It’s a fact that sustainable businesses today significantly improve our planet, community, and our economy.
Yet, it’s becoming more challenging for small, values-driven businesses to stand out among their competitors. Greenwashing and a lack of transparency make it harder for consumers to tell the “real deal” from companies that may follow through on their practices. When used correctly, sharing a business’ impact story shows people and businesses as active change agents, helping to humanize your brand and bring your key values to life while also inspiring audiences themselves to act.
Last month, SBN hosted a workshop with public relations expert Edel Howlin of Untapped Communications on how to construct and share their impact stories with local businesses. Edel shared her guidance with various businesses and organizations ranging from food companies, waste management, communications firms, video production companies, and non-profits focused on water and the environment. She reviewed her proven strategies for refining mission statements and attracting press attention, including considering the timeliness of submitting stories to media, crafting quotes with an emotional appeal, and highlighting the novelty of a business’ work.
Edel helped Mike Bennett from Bennett Compost his customers visualize how much 70 tons of trash is – 7-8 school buses worth of trash.
With her coaching, Marc Coleman of The Tactile Group crafted a simple and effective mission statement in 10 minutes, which was so compelling that it generated applause around the room!
By the end of the program, businesses learned how impact storytelling could go a long way in cutting through the noise while telling honest, genuine and stories about your business’s sustainability efforts.
Click here to learn more about Untapped Communications and explore SBN’s directory of local independent businesses via our Sustainable Business Directory.
