In a sea of social media platforms and profiles, it can take time for a business to stand out. Therefore, many businesses need help catching and keeping customers’ attention on social media. Telling your captivating story online is one of the best ways to create buzz about your brand, your business, and your services.
Here are some tips and tricks for telling compelling stories that engage readers and draw them into your world.
Know Your Audience
Knowing who you’re writing for is key when it comes time for storytelling online; after all, different audiences respond differently depending on their age group, interests, etc.
Take some time before crafting any stories you want to tell online so you’ll know exactly who you’re writing for; doing this ensures that your content resonates with its intended audience!
Use Visuals
Humans are visual creatures, so incorporating visuals into storytelling can be incredibly effective. Images, videos, and infographics can all help make stories more engaging and memorable for readers.
When used correctly, visuals can evoke emotion and draw readers in deeper than words alone ever could.
Get Personal
Every business is unique and has a different story to tell. Consequently, one of the best things to focus on with social media storytelling is your company’s past, present, and future.
By delving into the past, you can give your customers a look into the history of the business. If there are any early photos of the staff, the building or equipment, it is never a bad idea to share them over social media.
As for the present, share some of the relatable or unique aspects of day to day life in the workplace. In turn, this can give customers insight on your business and gives you the ability to share stories consistently.
Creating a story around the future may seem difficult, however, it’s not as tough as it may appear. Every business has goals and aspirations, and it is important to share some of these with customers. Above all, this will help your business tell a relatable story, as your customers also have goals and aspirations.
Show Don’t Tell
When telling a story online, it’s important to focus on showing rather than telling. Instead of simply stating what happened in the story, try to use vivid descriptions and details to paint a picture for the reader.
This will help create an immersive experience that brings your story alive in the reader’s mind.
Use Dialogue
Dialogue is another great way to bring stories alive for readers. By using dialogue between characters, you’ll give readers insight into their thoughts and feelings without having to state everything directly yourself.
Not only does this make the story more interesting—it also helps create believable characters that readers can relate to on an emotional level.
Hook, Line, and Sinker
Social media storytelling is quite similar to fishing; the copywriter has to be patient and wait for the right moment before hooking the reader and reeling them in.
Some potential customers may see the content but are not interested enough in it to want to learn more. This is why it is important to hook the reader in as quickly as possible. This can be done in a number of ways.
- Powerful Headlines
The headline is the best way to attract a reader’s attention. It is important to make the headline both concise and captivating, as it will draw in the reader and make them want to read more.
- Quotes
Having a strong quotation can quickly catch the reader’s eye. This is especially true if the quote is said by someone of importance or is newsworthy in some way.
- Statistics
No one can fight the facts; that’s why statistics are so powerful. Starting off a post or article with an interesting or controversial statistic can improve the chances of clicks.
Create Suspense
Suspense is one of the most powerful tools when it comes to storytelling online—it keeps people hooked until they find out what happens next!
To create suspense in your stories, don’t reveal too much information at once; instead, provide clues or hints at what might happen later on in the story. Doing this will keep readers guessing and engaged until they reach the end of the story.
Involve Your Customers
One of the biggest benefits of social media is that it is extremely interactive, and allows for convenient communication between the business and customer. Most platforms offer interactions like sharing, liking, comment, voting and more.
When telling a story over social media, look for unique ways to involve or interact with your customers. Customers want to feel like they are getting a unique experience over social media and interacting with them one on one is the best way to do this.
Keep It Simple
It’s easy to get carried away when telling a story—but it’s important not to overwhelm your audience with too much information at once! Keep things simple by focusing on one idea or theme throughout your entire story.
That way, you won’t lose people along the way due to confusion or frustration with too many complicated ideas being presented at once.
Make It Relatable
People connect with stories that have relatability—stories that make them feel like they’re part of something bigger than themselves or stories that remind them of their own experiences. Making sure your stories have elements that people can relate to will ensure that they remain engaged from beginning to end!
Conclusion
Telling stories online is an art form all its own—one which requires skill, creativity, and attention-to-detail if it’s going to be successful! Following these 7 tips should give you a good starting point when it comes time for crafting compelling storylines that connect with audiences on an emotional level no matter who they are or where they come from! Good luck!
David is the Founder and Director of article-writing.co, the fastest-growing content creation agency in North America. He has transformed companies by offering high-quality content that has impacted their SEO ranking, revitalized websites with engaging and industry-relevant blogs and website copy, and championed successful email campaign copy.
