Storytelling tips for charities

1. Develop a culture of storytelling within your charity

This won't happen overnight, so start small...

• Find allies within your charity.
• Encourage others to celebrate success – what’s in it for other teams in your organisation? It gives them social currency and makes them look good.
• If you are a writer, involve yourself with different teams, go to team meetings, gather useful information and most of all make yourself known.
• Host storytelling summits/workshops where people can share updates on their projects.

2. Put processes in place

A good idea can't work if it isn't supported with the right processes. If you want people to approach you with stories, outline what a good story would look like. Ask people for visual cues as well, including photos and videos.

If you have stories already, you can set up a focus group or carry out an audit to see which stories are effective and which ones you should tell less of.

3. Get buy-in from your CEO and board

The importance of storytelling is a message that needs to come from the top down. This can start from simply encouraging your leaders to tweet from the industry events they go to.

You could also gather data (Google Analytics for instance) on how well your stories are doing on your web page/social media and show your CEO and board just how much impact you can make with words.

4. One size doesn’t fit all

Where appropriate, start with a blank slate with your content. Listen to the story first, and then think about the best format for it. The same format cannot work for every story.

5. Telling stories isn't just about case studies...

You don't have to just stay in the comfort zone of case studies when you are telling stories. Ask your beneficiaries to takeover your social media channels, and inspire them to take part in user-generated content. Be creative.

6. Think creatively around anonymity

For charities that start from a point of keeping their beneficiaries safe and anonymous, it can be tough finding ways to shout about the good work you do in supporting them.

But there are ways around it; for instance, if you are a youth charity or one dealing with vulnerable people, you can encourage beneficiaries to share works of art like poetry, spoken word, etc. It will show personality and variety.