Sep 3
Storytelling power
If you've heard me speak about social media, you have probably heard me refer to my 'ah-ha' moment, which was at the February 2009 Social Media Club - Seattle event. Chris Heuer, the founder of Social Media Club International, was sharing why he thought there was a 'business case for social media'. Towards the end of this speech he said these words:
Bottom line, the business case for social media is storytelling. The brands with the best storytellers will win.
This statement blew me away. It was simple, true and ultimately the undercurrent of any great social media strategy.
As I was reading through my feeds this morning, I came across a blog post by Bruce Temkin that explained the psychiatry around why that's true:
The more that people can recognize themselves in a story, the more it will draw them into the content. So great communicators need to create narratives that relate to the people who they want to influence.
A story's power is directly proportional to the number of people that can relate to it.
- William Kitteredge
in Taking Care: Thoughts on Storytelling and Belief
One of my favorite authors reinforcing your point ; )