Effective communications and media relations
How to communicate the work of your charity or community group effectively
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Find your voice and tell powerful stories
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Great storytelling spreads the word about your project, celebrates what you’ve achieved and inspires people to get involved. Plan and share authentic stories through writing, photography, podcasts, film and the media.
Cover photo: Alex Brenner
What makes a good story?
Know who your story is for, and what you want them to think, feel and do. Grab attention early and build an emotional connection. Let local people tell their own stories, in their own words. Structure your story around the challenge you faced, what you did and what changed. Then make it easy for people to share.
How do you get local media coverage for your story?
Decide which newspapers, programmes, blogs and local online groups you want coverage in, and agree on two or three key messages. Journalists look for human interest, so offer real examples, facts and a good photo opportunity. Put the most important information in the first paragraphs of your press release, and check each outlet’s deadlines.
What is this toolkit and who is it for?
This guide from Local Trust helps you tell stories that show the difference your work makes. It covers what makes a good story, then shows you how to write a brilliant blog, take better photos on your phone, make a podcast and commission a film. Finally, it explains how to share your stories through social media, email, your website and local media. Each section has creative ideas to try, from oral history archives to film competitions, and reminds you to get consent and make your stories accessible.
This guide will be useful to community groups, community organisations and residents who want to share their work in a more human and engaging way, whether you’re writing your first blog post or planning a film about your area.
What will I learn?
- What makes a good story and how to structure it
- Writing blogs that are easy to read and end with a call to action
- Taking better photos on your phone
- Getting consent from the people in your stories
- Recording oral histories and making a podcast
- Making your own videos or commissioning a film
- Making your stories accessible with captions, transcripts and alt text
- Sharing stories through social media, email and your website
- Working with journalists and writing a press release
- Evaluating which stories had the biggest impact
- Creative ideas to try in your area
Attribution
Produced by Local Trust as Find your voice: how to tell powerful stories, part of Make it happen with Big Local. Adapted by Locality for MyCommunity.
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