Connect with us

Success Advice

7 Ways to Share Your Story on Social Media

Published

on

Image Credit: Unsplash

Content marketing is “A type of marketing that involves the creation and sharing of online material (such as videos, blogs, and social media posts) that does not explicitly promote a brand but is intended to stimulate interest in its products or services”. In other words, explicit marketing is simply saying “buy my stuff!” whereas content marketing is the art of persuading people to do so through storytelling.

Storytelling is important because science has found that it causes the release of Oxytocin in the brain, which is a hormone that is associated with social bonding. This is a powerful tool for social media (and content marketing in general) because it basically means that sharing stories helps build the all-important know, like and trust factor needed to get your ideal clients to support and ultimately buy from you. Looking for ways to incorporate this within your social media strategy? Here are 7 ways to do it:

1. Share your “why”

One of the greatest ways to share your brand story is to share you or your company’s why. You can do this by sharing:

  • The mission/vision of your company
  •  What motivates you in terms of impact
  •  What made you start or launch your business in the first place

This is a valuable way to share your story because it helps you to form deep connections and build community with an audience that has similar aspirations, goals and core values- thereby allowing you to attract your ideal clients.

2. How it started vs how it’s going

Another great way to share your story would be to do a how it started versus how it’s going post. These kinds of posts are essentially before and after posts, usually in picture form, that do exactly what they say on the tin- show the progress that your company, brand or business has made from where it started to the present day. They can also be downloaded as design templates with which you can render your own text. The caption could then be an extension of the sharing your why method by telling your audience how you started with an idea to achieve a certain goal and how you have made progress towards it since then.

3. Your highlight reel

Progress can also be demonstrated by sharing your successes (otherwise known as your “highlight reel”) such as:

  • Positive client testimonials/case studies
  • Awards
  • Expansion such as new hires, product lines or property/office spaces
  • Meeting, hosting or sharing the stage with industry celebrities
  • How your business is allowing you to manifest the life you and/or your family have always dreamed of
  • Press

You can then incorporate the aforementioned techniques into your storytelling about these achievements by sharing how they tie into your why (the mission, vision and impact that you want to make in the world) or sharing why they mark how far you’ve come in terms of progress. You could also share quotes from others and simply “piggy back” off of them by sharing why you agree or disagree with the quote based on your personal experience.

“Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas in the world today.” – Robert McKee

4. Words of Inspiration

One of the things that all 3 of the strategies mentioned above have in common is the fact that they can all be considered inspirational and/or aspirational for your audience. You can take this aspect of storytelling further by sharing words of wisdom such as the lessons that you’ve learned by getting to this point in your journey and making such progress, impact or waves in terms of success. In doing this you not only create brand loyalty, you position yourself as an authority, expert and credible solution to your ideal clients’ problems- making purchasing your paid content a no-brainer.

5. Previous missteps

Thomas Edison is reported to have once said “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work” when questioned about his missteps. I say this to say that often the lessons that we have learned about the best route to success come from the fact that we learned what not to do first. As such, it’s important to not just share words of inspiration but the missteps that led you there you. These can include (but are not limited to) past failures, poor decisions, mistakes and/or limiting beliefs, and how you overcame them. In so doing, you:

  •  Humanise yourself
  •  Become more relatable
  • Give your audience hope that if your process worked for you it can work for them too
  • Persuade them to buy without being sleazy or pushy

6. Case studies

I mentioned case studies briefly in the highlight reel section but it’s definitely a storytelling tool worth talking about in greater detail. Case studies are the art of telling stories about the efficacy of your products or services but using clients/customers as the main protagonist in the story (rather than yourself). You can do this by talking about the problem that the client/customer had when they first approached you for help, how you helped them and the positive impact that they gained as a result. 

Doing this is really powerful because constantly using yourself as a case study could raise scepticism about bias and/or whether or not you can get the same results for others. Using other people as case studies, however, obliterates those objections. Your ideal clients will also identify with the people in the story, see themselves as an ideal candidate for your services or products and will, ultimately, be persuaded to buy from you.

Case studies are also a great tool for non-profit organisations to use as a way of showing how funds are being allocated and making impact in people’s lives. This is will then encourage your current patrons to keep giving and those who are not yet patrons to support your cause.

7. Behind the scenes

The final storytelling strategy to consider using is a behind the scenes (BTS) post. BTS posts typically take the form of a picture or video footage of the day to day background of your business and a caption explaining simply what it is and/or why this is important. Examples include:

  •  Meetings
  • Processes
  • PR appearances
  •  And more

BTS posts are great storytelling tools because they pull back the curtain on your operation and tend to be a more candid representation of your brand, creating a sense of vulnerability and therefore intimacy with your target audience. Depending on what they portray, they can also be inspirational or aspirational as well.

Storytelling is a key content marketing tool, especially when it comes to social media. The better you are at storytelling, the more connected your ideal clients feel to your brand. The more connected that they feel to your brand is the more likely that they will be to invest in your cause, products or services. It is my hope that using the 7 storytelling tools above will help you to see those benefits within your business, just as I have mine.

Denisha-Dlang Ferguson is a creative catalyst, event producer and fashion designer. She is the CEO of the Indiana Fashion Foundation and produces Indiana Fashion Week, along with numerous events, projects and programs. She combines research and creativity to help businesses and creators launch their ideas and events. You can find out more about her at Denishaferguson.com and Yearofthecreator.com.

Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Success Advice

How Your Beliefs Can Supercharge or Sabotage Your Success

Your life is dictated by beliefs and biases that drive your thinking, behaviors, and decisions

Published

on

Your Beliefs Can Supercharge or Sabotage Your Success (1)
Image Credit: Midjourney

Pause for a moment and ponder two pandemic-era beliefs: First, closing schools will control the spread of a serious virus. Second, the consequences of such school closures—particularly social interruption and the prevention of immunity—are worse than becoming sick with the virus. (more…)

Continue Reading

Success Advice

How to Break the Cycles of Mediocrity and Manifest Your Greatness

There is no greatness without becoming and there is no becoming with authenticity

Published

on

Image Credit: Midjourney

In just a few weeks, we will be wrapping up 2023. Can you believe it? This year has been absolutely incredible for me.

I have seen amazing doors opened, new relationships formed and I am seeing dreams realized in my life. While this seems like the hallmarks of a great year, this has also been the most challenging year of my life. With all of the change happening in my life, I have been forced out of my comfort zone and challenged to grow in every area of my life.

I can truly say that I have made the most of my moments this year and I have used everything as a catalyst for maximizing my greatest potential.

As a revolutionary leader, I have the pleasure of consulting and advising leaders around the world to fulfill purpose, realize their greatest potential and make an impact.

I want to share some insights with you that will help you to break cycles of mediocrity and manifest your greatness

Everything legal must come through the matrix

I am sure that some of you are wondering why I am using the term matrix. However, what you have to understand is that I am trying to make a highly complex spiritual principle practical to understand.

Regardless of your spiritual beliefs, every life has an origin and I believe that origin is divine and begins with eternity. You are birthed from eternity and into time to fulfill a unique purpose and assignment in your lifetime and generation.

The matrix is simply the portal or vehicle that brings something out of the invisible realm and into tangible form. The problem with much of the teaching today is that it excludes the matrix. We are told to believe that success is instantaneous and overnight.

Nobody talks about how a dream progresses through stages beginning with visualization and ultimately culminating in manifestation. Without a matrix or portal then everything that you attempt to birth and build will be illegal.

The matrix not only makes you legal but it gives you the authority and power to function as the greatest expression of who you were created to be. 

Every matrix has an incubation process

While many people admire and respect me today, I remember a time when nobody knew who I was or the significance of my message. How did I get to where I am today? I got here through an incubation process.

In other words, everything that has been destined for your life is incubating and awaiting a set time of manifestation. The problem is that most people live their entire lives idle and never initiate the incubation process.

What do I meany by that? Most people are living reckless and very few people are living intentionally. I am amazed at the number of people I have conversations with that have no vision, goals or strategies for their lives. They show great promise and they have undeniable potential.

However, without development they will die with their dreams still in them.

Everything that has been destined for your life must be incubated and converted to become realities born to time. 

“Visualize this thing that you want, see it, feel it, believe in it. Make your mental blueprint and begin to build.” – Robert Collier

You must give expression to that which is not yet born to time

When you think about a matrix or a prophetic incubation process, you have to understand that potential is often unrealized and untapped. In other words, your potential is in raw form and your potential cannot serve you as long as it is untapped.

The thing that makes me valuable is that I have the ability to convert potential into power. I have done it in my own life and I have empowered leaders around the world to do the same. How do you convert potential into power?

First, it is important to note that you have to perceive potential. If you cannot perceive your potential then you can never cultivate your potential. In addition, you must take the time to cultivate your potential. We often get excited about our capabilities; however, we never expand our capacity in order to realize our greatest potential.

In other words, the strength of your potential is only discovered through your willingness to stretch. The more we are challenged the more we are empowered to expand our capacity for greatness. Most of all, you must begin to express your potential. The expression of potential is different for every person.

For example, the expression of my potential is best demonstrated through the thoughts, ideas, products, services, books, etc.

For another person the expression of potential may look like a screenplay, artwork, sports, scientific discoveries, medical breakthroughs, etc.

Regardless of the form of expression, I know that you will live empty and unfulfilled until you make the decision to express your potential. The expression of your potential gives voice to your dreams, life to your vision, significance to your moments and activates your true power.

You must manifest your greatness

As a revolutionary thinker and leader, my work has impacted people around the world. I am grateful that my life is a source of empowerment to so many people. However, before anyone could ever benefit from my life, I had to make a non-negotiable decision to become who I was born to be.

I wish I could tell you that this journey is easy and that you will get there overnight. However, in a world that celebrates us for doing we are often criticized for being. As a result, I wasted a lot of time trying to be who other people wanted me to be instead of being who I was born to be.

There is no greatness without becoming and there is no becoming with authenticity. It is through our bravery to be vulnerable that we ultimately manifest our greatness. We do not bless the world by being a duplicate. We bless the world when we honor our difference. When you honor your difference you honor your potential.

Ultimately, your difference is how you manifest your greatness.

When you present anything but your authentic self to the world, you are playing small and you are robbing the world of your significance. Manifesting your greatness requires you to master your gifts.

Continue Reading

Success Advice

Here’s a Young Man’s Antidote for the Uncertainty of the Modern World

Why do a lot of young guys lack confidence in today’s world? 

Published

on

How to boost your confidence
Image Credit: Midjourney

We all have been told that confidence is a key factor in achieving success and happiness in life. But what is it exactly? (more…)

Continue Reading

Success Advice

Toxic Leadership: 5 Ways to Identify a Bad Leader

if you have a leader who displays any of the toxic traits, it’s time to move on to greener pastures.

Published

on

Toxic leadership
Image Credit: Midjourney

Let’s be honest, we’ve all crossed paths with a toxic leader in our careers at some point. Unfortunately, while some toxic leaders don’t even bother to hide their behaviour, some know very well how to conceal their true selves behind a strong-built facade. The latter is the most dangerous of the two. (more…)

Continue Reading

Trending