Simply delivering the facts was always a winning PR strategy — until it wasn’t.

The eruption of digital marketing and social media advertising has created intense competition for consumer attention and, because of this, emotional intelligence is often the deciding factor in who gets featured and who doesn’t.

That is why it is crucial for PR professionals to have a deep understanding of emotional intelligence and incorporate it into their efforts.

Why does emotional content connect with audiences?

PR today is more about just getting one message across, it’s about facilitating a relationship between brands and consumers. A single, well-written press release isn’t enough to convince audiences to use a particular brand, but consistent, authentic content that audiences can relate to can nurture genuine, meaningful relationships.

With this in mind, your communications need to have emotional appeal in order to pique the interest of the media — and consumers too! But, you also need to have a story to share. If your content isn’t newsworthy, no amount of emotional appeal will make it worth publishing.

In an article for PR Daily, SourceCode Communications’ Becky Honeyman says that “if you can make someone ‘feel’ something, you will increase the response rate or engagement level tenfold,”

“It’s fundamental for brands today to build relationships with their audiences. They can only do that by communicating consistently and authentically on subjects that are genuinely meaningful to them.”

So, how do you tell a PR story with emotion? Here’s how:

1. Tell an honest story

The key to getting your PR content right is to tell a story that is related to your client’s brand identity. Audiences can immediately spot when PR efforts are disingenuous or don’t match the brand’s actions.

Nothing creates a PR crisis faster than sending out content that doesn’t align with the brand’s values and practices. For example, if you’re going to create content that promotes gender equality, you’d best make sure the brand’s recruitment allows for equal opportunities.

Remember that, although your story is more than just facts, the facts still need to be there.

Ask the following questions to get you on the right track:
  • What does this brand value?
  • What problems can this brand solve for consumers?
  • How does this product/service fit into consumers’ lives?
  • Why should this brand matter to consumers?

2. Your story needs to be empathetic

The key to connecting with audiences is to tell a story that they can really see themselves in. If consumers can’t relate to your content, they won’t engage with it.

By creating content that is empathetic towards consumers’ needs and motivations shows that you know who you’re talking to — and you understand them.

And when audiences feel understood, and like you really get them, they feel endeared towards the brand. Empathetic PR content that connects to a shared human truth has a better chance of being noticed by consumers and media (they’re people too…).

Plus, connecting to people’s happiness, sadness, anger and desire helps to develop strong customer loyalty.

3. Your story needs to have a clear arc

A good story needs to develop at the right pace and keep audiences engaged at each moment. Without a clear structure, audiences can easily get lost and lose interest in the content, switch it off or click away in an instant.

Chief Marketer suggests your stories should follow an arc like this:



And, to really get the point across, why not check out these PR efforts that got us all right in the feels:




What other ways can PR content evoke emotion from audiences? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Now that you know you need to focus on emotion, check out these Six lessons in storytelling for PR professionals.
*Image courtesy of Vecteezy