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Where only 5% of people remember statistics, 63% remember the stories they hear. Storytelling is powerful, especially when it comes to spreading awareness and inspiring action. That’s why organizations of all shapes and sizes turn to storytelling to promote their activism — whether they’re educating the public about a disease, encouraging supporters to vote, or petitioning for the passage of a law.

 

But how do you find the story that will breathe new life into your advertising campaign strategies, and how do you tell it effectively? In this short guide, we’ll explore four storytelling best practices you can tap into to drive activism.

1. Get to the heart of your campaign.

First, clarify who or what is at the core of your advocacy campaign. Hone in on exactly what drives the campaign, whether it stems from the personal experience of someone you know, a conversation you had with a volunteer, or a beneficiary who asked for your organization’s help. Then, define how the cause connects to your mission and relates to your nonprofit’s other activities.

 

To build a solid foundation for your storytelling, ask yourself questions like:

 

• How did you first notice a need for this advocacy campaign?
• Why is the issue important to you?
• Who would be affected by your activism?
• Why do they need your help? 
• How can supporters advocate for change? 
• Why should supporters take action?
• What is the long-term vision for your advocacy’s impact?
• How will this activism further your nonprofit’s mission?

 

Think about all of these answers as you craft your stories. Tie everything together, and focus on the emotions driving your campaign to connect with supporters. For instance, if you’re advocating for affordable housing because you’ve worked with people experiencing homelessness, that’s where your story should start.

2. Incorporate authentic testimonials.

Telling true stories without embellishment is a fundamental rule of ethical nonprofit storytelling. Being authentic is how you earn the trust of new and existing supporters alike and inspire them to act. 

 

One of the best ways to tell stories authentically is to ground your stories in reality with testimonials — firsthand accounts of how an issue affects someone, why this activism is important, or how your nonprofit helps them. Testimonials not only add another layer of truth to your stories, but they also act as an endorsement for your campaign that proves the campaign’s legitimacy to audiences.

 

When collecting testimonials, center the people impacted by your activism. Thinking back to our earlier example of an affordable housing campaign, this might include:

 

• Beneficiaries: If the example nonprofit works with people experiencing homelessness, these beneficiaries could tell stories about how they lost housing or how more affordable housing initiatives could help them get off the streets and change their lives.

• Community members: Perhaps some people in the neighborhood where an affordable housing community is proposed are against it because they’re afraid it will impact their property values. Find the neighbors on the other end of the spectrum and ask them to talk about how affordable housing could change their neighborhood for the better.

• Volunteers: Volunteers who are passionate about your advocacy work can explain what they’ve seen in the community firsthand along with their personal reasons for supporting the cause.

• Existing advocates: Maybe someone on your team became an advocate for affordable housing because their family couldn’t afford rent in the past. You might ask them to elaborate on their story and why this activism is so important to them now.

 

Once you’ve identified someone who’s willing to provide a testimonial that could be impactful for your campaign, interview them to get more details about their story. Record the interview and take detailed notes so you can use direct quotes in your campaign materials. Additionally, ask which information they’re willing to share publicly.

3. Empower supporters to act.

As you tell someone’s story using their testimonial, lean on positive emotions like hope and empowerment rather than negative emotions like fear. When supporters hear a story that focuses only on the issue and the dire consequences it causes, they may walk away feeling discouraged rather than wanting to act. Instead, end your story with hope and examples of how everyday people can work together to step up and solve the issue.

 

Empowering, action-oriented stories are much more likely to inspire the grassroots support your nonprofit needs to further its mission. 

 

However, you can’t just tell the story and end your marketing video or blog post there. It’s crucial to end with a clear call to action that describes exactly how to get involved and what next steps to take. These actions should be simple, such as sharing a post, signing a petition, attending a hybrid event, or donating. Try to succinctly explain how this small action will make a difference.

 

For instance, you might end a video about your affordable housing campaign with the call to action: “Sign your name to let City Council know you care!” Or, you might say, “RSVP to make community voices heard.”

4. Adapt the story for different channels and audiences.

Finally, put all of the pieces together and create a variety of marketing materials that tell the story you’ve developed. The message and facts of the story will stay the same, but you’ll need to repackage the story for different mediums, such as:

 

• Social media: Pull the most impactful quotes from your testimonials and pair them with photos that represent what your campaign is fighting for.

• Short- and long-form videos: A three-minute video might enable you to tell the most thorough story, but social media users could scroll past it quickly. Create versions with different lengths to suit all your communication channels.

• Emails: Use long quotes from your testimonials and pair them with images, data points, and other information about the campaign.

• Text messages: Get down to the core of the story and see if you can get supporters interested in 160 characters or less.

 

Additionally, take a lesson from political persuasion techniques and think about how you might tailor your story to different audience opinions. Political campaigns develop thorough messages, scripts, and talking points for the different kinds of attitudes they run across, ensuring that they have well-thought-out responses for positive, neutral, and negative opinions. Consider potential arguments against your activism — how can you address them in your storytelling?

These storytelling strategies will help you capture supporters’ hearts and encourage them to act now, but you may not perfect your storytelling right away. Pay attention to marketing metrics like click-through rates and conversion rates to learn which appeals work best for your audience. Then, emulate those strategies to tell even more compelling stories in the future.