By Andie Davis
Words matter. I grew up having that phrase repeated to me often in my formative years, and it rings true to this day, especially now that I work in public relations.
Words can evoke emotion, inspire action and tell a story. As public relations professional, I help clients craft meaningful stories for their brand to effectively communicate to their audiences. Take, for example, our client, Centre for Neuro Skills (CNS). By telling stories about individual patients’ triumphs, we can illustrate the power of our client’s services in helping people overcome unimaginable tragedies. At the same time, we must be careful with our word choice because we are dealing with sensitive topics such as traumatic brain injury and stroke that have changed these patients’ lives forever. Their stories are inspiring, and we want to choose the right words that demonstrate how they’ve overcome adversity and share that inspiration with others.
That brings me to the next point – finding the right channels for communicating such an important message. You should strategically integrate communications. That means that there should be multiple channels where your message or story is communicated. For clients like CNS, we create a communications plan for each story, including pitching to relevant media, crafting social media posts that link to a patient’s case study on CNS’ website and developing visual materials such as video and images to tell their story. It is imperative that you have a plan for exactly how you are going to communicate with your target audiences and what is going to have the most impact.
What’s the story you want to tell? What will leave a lasting impression on people you are trying to reach? Make sure your communication is relevant, unique and thoughtful, and you will be able to capture their attention.
Words matter, and they also have immeasurable power. Use them wisely.
Related Articles:
Exceptional Aggies: One year after tragedy, A&M senior reflects and prepares to graduate, KAGS TV
Actor Timothy Omundson on being a stroke survivor amid the coronavirus pandemic, KTLA 5
Matthew Little | The Journey, CNS video