Social media in the age of storytelling

[et_pb_section admin_label="Section" fullwidth="off" specialty="off"][et_pb_row admin_label="row" make_fullwidth="off" use_custom_width="off" width_unit="on" use_custom_gutter="off" padding_mobile="off" allow_player_pause="off" parallax="off" parallax_method="off" make_equal="off" parallax_1="off" parallax_method_1="off" column_padding_mobile="on"][et_pb_column type="4_4"][et_pb_text admin_label="P" background_layout="light" text_orientation="left" text_text_color="#333333" use_border_color="off" border_color="#ffffff" border_style="solid" custom_css_main_element="text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;" text_font_size="18" text_font="Open Sans||||" text_letter_spacing="1" text_line_height="1.5"]Every story needs a beginning, middle and end - it's no different when communicating online. You are only as good as the story you tell and this is as true for traditional storytelling as it is for content marketing. What we need to remember is that we are constantly communicating to our audiences. We are carving our story with every tweet that we send, every status that we update, and with the content that we share. We may not identify ourselves as storytellers, but we are the narrators of the brands we represent and of the stories we tell about them. The real question is, how do you tell a good story? Like all storytelling you must first plan what it is you want to say and to whom. What story do you want to tell? You must be able to answer this question before any results or targets or other influences take hold. It may sound simple, but its the simple questions that are often the hardest to answer. The same is true when developing a social media strategy. You are constructing a storyline for the product or service you wish to share with the world. It's a global audience that you are talking to and a good story can go far and wide.[/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label="H2" background_layout="light" text_orientation="left" use_border_color="off" border_color="#ffffff" border_style="solid"]

Forget marketing and think storytelling

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label="P" background_layout="light" text_orientation="left" text_text_color="#333333" use_border_color="off" border_color="#ffffff" border_style="solid" custom_css_main_element="text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;" text_font_size="18" text_font="Open Sans||||" text_letter_spacing="1" text_line_height="1.5"]Customers and people don't want to be marketed to. They've been overloaded with sales and the game has changed. Consumers see marketing like a bad sales call and it turns people off; or worse, it turns people against the very products or services you're promoting. It's clich, it's predictable, and your customer is now resilient to it. The way we communicate has changed and as communicators need to change our approach. Content is king, but that content needs to be engaging, readable, accessible and most importantly, worthy of our time. Time is precious. You are competing with 24-hour news and mass volumes of content produced online every second, so you need to stand out for the crowd. Audiences want stories. They want to be communicated with. They want to share your news but it has to be shareable. They want their friends and their friend's friends to see their updates, and to see the gems they share. It's about telling a compelling story. If you want your product or service to influence, then you need to look at the story you are telling and learn what differentiates yours from the competition.[/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label="H2" background_layout="light" text_orientation="left" use_border_color="off" border_color="#ffffff" border_style="solid"]

Cutting through the noise

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label="P" background_layout="light" text_orientation="left" text_text_color="#333333" use_border_color="off" border_color="#ffffff" border_style="solid" custom_css_main_element="text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;" text_font_size="18" text_font="Open Sans||||" text_letter_spacing="1" text_line_height="1.5"]That's where your social media strategy comes in. You need to have these discussions and debate back and forth, before you launch full force into the market. It's about planning, knowing what you are doing and why. Don't forget that behind every device and on every medium, you are talking to people. These audiences are made up of real people, who have busy lives and need information, not jargon. Next, once your social media planning has been prepared you need to tell your story. In every story, something must happen or change. This stands true for business as well. You must make your case that your product or service will solve a problem, provide a solution, or enhance a service. Anticipation can be a great trick in social media storytelling. For example, in the launch of any product or service, or in the senior appointment of a professional, anticipation can grow and so can your audience. We see this in everyday life and, most notably, in the news. Presenters and reporters will speculate and build up a sense of anticipation and excitement for their viewers. They create a sense of drama. It's an old storytelling technique before the grand unveiling and realization of the announcement - it works.Managing the accounts of clients is no different. You have access to their markets, to their competitors, and to their consumers, and you can build the anticipation of an announcement, a venture, or a change in the way the company is seeking to do business. It will grow your audience and increase your engagement with them.[/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label="H2" background_layout="light" text_orientation="left" use_border_color="off" border_color="#ffffff" border_style="solid"]

Establish a voice that is open and inviting and authoritative

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label="P" background_layout="light" text_orientation="left" text_text_color="#333333" use_border_color="off" border_color="#ffffff" border_style="solid" custom_css_main_element="text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;" text_font_size="18" text_font="Open Sans||||" text_letter_spacing="1" text_line_height="1.5"]You want your audience to come back for more. Your voice must be consistent, reliable and true to its brand: it must be authentic. The story you are telling also needs to be continuous. Once you have opened the dialogue, it's a two-way conversation. The ultimate goal may be to create a lead or a call to action, but like any good storyteller, these messages will be weaved within the narrative until you have build up loyalty and trust from your audience. This will then allow you to direct and guide your audience through to a solution. Audiences enjoy being led down a narrative where they are a part of the story. They like solutions that apply to them and it will be your role to highlight and guide your audience to the conclusion that you have planned. What do you think? Do you use storytelling in your social media strategy? What social storytelling has inspired you? Share your thoughts and start the conversation.[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label="row" make_fullwidth="off" use_custom_width="off" width_unit="on" use_custom_gutter="off" padding_mobile="off" allow_player_pause="off" parallax="off" parallax_method="off" make_equal="off" parallax_1="off" parallax_method_1="off" column_padding_mobile="on"][et_pb_column type="4_4"][et_pb_button admin_label="Button" button_url="https://heyorca.com/blog/team-collaboration/how-to-foster-collaboration-within-your-agency/" url_new_window="off" button_text="Discover Agency Collaboration Tools" button_alignment="center" background_layout="light" custom_button="off" button_use_icon="default" button_icon_placement="right" button_on_hover="on" button_letter_spacing_hover="0"][/et_pb_button][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]