One of the most common challenges businesses face when planning PR and content marketing is deciding what to talk about. This goes for email marketing, socials, blog posts, press releases and more.
It is easy to assume that you need a major announcement, a groundbreaking product or a dramatic success story to generate worthwhile content. In reality, most organisations already have plenty of interesting stories. They simply need to recognise and frame them in the right way.
The strongest business stories usually fit within one of six media-friendly angles:
Growth • Innovation • People • Impact • Expertise • Milestones
Almost every business update can be approached through one or more of these lenses. A new employee, for example, might be a straightforward people story, but it could also demonstrate growth, investment in skills or expansion into a new market.
The key is to look beyond the announcement itself and explain why it matters.
Business growth
Growth stories demonstrate momentum and give customers, employees and the wider market confidence in the direction of the business.
Potential stories might include:
- New contracts won
- Major client appointments
- Record sales periods
- Expansion into new markets
- New offices, factories or locations
- Growth in employee numbers
- Investment following increased demand.
Rather than simply announcing a contract win, consider what the project represents. Is it your largest contract to date? Does it take the business into a new sector or region? Will it create jobs or require investment in equipment?
Those additional details turn a routine business update into a more meaningful story.
People and careers
People stories often perform well because they give a human face to the organisation.
These could include:
- New hires
- Senior appointments
- Internal promotions
- Apprenticeship and graduate schemes
- Long-service milestones
- Employee achievements
- Professional qualifications
- Staff awards
- Career development stories.
A short announcement about a promotion can become a much stronger piece of content when it explains the employee’s journey, achievements and future responsibilities.
Apprenticeship and graduate stories can also support recruitment by showing prospective employees how people develop within the business.
Products, services and innovation
New products and services are obvious content opportunities, but the story should focus on the problem being solved rather than simply listing features.
Ideas include:
- New product launches
- New service launches
- Product improvements
- Research and development projects
- Patents and innovations
- Technology investments
- New production techniques
- Bespoke solutions developed for customers.
Explain why the product was created, who it is designed to help and what makes it different.
The development process itself may also provide useful content. Research, testing, prototypes, customer feedback and lessons learned can all become articles, videos, case studies or social media posts.
Customers and case studies
Customer stories are among the most valuable forms of content because they provide evidence of what your business can deliver, which can be very powerful for SEO (search engine optimisation) and to demonstrate E-A-T (Expertise, Authority and Trust).
Potential angles include:
- Customer success stories
- Major projects
- Long-standing customer relationships
- Large or unusual orders
- Repeat business
- Customer testimonials
- Collaborative projects
- Community impact delivered through customers.
A strong case study should explain the customer’s original challenge, the solution provided and the resulting impact.
Where possible, include tangible outcomes such as time saved, costs reduced, performance improved or capacity increased. A quote from the customer will also make the story more credible.
Long-standing customer relationships can be particularly powerful. A ten, twenty or thirty-year relationship says a great deal about service, reliability and trust.
Industry expertise
You do not always need company news to create worthwhile content.
Sharing knowledge and informed opinions can help position your business and its people as trusted experts within the industry.
Ideas might include:
- Commentary on industry trends
- Economic insights
- Regulatory changes
- Market forecasts
- Practical advice
- Thought leadership articles
- Industry reports
- Surveys and research
- Responses to breaking industry news
- Answers to common customer questions.
This content is particularly useful when it helps customers understand a complex subject or make a better decision.
Think about the questions your sales, customer service and technical teams are regularly asked. Each one could potentially become an article, guide, video or social post.
Your internal data may also reveal useful insights. Changes in customer behaviour, demand, pricing or product specification can provide the basis for original commentary.
Sustainability and social impact
Businesses are increasingly expected to demonstrate their environmental and social impact.
Relevant stories may include:
- Environmental initiatives
- Carbon reduction projects
- Energy-efficiency improvements
- Waste reduction
- Sustainable product development
- Charity partnerships
- Community engagement
- Fundraising activities
- Volunteering programmes
- Support for local schools or organisations.
The strongest sustainability stories include specific actions and measurable results.
Rather than saying the business is committed to reducing its environmental impact, explain what has changed and what difference it has made. This could include reductions in energy consumption, emissions, waste or packaging.
It is also important to avoid overstating environmental claims. Clear evidence and transparent reporting will make the content more credible.
Learn how easy it is to improve your digital sustainability in this article.
Operations and investment
Operational improvements may feel routine internally, but they can provide strong evidence of growth, quality and long-term investment.
Possible stories include:
- Factory or facility upgrades
- New equipment
- Technology investments
- Process improvements
- Increased production capacity
- Quality accreditations
- Health and safety achievements
- Supply-chain improvements
- New systems and software.
The story should explain the reason for the investment and the benefit it creates.
Does the new equipment improve quality, reduce waste, increase capacity or enable the business to deliver a new product? Will it create jobs or improve working conditions?
Those outcomes are often more interesting than the equipment itself.
Awards, accreditations and milestones
Recognition from an independent organisation can strengthen the credibility of your wider marketing.
Content opportunities include:
- Award wins
- Award nominations
- Industry rankings
- Certifications
- Quality accreditations
- Milestone projects
- Business anniversaries
- Product anniversaries
- Employee service milestones.
An award announcement should explain what the award recognises and why the achievement matters.
Business anniversaries can also provide an opportunity to tell a much broader story. Instead of simply announcing that the company is 25 years old, explore how it started, how the industry has changed and where the business is heading next.
Human-interest stories
Some of the most engaging content comes from the stories behind the business.
These might include:
- Founder stories
- Business journeys
- Challenges overcome
- Behind-the-scenes features
- Unusual projects
- Employee passions and achievements
- Family-business stories
- Local community connections
- Historic photographs and archive material.
These stories can help an organisation feel more relatable and memorable.
They are particularly effective when they reveal something people would not normally see, such as how a product is made, what happens during a typical working day or how the business responded to a difficult challenge.
Turn one story into several pieces of content
A good story should not be used once and then forgotten.
A new contract win could become:
- Press release
- Website news story
- LinkedIn post
- Customer case study
- Project video
- Team interview
- Email newsletter feature
- Sales presentation slide
- Future awards entry.
The central story remains the same, but the format and emphasis can be adapted for different audiences and channels.
This approach makes content creation more efficient and helps maintain consistent messaging across the organisation.
Create a simple story-gathering process
The biggest barrier to creating regular content is often not a lack of ideas. It is a lack of communication.
Marketing teams may not hear about new contracts, employee achievements, technical innovations or community activity until months after they happen, or not at all.
A simple monthly conversation with sales, HR, operations and senior management can uncover a steady supply of stories.
Ask questions such as:
- What has changed recently?
- What are customers asking about?
- Have we won any interesting work?
- Has anyone joined, progressed or achieved something?
- Have we invested in anything new?
- What problems have we solved?
- What are we seeing in the market?
- Is there anything coming up that we should plan for?
Not every idea will become a press release, but most can contribute to your website, social media, newsletters, videos or sales content.
The stories are usually already there. The real skill lies in identifying the strongest angle, adding context and explaining why the update matters to the people you want to reach.
Get in touchGet in touch if you need a hand generating ideas to shout about.