How should you tell your Landcare story?

Everyone loves a good story, and at Landcare Australia we work with our partners to craft their best Landcare stories. Getting the word out about the work you’re doing and the impact you’re having can have huge benefits – increased brand awareness, positive brand perception, senior leader engagement, community engagement, and customer acquision – to name a few.

So how do you know if the story you’re telling is the right one? Here are a few simple steps you can follow to make sure that you’re telling your best Landcare story.

Determine your audience

The first step on your storytelling journey to consider is your audience. Who are they and what do they want to hear? There’s no point talking about the technical aspects of lantana removal if you’re trying to engage with a broad urban demographic. Put yourself in their shoes – who they are, the kind of information they want to hear, and how you reach them. Once you have determined who your audience is, the rest will flow.

Set your objective

Why are you telling this story? Do you want to inspire your employees to sign up to your Workplace Giving Program or next Landcare Corporate Volunteer day? Maybe you want your senior leadership team to approve your partnership proposal for another two years or you want to engage ambassadors for your brand in the local community? Having a clear objective makes it easier to figure out what you want to say.

Curate your content

What kind of information is available to help craft your story? If your audience wants to hear the cold, hard stats, do you have a project report with facts and figures? Maybe your story is a human interest one, so is there someone you can interview? Do you have photos or a video to accompany your story and help the audience visualise what you’re talking to them about?

Choose your channels

This relates back to your audience and where your story needs to be to connect with them. If you’re talking to internal stakeholders, you could include an article on your intranet, internal newsletter or senior leadership bulletin. Maybe you want to engage with a local community, so creating a story that will appeal to local media is top of your list. What about reaching your customers? Maybe you need to share your story on your social media channels or website.

Define your method

What type of content is needed to best engage your target audience?  This relates directly to the channels you have selected to tell your story. If you’re pitching to a local newspaper, you’ll need a media release and engaging photographs. Maybe you’re using your company intranet or social media channels and could make a video. If you’re featuring your story in a sustainability or annual report, maybe an infographic could illustrate the key facts and figures.

Once you’ve worked out the steps above, putting your story together should be a piece of cake! If you would like help crafting your Landcare story, please get in touch with Trish O’Gorman – Communications Manager – Landcare Australia at 02 8440 8809 or [email protected].