Craig Verley

Okay, so you are eager to start implementing some of what you learned at the Annual Texas School Public Relations Association (TSPRA) conference. Did some of that learning involve a variation of alphabet soup? Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) are among the soups on the menu for many of us these days. Things like SEO and GEO can be effective and important. However, it is the STORY that matters most and is the foundation for any reach.

If you are reaching people using those tools and strategies but are not telling compelling stories that connect with them, are you really succeeding? 

Make sure you start by developing and writing strong, emotional stories, first. For many of us, storytelling is one of the things we love the most about our jobs. We get face to face with the students, teachers, and district folks who are creating the future for our communities. Focus on making those stories what they should be, based upon the circumstances. Make a story that your audience will not only connect with, but will find themselves reading all the way through before they realize it. We all know attention spans are short, and if you can get anyone to read through your story, you will have left an important impression that, over time, adds up and pays off down the road.

Go back and read Lisa Losasso-Jackson’s Marketing Moment that TSPRA emailed out in March. She has some great thoughts on the emotional aspects that can help you in developing some story ideas.

Once you have a good, solid story, then consider any adjustments for things like SEO and GEO. Just don’t let those edits take away from the storytelling and the impact that the story may have been designed to elicit.

In time, you will naturally start to craft your stories with some of the alphabet soup strategies while not taking away from the real storytelling itself. That is when the alphabet soup becomes the best part of the storytelling meal.

Just remember, the story is the main dish. The alphabet soup and other things are side dishes to enhance the story meal.