When you think about the fact that each piece of content

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Marketing Institute When we think about the stories weread as children, they had characteristics: a beginning, middle, and end; aclimax or conflict; and some sort of moral lesson. Great content on socialmedia can also convey a similarly rich message when done correctly. A storyisn’t just about words – a great story teaches us something about the world andourselves. And great content marketing tells a good story. Today, we’re seeingmore innovative uses of storytelling incorporated into brand building ascustomers demand more from companies. More people want to understand the ethosand mission of a brand to see if it is committed to something meaningful suchas a social issue or cause, rather than just buying something because it’s'cool'. So, what’s the best way to tell a story on social media? Let's look atgreat ways to do it.


Develop a Long Story Arc A story is essentially asequence of events with some key elements. With social media, you C Level Executive List have plentyof options to tell stories in new ways that cross the boundaries of traditionalstorytelling and advertising. While you may have some restrictions forinstance, length, you also have a number of tools at your fingertips. Beforeyou develop your social content as part of a campaign or advertising strategy,it’s important to look ahead at your end goals and work back. Ask yourselfquestions like: What does your business goal look like one year or five yearsfrom now? Where would you like to be in terms of preferred or target audience?What is your growth plan demographically and even internationally? How are youperforming in comparison to your competitors? Every single clip, blog, video,or image needs to be a mini-story in itself, but what about taking youraudience and customers on a journey that lasts longer than that.



contributes to your brand andbusiness story, you have the potential to 'hook' people over the long term. Tothis end, you can think of your 'story arc' – the beginning, middle, and end.Not only for each piece of content but also in connection with your long-termgoals and unique offering or USP. Let's look at a great example, the beautybrand Dove. Originally launched as a soap brand, the company has putstorytelling at the heart of its marketing campaigns to focus on empoweringwomen through a message of self-esteem and self-acceptance. Dove's DetoxYourFeed campaign aimed to demonstrate the harm of toxic beauty advice. Its useof social media helped get the message out as people shared using the hashtag.DetoxYourFeed Dove campaign