Poster session from the National Council for Behavioral Health on April 2015. In an environment where it’s increasingly difficult to communicate your message through all the noise, telling and selling good stories about your organization can make the difference between being heard or invisible. Commit to crafting great narratives, even around data, when you’re reporting results. This strategy will more easily tout your organization’s successes, build relationships and inspire people to action.

1. Tell (And Sell) Your
Organization’s Story

3. fellowshiphouse.org/successes
Case Example

4. Mental Health Center of Denver mhcd.org
Case Example

5. cpinc.org
Case Example

6. centerstone.org
Case Example

7. Why Tell Your
Organization’s
Story?

8. Rationale
• Connect to your audience.
• Increase donations or followers.
• Tout your organization’s credibility
and successes.
• Build trust and relationships with your
community.
• Inspire people to action.
#1

9. Cut Through Information Overload
Source: http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/b2b-content-storytelling-infographic
• 79% scan the web instead of reading
word for word.
• 90% of professionals admit to throwing
away important information.
• In 2012, 5.2 trillion ads served on the
Internet.
• 700,000 Google searches performed
every 60 seconds.
#2

10. Before You Get
Started

11. Determine Purpose
• Emotional or functional benefit?
• Call to action?
– Donate Now!
– Call Your Congress Rep!
• Ongoing? i.e. blog, newsletter feature.
• One time use? i.e. annual report , news
article.
#3

12. Target Audience
Clients?
General
Public?
Media?
Funders?
Legislators?
Future
Employees?
#4

13. Determine Goals
• Increase donations or fundraising?
• Bring more clients to your agency?
• Help win a grant?
• Place media articles?
• Increase followers on social media?
• Generate volunteer requests?
• Reach out to legislators?
• All of the above?
#5

14. Telling and Selling

15. Good Storytelling
• Decide your tone and use it
consistently. ( i.e. funny, serious, casual,
formal)
• Use statistics and research to make
your story relevant.
• Spare no detail to bring your subjects
to life.
• Be honest, and even describe your
learning experience with a failure.
#6

16. Good Storytelling
• Be concise and don’t ramble. Create a
clear beginning, middle and end.
• Copyedit your work, errors detract
from the story you are telling.
• Use photos and videos to enhance
your story.
#7

17. How to Sell Your Story
• Develop theme and campaign.
• Hook to awareness events. (i.e. Mental
Health Month)
• Create a story home. (i.e. blog,
newsletter or website page)
• Utilize social media, tweet chats and
hash tag campaigns.
#8

18. How to Sell Your Story
• Add videos and pictures. (also a good
storytelling element)
• Pitch to the media as human interest
piece.
• Incorporate in brochures, annual reports,
legislative work.
#9

19. Tracking Success

20. Measurements
• Google analytics to evaluate website
traffic before and after storytelling
campaign.
• Use bitly.com when sharing story links.
• Measure likes, shares and retweets.
• Sumall.com
• Tweetreach.com
• Facebook analytics
• keyhole.co
#10

21. Before and After Look
Dependent on Goals! What Happened?
• Increased fundraising
• More volunteers
• Media placement
• Legislative action
• Additional Clients
#11

22. About Kristin Battista-Frazee
• Author The
Pornographer’s
Daughter
• Social Worker
• Marketing
Professional
• Writer

23. Interested In Telling Your
Organization’s Story?
KristinBattistaFrazee.com
kbfrazee@gmail.com 703.599.9162
I Can Help.
Contact Me.