In today’s media landscape, issue narratives can be very hard to adjust or change. You’ve probably seen the narrative around an event spread across social media and quickly become impenetrable, regardless of new information that changes the story. On a large scale, there are deep-rooted narratives that have become embedded in our society and culture. These narratives can be challenged, but it often takes years of work and effort to begin to see change.

Whether you are aiming to change the narrative on a small or large scale, there are some steps you need to keep in mind. This article will outline details and strategies of narrative change.Know your pitch and know who you are pitching

Develop reporter relationships ahead of time

It seems obvious, but make sure you know the new narrative. Dis-assembling the old narrative is important but building something new in its place is equally important. Much like messaging, outlining what you're for is far more effective than what you’re against.

For example, not that long ago, the U.S. was not supportive of same-sex marriage. In some states, there were efforts to ban same-sex marriage. In response, same-sex marriage proponents told powerful stories about couples who were unable to provide marital support to each other because of antiquated marriage laws. These stories helped change the narrative nationally and ushered in widespread support for same-sex marriage.

What is your message? Make sure you have developed something that is forward-looking. Don’t focus on tearing down the old narrative, focus on building the new one. And then get your story out to the public.

Like the same-sex marriage movement, it’s helpful to identify some powerful storytellers who can show through their lived experience why the old narrative isn’t working. There was a lot of messaging around same-sex marriage, but for many it was the stories of people who were unable to visit their partners in the hospital before they passed away or access their partner’s retirement despite being together for decades. These personal stories proved especially powerful and moving.Develop reporter relationships ahead of time

Identify your top stakeholders

After you’ve developed your narrative, distribute it to the leaders, activists, changemakers, and experts on your side. Make sure they are supportive and that they are committed to adopting this narrative in their work. They should commit to repeating the message in their interviews, writing, social media, and more.

Make sure that within the community that makes up your issue space, the people on your side are reinforcing your message. Ensure they are sticking to that messaging no matter what. And make sure they are equipped with the tools to knock down the old narrative and rebuild it.

This kind of coordination doesn’t change the narrative overnight, but it does help ensure you are building a base of people ready to shout the new message from a megaphone. It will come in handy when your work starts to pick up steam. Furthermore, many movements like same-sex marriage and Black Lives Matter started with a small community of people online demanding change. They educated others about the language they should use and slowly but surely, their movement gained momentum. In many cases, it took years or even decades to see a change.

Spread your narrative

Once you have a strong base of support, it’s time to coordinate the spread of your message. Your key stakeholders will help by using your message in their communications tools, which are predominately social and earned media.

Social media

Creating social media graphics, videos, and posts is a great way to start communicating your new narrative. Draft a variety of posts and create a variety of content that your stakeholders can use to reinforce the message. Regularly posting helps start to reshape the narrative. It will take time, but by creating a community on social media that is listening and understanding this message, you have begun to arm people with the tools to change how something is talked about in the public sphere.A good pitch

In addition to knowing your target, you must write a good pitch. A good pitch tells the reporter why they should care. It often includes something no one else is offering or provides an angle that hasn’t been covered before. Using a recent news event or hook is a great way to boost the relevancy of your pitch. Offering an exclusive interview is another way to strengthen your pitch. Knowing your reporter helps, but making your case about why the reporter should care in less than 250 words is an ideal way to help secure a response.

News media

In addition to social media, ask your stakeholders who regularly engage with reporters to use your messaging when they conduct interviews. The audience for social media posts is very different than for TV, radio, and local newspapers. You want to make sure you are covering all your bases – from social media, to traditional media, to targeted ads – to reinforce your messaging across platforms. This kind of communications tactic can help create a messaging groundswell, echoing the new narrative across platforms.

Cultural influencers

Cultural tastemakers play a critical role in changing the narrative. It’s why celebrities are asked to speak on certain issues – to help elevate them to more people. When an idea or message becomes accepted in pop culture, when celebrities, TV shows, and social media start reflecting the new message, it often serves as a tipping point to usher in the new cultural narrative. This was true of same-sex marriage movement, which, in addition to the messaging, lawsuits, and personal stories, also saw same-sex couples depicted in hit TV shows and movies. Although there had been LGBTQ characters depicted on TV and in movies for decades, the time period in which same-sex marriage started to gain universal acceptance saw a large amount of TV shows and celebrities talking about the issue. Polling found that many people said their views on same-sex marriage were influenced by seeing an LGBTQ character on TV or in films. The increasing prevalence and prominence of same-sex relationships on TV helped amplify a cause, whose messaging was driven by a smaller community, to the national stage.

If you see cultural influencers engaging with your messaging, reach out and offer to provide them with resources. You could send them draft social media posts or you could ask them to host an event or an Instagram Live. Once you start to tap into people outside your immediate circle, it can often have a compounding effect, spreading quickly to other circles. Cultural influencers could also be local leaders or even well-known bloggers. And if you don’t see influencers or leaders engaging on your issue, reach out and ask them if they will. Or research a popular figure with a connection to your issue and see if they would be willing to work with you. Many organizations use this tactic to raise awareness about their cause.

Goals of change

Just as important as developing a narrative change plan is ensuring you have goals for narrative change. How will you measure success? Once you’ve figured out the new narrative and have begun to distribute it, think about the kind of change you want to see. Do you want members of Congress using your new narrative? Do you want all people to be using it when they talk about your issue? Think about what your goals are and make sure you’re working to meet them. Since narrative change takes time, it can be helpful to think about it in phases, starting small and building out.

Conclusion

If you want to change the narrative, focus on your new message and get it out to your community. Once it’s been adopted, build out the narrative framework, creating content and distributing content across platforms.

Our country is in the midst of many narrative changes. We’re seeing a lot of old narratives knocked down and new ones being built in their place. It’s an opportunity to make real change on a wide range of issues..

How to Change Media and Communications Narratives