How to use storytelling in social media

Storytelling is an art.

It's one of the oldest and most potent forms of communication. Storytelling is a way to share your experiences, connect with others, and create narratives that can shape lives.

It's not just limited to literature anymore. Storytelling has slowly and steadily made a spot in marketing. For brands, storytelling has become a powerful marketing tool. But the question is how and where can you apply story telling to achieve business goals?

Storytelling And Social Media

Storytelling and social media are a killer combination for marketing.

In the age of online connectivity, sharing stories about your brands, products, and customers, creates emotional connections and inspires loyalty and advocacy.

What's more, storytelling can help you stand out in a crowd. All you'll have to do is leave memorable messages and stories. For example, take this Dove's 'Pass the Crown' campaign.

Image Source: Dove, Instagram

In this campaign, through a lovely story of a mother-daughter, Dove inspired the young girls to accept their beauty and to 'pass the crown' of confidence to others. And it worked! Dove got high engagement, more sales, and improved brand loyalty.

Creative, engaging storytelling can do wonders for social media marketing.

You can share brand stories on Facebook or customer stories on Twitter. No matter which platforms you choose, the focus should be on crafting and sharing stories that are resonating and entertaining.

Tips For Storytelling On Social Media

Crafting an engaging story is not a piece of cake.

You'll need to understand the basics and have a few tricks up your sleeves to tell stories that stick with the audience. The basics that you should know and consider for storytelling are -

• Know your brand
• Understand your customers
• Research their needs and wants
• Create storyboards for each platform

Once done with these basic steps, you'll have to turn your mind upside down to develop an exciting story. But it isn't so easy. So here are some tips which you can use to craft captivating stories without much hassle.

Add Cliffhangers

One such technique is using cliffhangers. By ending your posts with a question or a tantalizing detail, you can encourage your followers to stick around for more.

For example, if you are featuring a customer story, you can use cliffhangers to ask questions like 'What happened next?' or 'Will the customer get his wish fulfilled?' It will drive users' curiosity and encourage them to stay connected with your brand.

Use Creative Visuals

Another effective technique is using intrigue. And what can be more intriguing than creative visuals?

For example, this Airbnb post is about Hebden Bridge, a former industrial town in Yorkshire. Through this post, the brand promoted a stay called The Cabin in the town. But rather than making a story on the hotel or lodge, They focused on the owners, an LGBTQ couple. And used their picture to pique the curiosity of the audience.

Hints, creative and teaser images are a great way to get people curious about your content. And this curiosity will ultimately lead them to read your content. And accept it or not, we have all been there, reading content because of exciting visuals.

Choose The Right Tone Of Voice

In the case of storytelling, nothing is as important as the tone of the voice used.

You'll have to choose the right words to convey the story in a way that resonates with your brand. If you want to be serious, use words that inspire seriousness. If you want to create a light-hearted story, use a voice that is more fun and casual.

How you say something is more important than what you are saying. So, make sure to choose the right tone of voice for your stories.

We're all suckers for a good story! And by using these storytelling tips, you can create content that will captivate your audience and keep them coming back for more.

Include Both Conflict And Resolution

A story is incomplete without conflict and resolution. Without them, your story will quickly become uninteresting. That's why you should include both elements.

Your stories should not just be entertaining, they should also help people solve problems. No one is going to read a story or campaign for the sake of it, until and unless it's solving their problem or providing them with some kind of incentive.

But the solution should always come later on. First, you'll have to pronounce the problem. For instance, take this Leftover recipe campaign of Sainbury's, which is driven by the aim to reduce food wastage. Here, you find a conflict and resolution both.

They began by telling how bread is one of the most wasted food items. And then you get the Leftover recipes for bread, a solution to reduce bread wastage.

Just like this one, you should also state a problem and then use your brand's expertise to resolve it. Remember, storytelling is not just about creativity, it's also about helping people and conveying the brand's message.

Some Examples To Learn From

Intel

Intel did an amazing job of promoting its product Project Athena-based laptop, through video storytelling.

They came up with a 'more than one’ tagline and told the story of Marty Martinez, a delegate, digital marketer, and climate activist. Intel was trying to tell its customers that they have come up with a laptop that can help multi-taskers like Marty Martinez to do more.

This campaign of Intel is a perfect example of how storytelling can be used effectively to promote a product.

Amazon

Amazon has had many campaigns that revolve around storytelling. But, out of so many stories, this story of Zach and Alexa is amazing and so well crafted.

Here, Alexa is the protagonist and Zach is the beneficiary of Alexa’s help. They shared the inspiring story of Alex and also highlighted how helpful Alexa can be in everyday life. They turned Alexa into a character.

Through this campaign, they made millions aware of Alexa's features.

Creating a happily every after every day on social media

Storytelling is a powerful tool to connect with your audience. It helps you create an emotional connection that can be used to build relationships and establish a meaningful connection with your audience. You'll always leverage social media trends with this approach.

And more or less, nowadays, social media dominates our lives. So it's more important than ever to create content that is engaging and tells a story on social media for marketing. And the tips for creating captivating stories have already been shared above.

Keep them in mind and create interesting stories for each platform to engage your audience. And don't forget, it’s about getting your audience to stick around for more. So start telling stories that will keep them around and make them return.