Any successful campaign has to have a great idea, a relatable character and something worth writing about. If you don’t have those things, you don’t have a story.

How do you craft a story that's worth telling? We instinctively know the answer for a book or a movie: there has to be a central idea that resonates with the audience, characters people care about, and action that hooks them in. 

So why do we forget what we know about stories when it comes to PR? 

Any successful campaign has to have a great idea, a relatable character, and something worth writing about. You don’t have those things, you don’t have a story.  

I was once part of an industry conference panel where I was asked about how to create a pitch that makes reporters and audiences sit up and pay attention. They meant, what kind of a press release did I want to see? “Well, make it a story I can use,” I said. “That's it. You could write it on a napkin and send it to me by carrier pigeon if your story’s good enough.” 

Obviously, the story is not just the words you put on paper. It’s what you build into your product. Whether that's an actual product, an experience for clients, or a social media campaign, successful companies and agencies build PR into everything they make.  

Your story has to involve something people have never really seen before. For example, does it solve a problem that’s currently unsolved? If someone else is doing it, does yours do it better? We’re not talking just about tech gadgets. Ad campaigns, cultural practices—be the first at something, be the best at something, and you’ve got something that will make people perk up.

Whenever I speak to teams about the newsworthiness of a project, I always ask this question: Would you share this on your own social networks if you weren't getting paid to do so?

Think about what you share, especially from a brand. That’s a high bar, because you’re attaching your personal cred to it. So is a journalist covering your story, but more so. You share something because it’s funny, because it’s true to your values, because you want to be the first to introduce it to the world. You share because it’s hooked you.

No matter what you create, you have to build in those hooks. It could be cool, funny, strange, or heartwarming. It must connect with human emotion, making the audience feel something or inspiring them to do something regardless of whether it’s a product or campaign. It must be something you want to forward along.

So make things forwardable.