STORYTELLING FOR IMPACT

TIFFANY@TOOGOODSTRATEGY.COM

FACEBOOK.COM/TOOGOODSTRATEGY

@TOOGOODSTRATEGY

I PLAY TENNIS (NOT VERY WELL)

STORYTELLING IS IN MY BLOOD

STORYTELLING IS IN ALL OFOUR ROOTS

BUT WE KNOW STUFF THAT NOBODY ELSE DOES

HISTORICALLY NONPROFITS HAVE

TAKEN ON THE ROLE OF EXPERTS AND EVANGELISTS OF

THEIR CAUSE

THE SHORT ANSWER IS NO

TODAY EVERYBODY THINKS THEY ARE AN

EXPERT AND EVERYBODY HAS A

PLATFORM

YOUR AUDIENCE IS IN CONTROL OF YOUR MESSAGE

“Ideas today are never fixed: they’re owned and modified by everyone. They move through networks at the will of their members and without that activity, they die.”

Jonah Sachs, “Story Wars”

TO TELL A GOOD STORY, YOU MUST KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

• Who needs to know your story

• What about your story will move your audience

• Know your end game

YOU MUST UNDERSTAND WHAT YOUR AUDIENCE THINKS THEY KNOW ABOUT

YOUR CAUSE

WHAT I HEARD

• People don’t know about USTA

• People think all tennis players are rich

• Parents aren’t involved in their children’s tennis

• To be successful, we must expose kids to tennis at a young age

USE LOW-COST METHODS TO

REINFORCE WHAT THEY DO KNOW, AND CHANGE SIMPLE

MISCONCEPTIONS

LOW-COST STORYTELLING METHODS - GO VISUAL

Pinterest now has 70 million users; the largest year-over-year increase in audience of any social network in 2012

• Instagram has over 120 million monthly active users and was bought by Facebook for $1 Billion

• Photos receive 2x more likes than text posts on Facebook

• Videos are shared on Facebook 12x more than text posts and links combined

• On YouTube 100 million users are taking social actions (liking, sharing) every week

EMOTIVE CONTENT GETS SHARED.

CONTENT THAT GETS SHARED THE MOST APPEALS TO THESE EMOTIONS:

AMUSINGANGER

CONTROVERSIALCUTE

FEARFULILLUMINATING

INSPIRINGSHOCKING

THE JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2011

GOD MADE A DOG

KEYS TO CREATING STRONG SOCIAL VIDEOS

• Design it to be sharable

• Have a beginning, middle, and end

• Create conflict

• Don’t lecture

• Use classic storytelling techniques

• Get people hooked in the first 30 seconds

THEN FIND A WAY TO TEACH THEM WHAT THEY DON’T KNOW

WHAT I HEARD

• We don’t have enough time/tools to recruit

• Hard to get courts for league play

• Need donations from non-tennis players

FOR COMPLEX AND HIGHLY COMPELLING

ISSUES ENSURE SUCCESS BY PROVIDING MULTI-

DIMENSIONAL WAYS TO ENGAGE

MAKE YOUR CAUSE THEIR CAUSE

• Find your voice

• Be transparent & authentic

• Be relevant & intentional

• Reach people where they are

WHAT STORY WILL CREATE THE GREATEST PASSION?

‘Supporters generally need a strong cause to rally around and support. While it can be about a global or national issue, it must have some personal and/or local relevance.Most causes have emotional as well as rational drivers —something participants are passionate about, and can “put their heart into.”’

Ogilvy 2013 study on social movements

CARING EQUALS

• Increased funding

• Increased support

• Increased engagement

• Increased resources

• Improved outcomes

ONCE THEY CARE, THERE MUST BE A

SIMPLE WAY FOR THEM TO ENGAGE

IT’S NOT ENOUGH TO CREATE EXCITEMENT WITHOUT ONGOING

ENGAGEMENT

YOUR MARKETING EFFORTS SHOULD BE MULTI-DIMENSIONAL

• Multiple platforms: online + offline

• Multiple voices: yours + your audience

• Multiple activities: support + action + advocacy

• Multiple outcomes: short + long-term

DON'T LEAVE THEM HANGING

SHOW THEIR IMPACT ON YOUR CAUSE

• 93% of consumers want to know what organizations are doing to make the world a better place

• 89% of global consumers take part in activities to address societal issues

• 71% report being confused by the messaging organizations are using to talk about their efforts/impact

Edelman goodpurpose study

WHAT'S YOUR STORY?