Heroes, Metal Heads and Music Video Stars: Telling Your Story and Getting the Outcomes You Care About

Anyone who has started a band, built a business or developed a community outreach has already done the semi-impossible: They've gone from nothing to something. Now, how do we begin to find the best way to tell the story of that something?

Of course, the best way to tell a story depends entirely on your goals. Are you looking to get more buy-in from your current customers? Open up a new market segment? Build brand engagement? The best version of your story for each of these goals is probably going to be a bit different.

For some years now, my work has included partnering with nonprofits and community outreaches to help them identify a goal and tell a great story that aligns with it. To be clear, these are groups that are already doing fantastic work. But the right story — informed by the right goal — can help amplify impact.

From those efforts, here are three examples that bring together a goal and a clarifying question that are very likely to benefit your work as well.

Case Study 1: Heroes Carry Naloxone • Goal: More buy-in from current customers.

• Clarifying Question: Is this the right story?

A community outreach focused on the opioid epidemic was already doing important work by distributing naloxone (brand name: Narcan), a life-saving medication that can reverse an opioid overdose when administered promptly.

But the outreach was running into a problem: although naloxone saves lives and is easy to administer, some community members felt, "That's for drug users, which I am not. So I don't need that."

This was a narrative problem. Just as you probably cannot use a defibrillator on yourself while you're having a heart attack, neither can you give yourself naloxone when you're experiencing an overdose. This means that carrying naloxone is principally about being prepared to save the life of someone else.

So, my organization, Good Loud Media, partnered with this outreach to reframe the issue. Working with both Grammy winners and local residents, we crafted a song to tell a new story about the ease, importance and heroism of carrying naloxone to save a life. Editor's picks

This new story — told in song form — connected. Listeners loved it and shared it. One listener responded, "This tells me what Narcan is and why I should have it." (We couldn't have scripted a better comment!)

The Takeaway: For your current customers, are you telling the right story? One that addresses concerns and provokes action? You're offering something great. If people aren't yet embracing it, ask why not, and then tell a story that speaks to that.

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Case Study 2: Metal Heads Need Job Training, Too • Goal: Open a new market segment.

• Clarifying Question: Who needs to hear this story?

A well-known nonprofit was offering job training to those in economic distress. The program was effective and they wanted it to grow. But they had exhausted demand from their regular client base. This meant that they needed to identify and pursue a new market segment.

Good Loud Media has long expertise in using music radio as an outreach tool to assist those in need. Given this, we knew that heavy metal fans, a small but significant subset of FM rock radio listeners, would be ideal clients for this nonprofit. So, we worked with our radio partners to provide airtime. We crafted PSAs that spoke the language of the heavy metal world — as opposed to the nonprofit world — in order to connect new clients with these sorely needed services. Related

This approach worked. The nonprofit might not have imagined metal heads as a potential client base, but the overlap between program and need was strong. Unexpected customers are still customers; Slayer and Megadeth fans need access to job training, too!

The Takeaway: To find that next market segment, ask who needs it but may not yet know about it, and be open to surprising answers. Then go where those folks live and tell the right story for them.

Case Study 3: Everybody Wants To Star in a Music Video • Goal: Build brand engagement.

• Clarifying Question: Who is the best person to tell this story?

A friend was a youth outreach worker in a challenging neighborhood of Chicago. He was helping kids make good choices and avoid becoming involved in gang organizations. We wanted to create media that would help these kids feel a greater sense of agency in their lives and share that concept with their friends, too.

Our breakthrough was simple but profound: We designed a music video that wasn't just for the kids in that neighborhood; it starred the kids in that neighborhood. We imagined a video with big production value, but where the kids themselves were the stars, storytellers and brand ambassadors to all of their friends.

When it came time to shoot the video, we had a packed house of young people who wanted to be a part of the process and knew the music by heart. We asked the kids to showcase the positive choices they were making instead of gang involvement and they happily showed off their skills at everything from artwork to playing ball to busting out dance moves. And, critically, they couldn't wait to show the finished product to their friends.

The Takeaway: To build brand engagement, are you using the right storyteller? Someone your customers can relate to? Someone they trust who understands their life experience? Find people with that position of influence and partner with them. Trending

Final Thoughts If you've built something new, you should be proud of it. Now, let's figure out how to spread the word in an effective way — beginning with the right story and storytellers.

The greatest value proposition in the world still requires that the right people know about it, understand it on an emotional level and believe that it truly is for them. By examining the story, the audience and the storyteller, you can achieve the level of growth and success that you deserve.