1. Building Your
Brand By
Building Your
Story
G2 Communications Inc.
4250 El Camino Real, Ste. A104
Palo Alto, CA 94306
www.g2comm.com
650.856.1607
@g2comm
www.facebook.com/g2comm

2. “Stories are the creative conversion of life itself
into a more powerful, clearer, more meaningful
experience. They are the currency of human
contact.”
-- Robert McKee
“If a story is not about the hearer he will not
listen.”
-- John Steinbeck
© 2012 G2 Communications Inc.

3. Why the Need for Story
 The human connection
between the problem
and your solution
 To match up the
challenge and the
associated emotion to
your solution
 Stories are not
intellectually based
© 2012 G2 Communications Inc.

4. Why is PR Important to Your Story?
 PR takes the disparate pieces to create the story
 Good PR crafts the story for journalists
 PR makes the value of your company’s solution have
value for the journalist’s audience
© 2012 G2 Communications Inc.

5. Companies Think Their Solution
Alone is the Story
 Our gizmo is better than
X’s
 Our product should be on
the cover of TIME
 We just need a press
release & we’ll get great
coverage
© 2012 G2 Communications Inc.

6. Myths About PR: What PR is Not
 Free advertising for your company
 A press release that leads to a
feature story every time
 A rolodex full of media contacts who
write about your company
whenever you call
 Being on Dr. Oz because you’re
passionate about your new medical
device
 Being featured on TechCrunch
because you have a new mobile
app to measure you’re likeability
© 2012 G2 Communications Inc.

7. Media Story Mistakes
 Only want to talk about your solution
 The story is a product description
 Communicate one-way marketing messages
 Doesn’t have a hook
© 2012 G2 Communications Inc.

8. © 2012 G2 Communications Inc.

9. What Life is Like for Today’s
Journalist  In the old days journalists
filed 1 story a day or every
few days
 Today a journalist might
have to file 1 story every
hour, plus blog and tweet
 They get 100s of emails
from PR peeps on news
that has nothing to do with
what they write about
 With much tighter
deadlines they get very
cranky
 Public flogging of PR
peeps is a regular
occurrence on Twitter
© 2012 G2 Communications Inc.

10. Consequences of Not Carefully
Pitching a News Worthy Story
© 2012 G2 Communications Inc.

11. Journalist Rants About PR
Peeps in Their Currency
© 2012 G2 Communications Inc.

12. Traditional Media Isn’t Dead Yet
 Percentage of original content
found on social media pales in
comparison to traditional
media – Pew Charitable Trust Study
 Media stories about your
company increase credibility &
desire for your brand
 Positive stories make invaluable
content for curating and
syndicating on social networks
© 2012 G2 Communications Inc.

13. Where to Start
 Remember composition 101: the story has a
plot, characters, conflict, theme, setting, point
of view
 Come up with the human interest angle about
your product/service
 Start at the end – customer experience from
using your product
 Articulate the problem
 Educate your audience
 Come up with a personal anecdote
© 2012 G2 Communications Inc.

14. Story Examples
 CEO boxes tougher
opponents, turns around
failing company; scrappy
contender metaphor puts
company on the map
 Hospital acquired infections
– patient develops MRSA
after knee surgery; what life
is like now
 Did you know that far more
soldiers coming home from
Afghanistan suffer more
from tinnitus than PTSD?
 Digital x-rays & and astute
ER doc from Shepherd
Hospital saves a patient
from permanent brain
© 2012 G2 Communications Inc.
damage

15. Elements of Your Story
 Who, what and why
 Show me, don’t tell me
 Why should I care?
 What universal problem are you solving?
 How did you come up with your business idea;
your light bulb moment
 Personal experience
 The pain you witnessed/experienced
 Improvement you made that changes the
game
 You need to provide sources – customers,
background/market research data, company
founders, executives, backers, influencers, etc.
© 2012 G2 Communications Inc.

16. Augment With Social Media
 Blog
 Twitter
 Facebook Page
 LinkedIn
 YouTube
© 2012 G2 Communications Inc.

17. Reach Your Story Goals with
G2 Communications!
http://www.linkedin.com/in/shellygordon
https://www.facebook.com/g2comm
https://twitter.com/g2comm
sgordon@g2comm.com
www.g2comm.com
© 2012 G2 Communications Inc.