The Obama Administration has done an amazing job of harnessing the power of the Internet to reach the public, communicate the president’s position on important initiatives and gather personal stories of the American people. Through social media tools, e-mails and blogs, President Obama is encouraging open communication and asking his most important audience – you – to share your stories.

To continue the grassroots activism built during his campaign, the president announced in January 2009 the formation of “Organizing for America,” a new group that some are calling the flagship of Obama 2.0.

Organizing for America has collected thousands of stories from people across the nation to learn how they are coping with the economic crisis. For example, on Feb. 17, an e-mail from the president was sent to his list of more than 13 million names asking people to help him measure the recovery plan through the personal stories of people who are struggling to make ends meet.

Collected stories have been published online and can be read here.

According to the Obama Administration, these stories show why a recovery plan is needed. The administration is not only fulfilling its goal to collect stories and build support, but is also garnering the attention of national press such as The New York Times and Reuters.

With an overwhelming number of responses from thousands of Americans, it’s clear that many people favor a quick implementation of the recovery plan – further supporting President Obama’s efforts to push the stimulus bill. This is an excellent example of harnessing social media to build support for a cause.

From a PR perspective, organizations can take a similar approach and leverage the power of their customers to support a new product or initiative. Danskin is one company that successfully employs this approach by sending e-mails to triathlon participants to find out, “Why I Tri,” thereby gathering personal stories to use in outreach efforts.

Organizations can reach out to customers to not only gather valuable insight, but also share their stories with media. Sharing personal stories can help an organization accomplish the following:

Offer media real stories that capture the emotional and functional benefits of a campaign from the consumer perspectives.
Build loyalty with existing customers. Requesting personal stories fosters a connection and tells customers, “You care about me.”
Attract new customers by word-of-mouth marketing. Existing customers can make the best spokespeople for because they are often viewed as trustworthy, since they are not directly affiliated with the organization.

Personal stories also provide organizations with valuable insights. By requesting these stories, organizations find out what resonates most with customers. Stories can also highlight areas where a product or service may be lacking. Ultimately, this can help an organization build stronger products or services that better meet customer demands.

For more information on how to leverage personal stories for your organization, please contact us at info@communiquepr.com.