Storytelling in PR: The ten biggest obstacles

Most PR managers simply don't have the time to develop good stories. This is the result of a recent survey conducted by the sda subsidiary news aktuell and the PR agency Faktenkontor. PR professionals also have difficulties with the multimedia implementation of stories. The third biggest obstacle to storytelling cited by respondents was the lack of support from management: many bosses continue to demand product-driven PR. 247 Swiss communication experts from companies and PR agencies took part in the PR Trend Monitor. 43 percent of respondents regret not having enough time to develop and produce good stories. The second biggest hurdle in storytelling is the multimedia factor. One in three respondents (30 percent) find it difficult to tell an exciting story not only as text, but also in images, audio or video. Almost as many communicators complain that their bosses lack an understanding of story-driven PR: 29 percent state that management continues to focus on product and marketing PR. Often there are also no exciting facts in the company to tell good stories: At least 18 percent of PR professionals believe this.And almost as many respondents fundamentally question the success of storytelling (17 percent). Surprisingly, hardly any PR professionals question their own storytelling skills. Only one in ten cited technical problems as an obstacle to good storytelling (11%).The ten biggest obstacles:1. too little time: 43 percent2. Multimedia implementation of stories: 30 percent3. Bosses still want product and marketing PR: 29 percent4. Lack of exciting facts: 18 percent5. Lack of belief in the success of storytelling: 17 percent6. There are not enough stories worth telling in the company: 15 percent7. Lack of relevance: 14 percent8. Technical problems: 11 percent9. Too few readers and viewers: 8 percent10. Lack of suitable service providers: 4 percent