Storytelling for social impact

Waking up every day to a world full of challenges could be overwhelming, but it may be comforting and relieving to know that there are institutions and organizations out there whose sole mission is to make our life better and work towards a better future for all of us. Knowing about such organizations and their concerted efforts wouldn’t have reached us and yielded that comforting and feel-good effects it wasn’t for strong and bold messaging that deliberately communicate important pieces of information that remind us how such organizations are keen and honest about the efforts they keep exerting every day to achieve results and talk about them in a way that convinces us and reassures us.

It’s always about the people

But in the social field, it’s crucial to be aware that it’s never about you, your organization, or what you do. It’s always about the people, and how you passionately wake up every day to seek and find creative and innovative ways to overcome their problems and make their lives better in every possible way, so make sure that you avoid talking about you, and start steering the conversation towards how sincere and genuine in working on their welfare. The result? Loads of trust, credibility, and belief in your thought leadership, and you are guaranteed to get their blessing and approval in what you provide them after you have already proven your competency and earned their trust.

Social impact storytelling & emotions

But here is a good question: How do you get their attention in a world that is full of noise, distorted messages, and distractions and competitions that could easily divert their attention from what truly matters? The answer lies in evoking strong emotions for the greater good. Craft the ultimate attention hook by raising strong feelings about your cause, since emotions and a good driver for action, humans enjoy and act based on urges arising by cues and messages that demand action. So, it it wasn’t about the good causes you and your audience care about, what it would be about? A word of caution though; be genuine, people will know instantly if you mean what you say or not, even if not immediately, they will find out eventually your true intentions, and your cause and your organization will greatly suffer if you have broken their trust, and to repair it this would cost money, time and efforts you could use to nurture your organization and the mission you are working on.

Tips for successful social impact storytelling

Crafting the ultimate storytelling activities require paying attention to some important points, some of which are:

• Spread positive vibes

Never underestimate the power of good stories that are both uplifting and inspiring, so make sure you keep on telling the stories that elicit hope, gratitude, and positivity, and you shall be greatly rewarded with positive interactions. If you take the risk and tell stories that are alarming or scary or eliciting worry, people might be turned off and shy away from what you do, since they are becoming increasingly concerned about the positive not the negative since there is already so much going on in the world that could be overwhelming, people may tend to prefer to consume content that is uplifting and motivational

• Make it about the community

People would want to know how to contribute, so making sure that you talk about them and their involvement will greatly aid in inviting them to participate and understand how they can exert valuable efforts that help the cause and benefit everyone, talking about your people will show that you care and that you respect them and help start the positive wave of change you aspire to create.

• Don’t underestimate the numbers

Having tangible results could make a world of difference in convincing your audience about their cause, so as you grab their attention with an emotional story that hooks their focus, follow up with solid statistics that show that you are working on the ground and effecting real change.

• Vary your content

Using different forms of content that cater to your audience’s preferences could help you get your message across and put it out there for people to see it. Video, podcasts, and infographics are some excellent examples of putting your message out there since you capitalize on the visual factor that comes across as appealing for people to consume.

• Actionable plan

Associating your storytelling efforts with steps and actions your audience can take is vital since it would be a waste of time and effort to tell good stories that don’t lead to meaningful action. Make your end goal in mind and let it take shape by having an actionable step in mind so that they know what to do to further mobilize the cause and attain the goals that benefit your causes.

Storytelling and social impact are a great pair that nicely complement each other, and when harnessed properly the result could be amazing in getting people to notice a certain cause and to rally them around it, so that goals are achieved and the whole community benefits, so, are you ready to create the best stories ever told to get you started?