Work Smarter: One Story, Five Ways

One strong story about your impact can go a long way. Instead of starting from scratch every time you need content for a newsletter, social media, your website or an email, take another look at the stories you already have. One story can be adapted in several ways to reach your audience across different channels.

Let’s say you have a great story about someone who participated in one of your programs. Start with the full story, then think about how you can use it again.

1. Tell the full story in your newsletter.
Give readers the bigger picture. What was the need? How did your organization help? What changed because of that support?

2. Pull out one moment for social media.
You don’t need to squeeze the entire story into a Facebook or Instagram caption. Choose one meaningful detail, quote or outcome that makes someone want to learn more.

3. Turn the impact into a graphic.
Is there a number, quote or short statement that captures the story? Give it a visual moment of its own.

4. Tell it through video.
If appropriate, ask the person involved, a staff member or a volunteer to tell part of the story in a short video. It doesn’t need to be highly produced. A genuine 30 second explanation of why the work matters can go a long way.

5. Bring it back to your donors.
Impact stories are also a great reason to reconnect with supporters. Share the story personally with donors who care about that program or area of your mission and let them see what their support helps make possible.

The key is to adapt the story for the audience and the platform. Your newsletter reader may want the full story. Someone scrolling social media may only give you a few seconds. A longtime donor may appreciate a personal note connecting the story directly to their support.

Working smarter with your content doesn’t mean telling the same story the same way five times. It means recognizing when you already have something worth sharing and finding new ways to help people connect with it.

Before you create something new, ask yourself: Have we gotten everything we can out of the stories we already have?