CMO's: 3 Reasons Why Storytelling in Social Media Matters

As marketers, we are always looking forward to find the newest trends and communication avenues, but perhaps it is time to look back, and return to those simpler times of campfire stories.  This time virtually.  As an undergraduate student in the Northwestern IMC program, with an interest in entertainment marketing and as theatre major studying how stories work and the best way to tell them, I have looked into two articles expressing the need for storytelling in marketing.

In Keith Quesenberry’s article, “The Power of Storytelling in Social Media Marketing” on Social Media Today, he stresses that audiences are always drawn in with good stories.  To argue for storytelling in social media marketing, Quesenberry, in collaboration with Michael Coolsen, analyzed two years of Super Bowl commercials, using likes and views to measure which characteristics interested people the most.  Coding commercials based on Freytag’s Pyramid, they broke down the ads into five acts: the exposition, rising action, the climax, falling action, and the resolution.  Overall, they discovered that the most popular ads told a complete story and dramatic arc.  This study can be applied to social media marketing to establish a bigger brand story, so that every post can be a “mini-chapter” in a brand’s success.

http://www.6seconds.org/2015/04/10/michael-margolis-on-storytelling/

Alina Tugend shares a similar opinion in her article on Entrepreneur, “From Bedtime to the Boardroom: Why Storytelling Matters in Business,” as she investigates the current, biggest buzzword in business: storytelling. In a series of interviews with professionals and professors of storytelling and business, she argues that storytelling allows a brand and business to connect emotionally to audiences.  Storytelling is not only a sales tool, but also a way for others to better understand your company, to connect employees, and establish trust between consumers/clients and the company.  The key to storytelling is that it is honest and authentic; this is the only way to truly build a connection.

Based on these two articles and my experience with storytelling and the IMC program, I share three successful, resulting actions storytelling permits when CMO’s incorporate stories in social media marketing:

• Begin World-Building – Everyone loves a good backstory, you need to solidify yours; this    will not only interest consumers, but also create a place for every campaign to spring from.
• Create Bonds – Authentic stories cause people to empathize with each other, and telling stories will allow you to build a committed consumer base.
• Establish Understanding – Stories permit us to see things from another’s perspective; they are a sure fire way to solidify who you are in the online realm.

Stories have always been humans’ companions throughout history, and we are only as good as the tales we tell in marketing.  Isn’t it time you opened the page to your fairytale ending?

My name is Katy Piotrowski and I am a senior, undergraduate student at Northwestern University studying marketing, theatre, and business.  I graduate June 2015 and am passionate about entertainment marketing & public relations, theatre, and the latest TV shows.  You can follower me on Twitter or get  connected on LinkedIn.

 

Don’t get left in the dust! Learn how to build buzz with #music right now

As a music marketer, you need to be aware of new technologies that can help promote your bands. As an undergraduate in Northwestern’s IMC program, I have been studying the use of social technologies and the power they can have in promotional campaigns. I’ve found that the social power of Twitter combined with the new #music platform can help build online buzz about an artist’s music and have a couple of articles for you to review on this topic.

According to an article by Wired's Mat Honan last week, the new app has “got amazing viral possibilities that are great for artists.” For example, he says that if Lady Gaga tweets a new single, it immediately gets sent out to her 36 million followers, who then have the opportunity to retweet the single, amplifying its reach and popularity. If a Gaga-sized account were to tweet about some obscure band the effects and hype surrounding that band could be tremendous.  

The viral possibilities for artist on #music has to do with the social aspect of music consumption according to an article in The Guardian by Alex Moss. When people hear music they like, they share it with their friends. This is an important social exchange because musical taste represents individual’s identities in a lot of ways. You wouldn’t share a Justin Bieber song, unless you really liked him and didn't mind if your friends thought of you as a Bieliber. In addition, when you share, your friends are likely to be influenced by these musical suggestions because they trust the taste of the recommender. So how can you harness the social power of #music to promote your artists? From my review of these two articles and other work at Northwestern, there are three action items you need to immediately consider implementing. 

1. Get verified - To be on Twitter’s #music charts, you need to be a verified artist account on Twitter. The verification process can be tricky, but Gizmodo offers some insight on the process.  

2. Use Spotify - According to Billboard, Spotify is more popular than iTunes and Rdio on #music. Since more people are choosing to link their Spotify accounts--most likely because it is free— you want to make sure your artist’s music is on that streaming service so listeners have a chance to find it.

3. Be a tastemaker - The #NowPlaying feature allows users to see what their followees are listening to. Have the artist become a source of new music for his or her followers by frequently posting original tracks as well as tracks by other artists they admire. Being a consistent tastemaker will retain current fans satisfied and help draw in new ones as well.

By following these steps, you will be on your way to creating an effective music marketing strategy by harnessing Twitter #music's social power. 

Meghan Cetera is an Integrated Marketing Communications student living in Chicago. She is interested in music marketing and social media.  You can reach her with questions or comments on Twitter @meghancetera.