There’s an old misconception that PRs make up and embellish stories for their clients in order to secure coverage. Whilst this might be the case in some circles, this is not effective PR and won’t be sustainable in the long run, because these lies have short legs. Before I tell you three secrets for great storytelling in PR, I need to remind you of one very important thing: PR is not Marketing. We, as PR managers, don’t sell stories – we make sure the stories get told. And to do that, a great PR-Manager needs to know how to find the sparkle in every project, artist or festival we want people to talk, hear and read about. And that sounds easy but this search eliminates the wheat from the chaff… 

Because in order to impress the press to talk about a release, a concert or the premiere of a new opera, there should always be a good story, or as Seth Godin says: “People don’t buy goods and services. They buy relations, stories and magic.” And that is one of the most fun parts in PR, when it comes to look out for the sparkle, the magic in every project and turn it into a firework. 

Here are 3 tips to find your relations, stories and magic:

1. Be up to date

As a PR manager, you are closer to being a journalist than anything else. You need a good sense of what is going on in the world, the music industry and what is topical in cultural discourse. A PR manager should be keeping up to date in current affairs, and we encourage clients to do so too. Your new project might just fit in perfectly with a current event that we can angle towards!

2. Building a personality profile

And it’s one of the most fun parts too, getting to know about our clients in terms of personality – their opinions, their viewpoints and their values. Of course it is important to research about them and the music they are playing but nothing brings you closer than meeting them in person or online. That’s where you see the way they smile when they talk about their next project. Getting a feeling of what makes their heart jump when they talk about it, because that’s the topic they will most likely love to talk about and win people’s hearts across the world.

All good things come in threes and the most important thing of it all is: team work!

3. Team work

You can be as highly informed as the best news outlets, and your organisation can be the most fun and dynamic ones in the world, but in order to find the story that needs to be told, we as PR managers need to grow together with you as a client. Stay in touch, ask questions and give as much background information as possible. That includes both sides, and communication is the key to learning and trusting each other. 

We share this because we want people to understand what a PR manager should be doing for their clients and the questions that should be asked. These tips also apply to all types of communications, so if you think WildKat can help you grow your organisation’s communication strategies, let us know at [[email protected]]