Can social media be used to tell stories when it comes to marketing? In this post, we will compile some of the creative ways to use three social media channels for storytelling.
Storytelling has been used to communicate information and convey meaning for a long period of time. It has a never-ending history as a crucial means of communication, but currently, brands are using it as a marketing tool to attract attention and gain prospects.
For brands to get the most out of social media, they must implement the art of storytelling in their marketing effort. This is a crucial aspect that brands can take advantage of to survive on numerous platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
Telling stories about your brand, employees and your loyal clients through social media makes your brand to have a voice and individuality. In fact, it is the best way to provide your prospects with the information they are looking for like your brand’s history, your employees and what your prospects can get from you.
Below are ways you can use social media for storytelling to boost your brand engagement with your prospects.
Utilize a series of Instagram stories
Use Instagram to tell stories.
Instagram does not limit users on the number of stories to be shared per day; however, posting 10 stories about your brand per day can make a huge difference when it comes to increasing your brand-customer engagement.
How can you share Instagram stories?
To post Instagram stories, you will need to use your recent blog post and convert it into a series of compelling stories. You can combine images and short videos of yourself having a conversation or design graphics with the help of some graphics creators such as Canva.
Take advantage of Instagram #hashtag
#hashtag is a tool that is used by all major social media channels, Instagram being one of them. Twitter allows users to create their own #hashtag, so, you can also create your own Instagram #hashtag that can relate to a trending one. This will make it possible for prospects to find you easily when they search for the trending #hashtags that you are tied into.
Use your Instagram profile to share a visual story
In this case, you need to use multiple posts to design a large image that you can use on your Instagram profile. You can use three or 5 images to create the image on your profile and when you do it well, it can be a very compelling story.You can use Instagrids to create the huge image, however, other tools like Photoshop or Sketch can also do that for you.
Use Carousel ads and Story ads
Instead of using static ads, you can use other ways on Instagram to show ads. You can utilize several photos in a slideshow or tell a story in form of a video. The two ways a helpful if you want to increase your brand’s exposure through storytelling on Instagram.
Curate a 30 or 60-second video on Instagram
You can use Instagram videos to tell short stories. Note that Instagram can only allow users to create short stories up to 60 seconds long. Nevertheless, you can be creative enough to tell a story in a short video. In this case, you can share a short story about your brand.
Facebook Live
Going live on Facebook makes your brand to look real as you engage with your prospects. Note that to be effective in storytelling, you need to be genuine. In this case, you can go live on Facebook to share a story of a product or service you are launching, share stories of your existing ones and allow your audience to contribute to your stories. You could share some tips or engage your prospects in a question and answer session.
Design a Facebook photo album
A picture is worth a thousand words and so if you use many pictures you can share several thousand words. You can create a Facebook photo album to share a visual story of the origin of your brand or a story of yourself or your client using your product.
Facebook ads
Facebook ads have been used mostly for conversion purposes by many brands; however, you can use them differently. You can tell a story using Facebook ads. Note that when you storytelling using Facebook ads, you not only entertain your audience but also raise the chances of conversions. To do it, you need to sequence your ads, for instance, you can present your brand on your first ad, share something about your brand on the second ad and insert a call-to-action on the next ad.
Tell a story by creating a long Facebook post
This is also another way to use Facebook for storytelling. You can share stories about your customers or your brand instead of directing them to your website. You can do it by creating a long Facebook post telling a full story about your brand, your customers and all other important information you want your audience to know about your brand.
Create your own #hashtag
You can use Twitter for storytelling by creating your own #hashtag. However, you need to ensure that your audience will understand the purpose of your #hashtag so that they can also use it when they compose tweets. To make it go viral, you can make it act as an appreciation of customers who use your products or who mention your brand. Note that you must ensure to encourage your audience to compose their tweets using it appropriately.
Use a trending Twitter #hashtag
Instead of creating your own #hashtag, you can take advantage of a trending one to tell stories about your customers or your brand. Note that you must ensure to use a trending #hashtag that is relevant to your brand and use it appropriately. So, search for a relevant trending #hashtagand participate in the conversation.
Compose a tweet with multiple photos
It has been observed that tweets that contain photos get a huge engagement. You can use Twitter for storytelling by composing a tweet with multiple attached photos. It is the effective way to give more details to the story you are sharing. In this case, you can compose a tweet with about four to five photos of a recent event you hosted so that your audience can know how the event was.
Use twitter trends for storytelling
Twitter trends are particular topics that Twitter users are participating in concurrently. The topics can specifically be about local or global discussions of something that occurred currently. Therefore, as a brand, you can take advantage of these topics to participate in a conversation with other local users.
Use Twitter GIFs
Most brands are using GIFs to share content on Twitter. Note that GIFs are more entertaining and can be an effective storytelling method to expose your brand to a wider audience. Therefore, incorporate GIFs when you compose tweets to make an idea that you are sharing more vivid
It’s your turn
You have at your disposal countless ways to use social media for storytelling, and we hope the above 14 ways will inspire you to tell your brand story in an innovative way. Feel free to tell us how you have been using social media to tell your brand story.
About the Author: Claire O’Brien is the Marketing Manager at Design Wizard. Claire has more than 10 years experience in content creation including visual content, digital marketing, email marketing, social media and advertising. She has an avid interest in all things digital and software related.