Mining for content: Six ways to find stories internally

Content—everyone is looking for it. All organizations have it, yet some don’t know how to unearth it.

PR and communications pros are always on the lookout for good story ideas to spur content creation or media pitches. But although this content is there, it’s not always so easy to pull it out of your organization or your client.

What’s a communicator to do? Try these ideas:

1. Look to your sales team

The sales team can be a great asset to your PR initiatives. Salespeople are the boots on the ground, out in the field talking with customers on a daily basis. They hear how customers are using products, how they’re finding new ways to leverage solutions and how they feel about a brand’s offerings.

One of my best sources of stories to fuel PR has always been my allies in sales. Get to know them. Check in with them regularly to see what tales they have to tell. Salespeople are usually more than happy to share. Use that to your advantage to come up with fresh material.

If you run into challenges getting the sales team to share, I’ve worked with clients who offer incentives for submitting ideas. Some type of bonus can be just the ticket to getting busy salespeople to contribute.

2. Call customer service