Great social media content may also offer an equally rich Every story we read as kids had a beginning, middle, and conclusion; a conflict or climax; and a moral lesson of some kind. message when executed properly.
A great story teaches us something about the world and ourselves; it’s not simply about words. A compelling story is also told by excellent content marketing.
As customers expect more from businesses, we are witnessing increasingly creative applications of storytelling in brand development, some with the use of artificial intelligence (AI).
Instead of just purchasing something because it’s “cool,” more customers are interested in a brand’s ethos and mission to determine whether it is dedicated to something significant (like a social issue or cause).
What is the most effective approach to share a story on social media, then? Let’s examine 11 fantastic methods!
- Create a Story Arc (Long)
In basically, a story is a series of events with certain basic components. Social media gives you many opportunities to express stories in novel ways that go beyond conventional advertising and storytelling.
You may have limitations (like length), but you also have a lot of tools at your disposal.
It’s crucial to consider your end goals and work backwards when creating social media content as part of a campaign or advertising strategy. Ask yourself things like:
- What does your business’s goal look like in a year or five years?
• In terms of your goal or desired audience, where would you like to be?
• How do you intend to grow both internationally and demographically?
• How do you compare with your competition?
What if you could take your audience and customers on a longer journey? Every image, blog post, video, and clip should create a tiny story on its own.
Considering how every piece of content adds to your brand and business narrative, you have the ability to ‘hook’ individuals over time.
The beginning, middle, and end of your “story arc” can be thought of in this way. Not just for every piece of content, but also in relation to your long-term objectives and USP.
Let’s examine the beauty company Dove as a prime example. The company, which started out as a soap brand, has made storytelling the focal point of its marketing efforts in an effort to empower women by spreading a message of acceptance and self-worth.
To increase awareness of the possible effects of artificial intelligence in the beauty business, Dove launched their The Code campaign.
In spite of artificial intelligence (AI)-generated or phony images that pushes women to change their appearance due to online influences, the advertisement below attempts to encourage them to maintain authenticity in beauty.
- Don’t Tell, Show
Whether it relates to social media or any other form of advertising, showing is always better than telling when it comes to conveying a message.
What does this signify, though?
In the context of social media, this may be as easy as making an engaging infographic or video or combining a captivating image with an attention-grabbing title to swiftly convey your message—or the main idea of it. You only have a few seconds to convey your message, so why not make it as concise and eye-catching as you can?
This’show, don’t tell’ storytelling is exemplified by the technology platform GoPro. Although they do have promotional videos to showcase their latest camera, most of them demonstrate how to use their cameras and the amazing results they produce. Not only does the GoPro team upload footage, but millions of users also wish to share their athletic accomplishments.
The ‘Best of 2024’ on YouTube is compiled here, showcasing the capabilities of their cameras without promoting the product but demonstrating its use!
- Write Like an Author
Do you have any experience writing fiction or non-fiction online or in copywriting? Although some skill does help, you actually don’t need to be an expert in any field to master storytelling on social media.
However, what will draw attention are originality, audacity, and the kind of message that gets right to the point—or at the very least, teases the incredible things that are about to happen.
Sometimes, depending on your audience, this will include more of a story with some standard narrative components. Consider the hero’s journey, which usually has an unexpected hero (the protagonist) who is forced to take a life-altering action (save the world from destruction).
Your audience will likely be interested right away if you can use the same techniques that fiction writers use to engage them. Additionally, keep in mind that SEO writing is crucial for social media and search; using the appropriate keywords means reaching the right audience.
4) Use Influencers and Other Partners.
Working with influencers and strategic partners is a smart strategy to get a greater audience to see your stories on social media. When influencers share your story or brand message, it feels more real and relatable since they already have trust with their followers. These relationships can give your message a personal touch and get people to interact with it who wouldn’t normally do so, whether it’s through sponsored posts, story takeovers, reels, or co-branded material. Pick influencers who share your brand’s beliefs and target audience to make the relationship feel natural and easy.
5) Use AI
Humans will always be needed to provide humor, imagination, and a personal touch to AI writing techniques, such as narrative.
- Idea generation and social research activities are a lot easier to accomplish with AI copywriting tools such as ChatGPT and Jasper, which have clear and easy-to-follow prompt structures.
You can ask ChatsGPT things like:
• AI can also assist you write the first drafts of video scripts, campaign blogs, and social media posts. Marketers and freelancers who work alone or in small groups with tight deadlines also need proofreading and editing tools to avoid making mistakes that could have been avoided.
You should think of AI technologies as helpers that can do tasks without taking away from the work or materials you already have. This will help you use AI on social media more effectively.
Other AI-based solutions for social media:
Tools for seeing
• Canva: Lets you make ads, infographics, and social media posts using templates.
• Adobe Express: A simple design tool for generating your own visual story presentations.
• Lumen5: Turns screenplays and other written stuff into short films using AI.
Video creation & editing tools
- Animoto: Make narrative videos by dragging and dropping.
• InVideo: Create video ads with pre-made themes that are easy to use.
• CapCut: A basic mobile editor for stories that lets you add effects and transitions.
Script & storyboard tools
- Idea and Trello: Keep track of story arcs, campaign concepts, and content calendars.
• Boords: Software for working together on storyboards.
• Writer and Grammarly: tools for improving narrative prose, social media captions, and advertising copy.
6) Connect With Your Followers
Social media platforms include a lot of integrated analytics tools that let you see how many people are interacting with and engaging with each post. This should help you figure out how popular you are on a lot of different sites.
Analyzing social media information reveals insights, and you are able to uncover additional areas of interest developing in your social media data.
Did that particular piece, longer blog, or ebook have a previous resonance? Could it have been a humorous video that received a lot of shares?
From there, you may create an original story by using these insights to understand what is affecting your audience.
To assist communicate your objective and message in a novel way, think about utilizing Facebook Live, making TikTok content that capitalizes on trends, or making witty and humorous films. It’s crucial to add some variety to your social media feed whenever possible because long-time followers are likely to grow tired of seeing the same old content.
Check out Scrub Daddy’s TikTok page to discover how they engage with their 4.3 million+ fans and promote new products with humor and a mascot.
7) Make It Meaningful
Maybe you’ve done a lot of audience research and market research, and you’ve gotten to know your present clients well enough.
Finding what makes your product significant to the audience is a crucial component of reaching people when creating a brand story or campaign. What matters to them both now and in the future in terms of importance?
An airline that offers one-way travel discounts, for example, could wish to target digital nomads who might be using these flights as part of their regular lifestyle choice to stay “on the road” rather than just emphasizing how much the flights cost.
You can create a brand narrative and a collection of storyline snippets to illustrate a need with an emotional foundation after you have determined what is extremely important to your audience.
For instance, the beauty business Milk Makeup did not go the usual direct-to-consumer path when it first debuted. Rather, it trusted its gut and fostered community and belief to foster loyalty.
Campaign says it wasn’t because it went viral that it became one of Gen Z’s most trusted brands, but rather because it stood for veganism and clean beauty. makeup long before it ever made a sale. Additionally, a lot of young women react to the attitude.
8) Use Features to Get Personal
Social media platforms offer a plethora of options that can help you quickly communicate emotion, authenticity, and immediacy.
The most popular ones that spring to mind are TikTok, Snapchat Stories, and Instagram video formats. Each of these can be used to create short-lived real-time videos.
Because it offers an instant of actual life, this kind of ephemeral marketing is particularly well-liked by millennials and younger people. In the internet age, people are increasingly seeking authenticity, thus providing a genuine look into someone’s personal life can occasionally feel refreshing.
The best thing about these tools, along with Facebook Stories and Facebook Live, is that you don’t really need to use a lot of words or create anything special. It’s more than sufficient to just show someone a live person speaking or acting in real time. Additionally, it’s the ideal chance to showcase your goods or services in a practical setting.
Consider how National Geographic uses Instagram Stories. The brand uses Stories to teach and inform people about a variety of topics related to science and the natural world by utilizing stunning images.
The straightforward but visually appealing story asks viewers if they are aware of the differences between several animals and provides information about each to enlighten them.
9) Go Short
Short-form video has grown in popularity in recent years.Indeed, according to Wyzowl research, 30% of viewers finish short videos and 44% of consumers prefer to learn about products through them over other formats.
This is mostly because TikTok, which relies on short-form videos for its revenue, is so popular! As a result, producers, influencers, and businesses are now producing powerful 15–60 second videos.
Other platforms have responded to this demand for short-form videos. While Instagram Reels or Instagram Shorts are also a major attraction for the platform, YouTube Shorts has become incredibly popular. However, if Facebook Reels is a popular site for your brand, it also accepts short movies that range in duration from 3 to 90 seconds.
A short-form video is a fantastic method to grab attention and entice viewers to your longer-form content, like studies or blogs. Using a hook, developing the narrative, and finally offering a solution or conclusion is the secret to a great short video.
Here’s an outstanding instance from Levis on Instagram, which frequently uses videos to highlight their denim and increase brand recognition. In just 19 seconds, this humorous voiceover film serves as a “behind the scenes” example.
10) Use data visualization
A lot of customers want to see data from brands, especially when it comes to transparent reporting or sustainable practices. However, they don’t want to have to conduct a thorough online investigation.
Data visualization can help with it. Sharing information visually not only makes it easier for individuals to access and comprehend, but it also encourages meaningful interaction.
As an illustration, suppose you have intriguing original research that would be of interest to both your target audience and the industry at large. Making a thorough study report or whitepaper is fantastic, but most people don’t have the time to process that much material.
To disseminate the information, make an infographic, basic bar chart, interactive map, or carousel of the main conclusions on social media. Or produce a brief film featuring a senior executive or prominent figure from the industry summarizing the results.
To develop visual tales, think about experimenting with programs like Flourish, Piktochart, or Datawrapper.
LinkedIn can be an effective medium for this kind of content, but if you customize it, it could perform well on any channel.
11) Build a Community
Don’t undervalue the influence of social media communities. Many people prefer to interact and communicate on social media platforms, even though customers may use it as a customer service channel to voice concerns, ask questions, or even share positive news.
Therefore, it’s good to concentrate on the community when using social media. Post polls or questions to interact with your followers. Then, to demonstrate that you have paid attention, spend some time sharing the outcomes of those conversations.
Groups on Facebook and LinkedIn provide an excellent platform for engaging with your audience and allowing them to voice their thoughts or concerns. In order to offer them room to talk and support you, you need also allow the group members to connect with one another.
“I don’t believe that convincing individuals to join their community is the brand’s responsibility. The work should be done for them by their real audience, customers, and community. In a DMI podcast, Kineta Kelsall, the founder of the School of Social and a LinkedIn trainer, stated, “They simply need to create a space for that to occur, and that space isn’t just having a social media platform, being on TikTok or YouTube, but also showing up around important cultural moments or things that matter to audiences.”
For instance, Canva boasts a Facebook design community with over 450,000 members where users can learn how to get the most out of the platform and receive the most recent information from the Canva team, including events, tips, and updates.
In recent years, Reddit has become more popular as a social network, drawing large numbers of users who seek information and guidance from the channel. Another well-liked platform among gamers is Discord, if you wish to interact with this demographic.
You may share valuable material on your platforms by developing a community. Brands find that user-generated content is a great way to communicate the story of a product or service from the perspective of a customer.
Final Thoughts
Customers appreciate having so many options when it comes to their purchasing power. However, due of the intense competition, it can occasionally be detrimental to marketers.
The good news is that very few businesses can still create a compelling story on social media that connects with their audience. Ensure that your brand is among them.
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