The rising art of storytelling - Social marketing

Ever since I started work at my current company, the one common word when we talk about promoting and marketing is "storytelling". Being the newbie I am, a natural question comes to mind: "So what exactly is storytelling?"

As the name storytelling suggests it is telling a story with your product or service. It is a story only you or your company can tell, it is unique to your personality or your brand. So is that really simple?

Well, most of us heard of stories when we were a kid. Fairy tales such as Cinderella and Pinnochio proves familiar to our ears. It is one of the oldest ways to communicate a message across. What were the learning points of these stories? Stories always tell you something.

The good thing is: Everyone knows how to tell a story. Ever explain why you were late to your boss? Or explaining why something is wrong to your child? You are already telling a story with your reasons or your values. However, in order to use this skill in business, we might have to polish it just a little bit more.

Image is taken from http://www.deviantart.com/art/Polish-old-city-streets-497545331 

1. Craft your message with your personality

Do you remember the feeling when you call a customer service hotline to get some help but was directed to a machine? Everyone appreciate a human touch in a message. People tend to relate better to a personalized message as compared to one which is targetted at everybody. Have your personality in the message and talk/write like how you usually do.

2. Visual

When was the last time you see a post filled with all words? I am guilty of doing these in some of my personal posts. Pictures actually add a visual representation to the message you are trying to convey and they tend to be engaging. Videos, infographics, and posters are great ways of putting your message across.

3. Have a plot

Remember how we were taught to write stories when we were wrong, we always need a plot. Think about different viewpoints of your story. Do you want to position your message in terms of your company, customers, stakeholders, employees, or fans? Different point of views tends to attract different audience. What about the highlight of your message? What is the main attraction in this particular message?

4. Practice

Practice makes perfect. Not everyone will be used to writing a story on their products or services. However, the more you try, the more you understand your products/services, customers, and your audience. Once you have a deeper understanding, you can craft better messages and tell better stories which are of interests to your audience.


These can be used to craft stories on social media pages like Facebook and Google+. Having engaging messages tend to generate more viewerships and attract more readers (potential customers).

Why wait when we can work on it now?