Social Media Storytelling

Welcome our latest blogger - Lloyd of The Social Tree. Here he tells us how to use storytelling in our social media posts.

What do I mean by the Social Media Story Telling you may be asking?

Well Long story or should I say blog short, these are stories that we create for our social media channels to build a following and increase follower engagement. Whether this is through Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Linked in or even Google+, your story is one thing that all brands and businesses alike have in common. But what if I told you that the best way to create a story for your brand is by documenting the one you already have!

This is particularly important since platforms such as Facebook and Instagram have adapted their algorithm to hone in on organic and paid for ad’s. Making it so important to create powerful and meaningful organic posts. 

You may be wondering what I'm on about? Well the truth of it is, you defied all odds and started a business. You took the leap and tried to create something to change the lives of yourself and hopefully others. Isn’t that just the best story to tell. It creates and adds a personality to a brand. Doing this right will work wonders for you and your business/brand. Creating a community of individuals all buying in to your Social Story.

Why do you think companies such as GymShark have done so well, particularly across social media? They have a story to tell, a rags to riches story about two students that had a dream to change the face of the fitness industry, through empowering individuals to feel comfortable in the way that they look and feel in the gym. Their marketing efforts and social media simply needed to reflect this in order to convey their message, and that is exactly what they did. They went to where their customers were, utilising YouTube and Instagram Influencers to promote their products across a variety of channels. Even the CEO/CBO Ben Francis posts explanatory videos of the story behind Gym Shark and how he created and grew the brand from his living room. The Youtube video generated over 865,000 views and helped him achieve enormous growth on his personal Instagram account to over 124,000 followers.

Those of you may be thinking, this is all well and good, but what about us with a personal brand, how can we deliver powerful content if we aren’t delivering a product or service? Let me set the scene for you. A few weeks ago, a client believed she had run out of content for her Blog and Instagram so came to me for some advice. So, I asked her a few simple questions to get her thinking and start documenting. I said, “talk me through your day, what did you do this morning?”. The response was one I am sure 90% of us can relate to, she purchased a coffee! I then asked “Where did you buy the coffee from” her reply, “Mettricks”. “Okay, so why did you pick Mettricks over say Starbucks”. She then listed off about 10 different reasons as to why Mettricks was better than Starbucks and what sets them aside from the competition. “So there’s your story”. I am sure she could then write at least 1000 words for her blog about coffee, and have at least a few days’ worth of engaging content for her Instagram story and profile. It doesn’t need to stop there either, you can document your entire day, even those moments that you feel are boring and that no one will engage with will add some personality to your business and establish extra touch points between you and your potential customers.

The truth of it is that most people are guilty of being obsessed with the reflection of reality on social media. Hence why I became a Social Media Manager and Marketer in the first place. I thrive of the way individuals are so enthused in others social story and how it effects purchasing behaviour.

Thank you for reading my first blog, I hope that you have found some value from the content. Feel free to contact me if you have any further questions regarding social media.

Lloyd Attrill
The Socialtree
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