhappy and overworked now thanthey were five years ago.

Here are a few tips to help make the job of the understaffed media easier:

• Do your homework: Journalists are your audience too, so read theirprior stories and convey how your story can further expand on theirsubject matter. Also, don’t forget to find out who their audiences are.

• Tell a story, not your product: Journalists now spend less than a minutereading your story. To get their attention, you need to create a uniquestory angle and be part of a broader story.

• Answer the “so what?” Understand what’s of interest to the journalist’saudience and clearly convey how your content could benefit them. Whatdo you have to offer to their readership? Create a plot that captivatestheir audiences and gets to their hearts.

• Be a giver: Journalists would be more willing to use the information fromyour press release when you provide them an interesting story thatincludes good content, pictures, videos, credible sources, detailedreports, quotes or links. Why? Simple enough - it saves them time whenyou’ve already done the work for them.

Help Them, Help You.

RelatedBlog

View the highlight video of Angie Lau, Anchor on Bloomberg Television, on some of the do’s and don’ts when engaging the media at PR Newswire’s Media Coffee event.

View John O’Callaghan, Director of Publishing & Partnerships SEA Edelman, and ex-Reuter’s journalist, talks about engaging journalists via multimedia content at PR Newswire’s Media Coffee event.

Related Blog

Read the blog:

“Help Me, Help You”: 3 Tips to Pitch Media Successfully

Read the blog:

Tips for getting your press releases picked up by UK’s Press Association journalists

Related Blog

For her full presentation, download here.

Copyright © 2015 PR Newswire Association LLC. All Rights Reserved.

ConclusionThere is no universally agreed upon definition of what makes thebest storytelling, as brands cannot simply adopt a spray-and-praytactic for their content marketing strategy. To build a genuinerelationship with your customers, your story must be unique,authentic and relatable to the audience. You must learn to listen toyour audience so you can leverage their needs to transform yourcontent marketing strategy, inspire your audience, and keep yourbrand on the top of their minds, and ultimately, lead them toreciprocate your desired call-to-action.

Let us help you tell your story to the world.

Copyright © 2015 PR Newswire Association LLC. All Rights Reserved.

• Know Your Audience

• Help the Reporters

• Remember – Time is of the Essence

• Incorporate the Essential Elements

• Drive Audience Attention with Multimedia

• Structure Your Story

• Localization

• Distribution is Queen

• Make It Socially Shareable and Mobile Friendly

• Measure Your Success

Tips At A Glance