By Lisa Hester, Senior Account Manager

In Part II of this blog-post series (part I posted 3/7/19), we look at the third and fourth pitfalls we could potentially run into as we work to gain visibility for our client’s particular cause or need they aim to fill. As mentioned in part I, political counsellor, strategist and spokesperson Shaun Adamec, Adamec shared “four things we get wrong in social cause communication” during a recent webinar. Today, here are the third and fourth, and a bit about each from my standpoint and his.

  1. Fact-checking. OK, how can presenting the facts not be a good suggestion? Adamec cited a recent CDC campaign about the flu vaccination that laid out the myths about the vaccination and the alleged dangers along with the facts. It turns out, more people misremembered the facts, the negative reactions about the flu shot got worse, not better, over time, and, in some cases, people cited the CDC for the misinformation. As one who likes to offer relevant a data to back up statements every chance I get, I had to ponder this idea a while. But then I thought about this world of fake news we currently live in. It always seems that fake news gets spread more quickly and broadly than the actual news. And, people tend to remember fake news more so than the real news. Yet, when news representatives try to expose the inaccuracies, they are often the ones who are doubted and shamed. As Adamec said, “Human cognition is not logical.”
  1. We are PR pros and we’ve come to learn that storytelling can be an effective tool in telling our client’s story. Oftentimes, that means sharing an in-depth look at an individual’s story as it relates to our client. The caution here is not taking the next step…that is, relating the individual’s story to a more universal story that involves many. In other words, it’s important for us to provide not just the individual’s story, but then to go on and share how that individual represents so many of us in a broader sense and, further, about a relatable solution that our client can provide.

Need help with these concepts? Let us be your expert communicators in sharing your story. That’s what we do. Call Don Rountree at 770-645-4545 or email don@rountreegroup.com and can talk with you about how we can lend a hand.