Best Practices: Telling the Story of Public Transportation

Recently, I’ve begun to hear the word “storytelling” everywhere. 

A designer at Fashion Week says he tells a story with his clothing. A famous actor ignites controversy when he declares himself a storyteller rather than a thespian. A doctor examining me at a recent checkup: “Our bodies are vessels for stories.” 

Storytelling is a buzzword, not just in marketing and communications, but everywhere. A search returns hundreds of articles exclaiming the benefits of telling your brand’s story. Another search turns up hundreds of articles decrying the “overuse” and “abuse” of the term. 

It may be a buzzword, but it’s an important one. So, I say: forget those claims of abuse and overuse. Let’s not put storytelling into a box—let's expand it.  

Storytelling is a way of thinking, a means of interpreting and giving meaning to experiences. In the ever-changing transportation industry, it’s an incredible tool.  

At Bay Area Rapid Transit, communicating our significance is important all the time, but even more so now as we stare down a financial crisis. Our agency is talking a lot about numbers – budget deficits, fiscal cliffs, ridership data. Numbers are important, but they don’t paint a holistic picture of our agency’s role in the region. Storytelling can fill in the gaps. 

You don’t need a huge communications team or a dedicated storyteller to do this work. Stories big and small, highly produced or lo-fi, leave a lasting impact on your audience if you know how to find them and tell them. 

It’s not just marketing and communications teams who can wield the power of storytelling. Remember my opening paragraphs? Storytelling is a tool with expansive applications. Executives can utilize its principles in remarks at station openings. Engineers can use it to compel the CEO to approve their project. HR can harness it to convince a candidate to take the job. 

Because I work in communications, the stories I tell are of a more traditional nature – blog posts, videos and social media. But whether you work in my field or not, knowing how to tell a good story is a valuable skill. 

Telling a story: The basics 

It's time to tell the story. What now? Before putting pen to paper, ask yourself: 

• Who do I want to read/watch this story? 
• What strategic messages do I need to convey?  
• When is the right time to tell this story?  
• How can I tell this story in an affecting way? 

How do you know if your story will be effective? Start by asking yourself what makes a good story. This is how I’d answer.  

A good story: 

• Takes us on a journey through time. 
• Invites us to step into another’s shoes. 
• Shows us something we've never seen. 
• Illuminates the fantastical in what once seemed mundane. 

Once you’ve determined what you believe makes for a quality tale, go out and find some stories. The best way to do so? Get out there and strike up some conversations. 

To end, I’d like to leave you with the five Ws of public transportation storytelling. 

Why tell stories 

• Convey transit’s importance 
• Appeal to emotion 
• Increase brand affinity 
• Change/challenge perspectives 
• Garner support/advocates 
• Celebrate customers/employees 

What stories to tell 

• Stories that advance strategic goals 
• Stories that address customer concerns/complaints 
• Stories that are emotionally compelling 
• Stories that bring your agency to life 

Where to tell stories 

• Blogs 
• News releases 
• Social media 
• Internal newsletters 
• Media spots 
• Presentations/speeches 
• Reports 

What to tell stories about 

• Newsworthy events 
• Hardworking employees 
• Customers 
• Engineering innovations 
• Interesting infrastructure 
• History 

When to Tell Them 

• Now