This is part 1 of a series about using story banks to effectively and efficiently achieve public relations goals. The concept is simple yet very effective.
Basically, a story bank is a compilation of stakeholder profiles that you can use, when needed, for printed and online materials, special events and interactions with key stakeholders. Stakeholders for a college or university include students, employees, donors and alumni.
For example, you could tap into your story bank:
- For a profile of a student to include in a student recruitment brochure,
- For a story to incorporate into the college president’s comments for a donor event or
- To illustrate how desperate some of your students are for financial assistance to stay in school.
A story bank allows you to use stories when you need them rather than scrambling at the last minute trying to pull relevant stories together.
Follow these steps to gather stories for your story bank:
- Email a group of stakeholders (students, for example) using blind copy
- Tell them you would like to feature them in printed and online materials
- Send them a list of questions
- Ask them to answer the questions via email so you can copy and paste from the message(s)
- Ask them for a photograph showing them engaged in life at the school
- Volunteer to take a picture of them if they have none
- Attach an information and photograph release form
- Include a deadline for them to return the responses and signed release forms
- Send a reminder the day after the deadline if the response is low
- Schedule a date and time to take pictures of the students who answered the questions and returned the release form
- Use the responses to write human interest stories or simply use question-and-answer formats (which I have found to be very helpful)
- Repeat this process for other stakeholders (for example, employees, donors and alumni)
- Repeat this process three to four times a year
Look for the other articles in this series, which will include lists of questions you might ask your stakeholders.
Do you use story banks? How might I improve the process outlined above?
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