How to Use Storytelling in Your Social Media Strategy
Storytelling is a powerful tactic to adopt in your social media strategy. Stories evoke memories and emotions that help consumers build meaningful connections with the ‘human’ side of your business. But, how do you successfully capture the story behind your brand and share it in an intriguing way?
While there are many different avenues to share your story, social media stands out as the best medium. Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube and Twitter allow business to communicate through emotive visuals and reach targeted consumers. Here are a few ways to successfully use storytelling in your social media strategy.
Share your Brands Story
Sharing the story behind your brand and the values that drive your business forward can help showcase your unique personality. Consumers want to see your products/services as more than a commodity. They want to be able to “buy in” and relate to the message behind them. Sharing the values of your business in a unique way can resonate with consumers and help you build a loyal following.
TOMs shoes are the perfect example of this. The company was built after their founder visited an Argentinian village and found that the children had no shoes to wear. Wanting to help, the company was set up to give one pair of shoes back to a community in need for every pair purchased.
In a recent campaign, they asked their audience to post a photo barefoot using the hashtag #withoutshoes. For every photo using their hashtag, the company committed to donating a pair of shoes to a child in need. This tapped into their consumers' emotions and saw TOMS provide over 27,000 pairs of shoes to children around the world. TOMS shoes have a strong vision for social responsibility and have successfully used social media to share their vision, mission and reach loyal consumers by telling their story.
Sequence your Posts to Create Attractive Stories
Using social media to create sequential posts that build a story can keep your audience engaged and intrigued. This can be a perfect approach for new product launches and events where you want to build anticipation and suspense. However, brands can also dig a little deeper and tell an intriguing story about the company.
Nokia used Facebook’s timeline feature to share images about the company from way back in the 1800’s when they were still a tyre and rubber boot manufacturer! Through visual aid and engaging captions, the company detailed key events that made the brand what they are today.
While this may be a lot of work, there are much easier ways to tell a story. For example, you could use a series of tweets to tell a narrative. There are many different ways to do this and getting creative can help you see success.
Incorporate User-generated Content
User-generated content (UGC) is one of the most effective ways to reach consumers, especially if you are on a budget. People take advice from friends and family when it comes to purchasing decisions, and UGC incorporates your customers' experiences to build trust and increase engagement.
Businesses can utilise UGC by motivating customers to share their stories across different channels. Research shows 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations, and encouraging users to share photos, videos, and testimonials can make your brand much more 'likeable.' How do your customers use the product? What do they enjoy about it? Facilitating a platform that encourages users to share their story is much more effective than brand-generated content.
A great example of user-generated content is the Apple, ‘Shot on iPhone’ campaign. The company promoted amazing photography on billboards around world shot using only iPhone. The company showed the capabilities of the camera and emphasised the possibilities that real users could achieve. Apple launched an Instagram page on the back of the campaign to encourage their audience to share photos through the hashtag #shotoniPhone.
Use Storytelling in Your Social Media Strategy Today
Incorporating storytelling into your social media strategy is one of the fastest ways to achieve success. Cutting through the noise and being creative can help you reach the right audience that propels your brand's growth.
