This Social Media Thing

In the days before the printing press, stories were basically the only way of disseminating information – because the story is the most effective vehicle to accurately pass on information that has to travel by word-of-mouth. The new social media world is a hybrid which attaches the power of mass distribution (which the printing press first created) to the individual conversational. Perhaps it is therefore not surprising that storytelling is re-emerging as an important element in social media. In fact having an authentic and credible story is the platform for any meaningful participation in social media – in the same way having a ‘proposition’ was essential for framing communication through mass media channels.

Understanding the difference between a story and a proposition is critical. A proposition is very narrow, refined and short. It is essentially a claim. A story is much broader, deeper and longer. It is not just a claim but also an explanation and justification and it explains who and what lies behind a product or service, not just what the product or services does. In essence it is a demonstration of authenticity. The reason a story is important for operating in social media is that you will need to talk to people and if all you have is your proposition, your conversations will be very short and one-way. In fact, no-one will really want to have anything to do with you.

Sitting down and enshrining this in a story – probably expressed on one page – is an incredibly important exercise and one where you may want to commission some help – either from your existing agencies or other external consultants. It is often difficult to have the necessary degree of realism if you try and do this entirely yourself – especially since an effective story may not have the same level of superficial attraction that previous propositions or statements of visions and values might have had.

Helping organisations define Their Story – for social media purposes or more generally as a means of making their marketing and communications more authentic and credible is something I have a lot of experience in doing.  If you want to talk about this please let me know.