Telling Your Story Online

M Habron

By Madalynn Habron, NSSGA

 

There's a lot of content online. These days, it seems like every business has social media accounts and there is no indication that this method of communication is slowing down. With all these people posting, how can you and your team make sure that your content ends up on the screens of your intended audience? One answer can be to focus your efforts on social media storytelling.

 

Social media storytelling is a lot like what you might already be doing, but with a specific kind of thought process. This kind of content tells stories with the intent to engage and entertain your audience. This kind of content can strongly resonate with audiences. This is a great way to relate content to your mission statement, humanizing your business and educating your audience about what your business is all about.

 

What does "storytelling" mean? It means telling specific stories with an emphasis on the why of a project. For example, your business posts about donating material to refurbish a local baseball field. This content can showcase your products and presence in the community, but you can also talk about the baseball teams and community members who will come together at the ballfield. Adding this extra layer of emotion and nostalgia can drive home the message that you and your business are friendly and positive members of the community.

For effective storytelling, keep these things in mind:

 

  • What about the audience? Take a look at the followers on the company’s social media and digital communication platforms. NSSGA has three social media platforms, Facebook, LinkedIn and X, formerly known as Twitter, and each platform has specific and varied target audiences. When you know your audience, you can tailor communications to what they would find beneficial.

 

  • What’s going on in the photo or video? Depending on your audience’s level of education about your business or products, they may need more explanation on what is happening. Captions are a great place to add context for stories. You can also use captions to include a call to action, like visiting your website for more information.

 

  • Who is included in the story? We have found that NSSGA posts that get the highest levels of engagement are NSSGA member submissions and photos of NSSGA members. You can try this with your customers and ask them to share their experiences with your products, services or customer service.

 

Most of the time, what you are already doing in the community can be shared online using the storytelling process. Your facility could be hosting a school trip, food drive or reclamation project. All of these are great stories to share! Remember, you don’t have to spend lots of time or money on equipment to get quality photos. Most smart phones are equipped with strong cameras that can capture an image well.

 

As you consider implementing these ideas into your digital communication plan, use the hashtag #RocksBuildAmerica in posts so NSSGA can share your story. Don’t forget to follow @NSSGA on Facebook, LinkedIn and X, formerly known as Twitter! We look forward to engaging online and promoting important industry work.