Storytelling is a key element of any digital marketing strategy. It enables a brand to build a personal relationship with their audience, create a narrative that they can engage with, and appear more personable and transparent. Some of the biggest brands around are amazing storytellers, and in doing so have curated a clear, authentic narrative that audiences can love and trust.
One of our favourite examples of brand storytelling is from the one and only Yorkshire Tea. As well as maintaining a consistently colloquial tone of voice across their social media platforms, their 2017 TV ad campaign featuring iconic local celebrities in a series of funny, imaginative ads added further to their friendly, quintessentially northern persona.
Social media is the perfect platform on which to create and execute a storytelling campaign to your audience. But how exactly can it be done? Here are some tips on how to use social media storytelling in your digital marketing strategy:
Tell your story
The incredibly fast-paced and saturated nature of social media feeds means that many marketers might lean towards the idea that short and snappy posts are the way to go – image-heavy content, with minimal amounts of text. While many studies have shown that visual content is more effective in conveying information to an audience, it’s important to remember the power of the two mediums combined in creating engaging storytelling.
Think of the hugely popular Humans of New York series – this emotionally charged blog uses photo content combined with large chunks of text with background information to tell the complete story of each featured person, each post garnering huge numbers of likes and shares. So, while you don’t want to overload your audience, use caption spaces to your advantage and get the most important elements of your brand message across.
A photo (album) tells a thousand words
Visual storytelling is a hugely effective way of delivering your brand’s ethos and key messages to consumers while also adding a sense of personality and quirk. All social media platforms allow users to upload images or create photo albums, so get creative and bring your brand to life.
The grid-style layout of Instagram profiles, for example, offers up a whole variety of ways to get creative – you can use it to slowly reveal an announcement, offer, or event, or showcase a variety of user-generated content featuring your brand. Or go back to basics and use your Facebook page to create albums for any events, product lines, or behind the scenes action you want to show off.
Facebook Live killed the video star
Live video is an increasingly popular content marketing tool that is changing the way brands interact with their audiences; not only is it a more engaging form of communication, it also offers users an “in the moment” feel and the option of live interaction.
Some good examples of brands using this are STA Travel, who sporadically pass temporary ownership of their Instagram account to one of their customers who are currently away travelling to update their trip in real time. It could also be used to do Q+As, behind the scenes insights, an exciting announcement or behind the scenes insights.
Sequencing method
A study carried out by Facebook, Adaptly and Refinery29 found that ads sequenced like stories received an 87% rise in overall view-throughs and a 56% conversion lift. So, instead of hammering out a sales pitch with a sustained call to action message, try to build up a story for your consumer first; tell them what your product can offer, the opportunities it can open or the problems it can solve.
While the above four trends will help boost your engagement and capture a loyal fan base, nothing can replace a solid backbone of quality content and regular scheduling. Every brand needs a voice to be heard, so if you’re looking for a company to help kick-start your social media journey – or maintain an already existing portfolio – then our digital agency in Leeds can help make social media a key part of your marketing strategy.