Every Post Is An Opportunity To Tell A Story: Crafting Compelling, High-Impact Narratives For Maximum Social Media Engagement
Did you know that 68% of consumers say that brand stories influence their purchasing decisions? That companies with compelling brand stories report a 20% increase in loyalty? And that 55% of customers are more likely to remember a story than a list of facts?
Yes, we realise the irony there, given that we’ve just reeled off three facts, but the point here is important: mastering social media means mastering storytelling. As people, we are naturally predisposed to pay attention to stories. It’s how knowledge and wisdom were shared before writing was even invented, after all.
In an age where nearly five billion pieces of content are shared on Facebook each day, if you want your brand to stand out, you want to work with a social media marketing agency that can convert your social media presence into a series of stories that would have impressed Shakespeare himself.
It Starts With Understanding Your Audience
Think about the kinds of movies that get played at your local cinema. The line-up for the newest superhero film might be out the door, but there will be some people in there for the latest indie horror release. Some people love true crime while others can’t stand it. Not everyone signed up to go to both Barbie and Oppenheimer, no matter how much Hollywood tried to make Barbenheimer a thing.
In other words: Not everyone likes the same kind of story.
The first step in crafting a compelling narrative is understanding who you’re speaking to and what stories they like to see. Putting all the jokes above aside, this means doing some analysis of both your current and desired audience. A good social media marketing agency will sit down with you to help with asking questions like these:
Who is your target audience?
- Understand their demographics, interests, and needs.
- Consider factors like age, gender, location, and cultural background.
What stories resonate with your audience?
- Analyse existing content that has engaged them.
- Identify common themes, emotions, and topics they connect with.
What are their pain points or challenges?
- Explore the problems your audience faces.
- How can your narrative address these issues?
What tone and style do they prefer?
- Is your audience drawn to humour, seriousness, or inspiration?
- What content of yours are they currently responding to?
Where do they consume content?
- Are they active on social media, blogs, podcasts, or other platforms?
- What kind of presence do you have on those specific platforms?
In short, you really want to know what your ideal customer’s aspirations and desires are, so you can tap into their dreams and really align yourself with what is important to them.
Armed with that knowledge, you will then be ready to craft a narrative that catches their attention.
What Are The Elements Of A Good Social Media Story?
You probably remember a bit about the rules of storytelling from those English classes back at school. The basics do apply here: whether you’re writing an entire novel, or just a single social media post, a good story has a clear structure with a beginning, middle and end.
Obviously, if you’re doing a social media post you don’t have the space to provide a backstory of the depth of Aragon from The Lord of the Rings, but you do want to have a protagonist that the audience can root for (you want to make your customer put themselves in the shoes of the protagonist!), a challenge or conflict to face (that’s the problem that they’re having), and a resolution (that’s where your brand comes in, in providing the solution to their problem and leaving them satisfied, challenge overcome).
You’ll be amazed at just how efficient this kind of storytelling structure can be. It’s even possible to achieve in a single minute-long video or just a few words of text. It can be done for pieces as content as short as a single social media post. As long as the structure and message is clear, and you’re authentic with that messaging, then the basic rules of storytelling are all you need to follow with social media.
Get Into Visual Media
Here’s a fascinating statistic to keep in mind: 65% of people are visual learners. This means they retain information much better if it’s visually engaging than if they need to read it, interpret it and store it.
What does this mean for social media storytelling? Well, as the adage says: “a picture tells a thousand words.” Simply by adding a visual element to your posts – be that an image or video – you’ll see a much higher level of interaction, better conversions, and people will remember the stories that you tell so much better.
Make Your Stories Interactive
Traditionally, marketing was a one-way street. You’d create an advertisement, stick it on the TV or in the newspaper, and then wait for the customer enquiry calls to come in. There are still elements of that in the digital world too, with your website becoming one of the most effective ways to reach your customers, and it is a piece of content that, for the most part, acts as a broadcaster of information.
However, social media works a little differently, and you can be far less passive in your role in communication with it. The most effective social media strategies involve responding to customer’s comments – and not just the questions, either! Instead, it’s about being “part of the group” and genuinely interacting with your users.
A good example of this might be user-generated content (UGC). Let’s say you’re a fashion brand, and someone posts a video showing off their purchase from you. By taking the time to have a fun interaction with that customer, and sharing that media with the rest of your community, you’re helping spread the stories that are being created around your brand.
The impact of embracing two-way communication really can’t be overstated: A full 71% of consumers with “joyful” interactions with brands on social media, carried by two-way conversations, will likely recommend your brand to their peers. That’s word-of-mouth advertising that money cannot buy.
The Role of a Social Media Marketing Agency
A good social media marketing agency is critical for helping you to develop and then execute your stories. Equally important is keeping an eye on the performance of your campaigns, monitoring the growth and dynamics of your social media community, and then using that information to further refine the stories that you tell so they have the maximum impact. Social media isn’t a short-term commitment. Nor is it set-and-forget. To make the most of your online presence it needs to be an ongoing commitment and process, and with that commitment, you’ll start to see the kinds of results that only social media can drive.
Remember: Every single post you make on social media is an opportunity to tell a story. It’s time to indulge your inner creative self!