The foundational elements of internal company storytelling

During Ragan’s Employee Communications 101 Conference last month Rachel Thomae, editor-in-chief of UC San Diego Health’s Physician Update newsletter, unpacked her four elements for building a profound internal story and crafting impactful company narratives.

Here’s what we learned.

“For me, the audience is more than just a particular group of people,” Thomae said. “It’s a group of people you get to know.” It’s important to ask:

Remember to not guess of base your content on what you would do, unless you are part of the target audience. If you write for more than one audience, Thomae stresses the importance of segmenting them to identify what makes each of them unique. You can ask them what’s important to them in surveys, attend their meetings to see what’s discussed, and review analytics to see what stories are clicked most often.

Once you’ve identified your audience, it’s time to really ensure you’re targeting them from the outset.

“Make sure your communication has a great subject line or headline,” advised Thomae. “Lose jargon and general statements and customize to your audience.”