The desire to understand social media radiated through the halls of the Social Media Marketing World Conference as thousands of people rushed into rooms eager to hear from experts about Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, AND TikTok.

The consistent theme throughout the event was – are you telling empathic storytelling?

“Do I see me consistently in the marketing?” – Ann Handley

“Make them feel something.” – Jasmine Star

We need to be in the business of building a brand that creates positive experiences, memories, and stories.

My Top 4 Takeaways from Social Media Marketing World 2020: 

Storytelling

Nearly every session touched on the importance of storytelling. Why?

Stories are 23x more memorable.

Miri Rodriguez from Microsoft spoke about stories being, “the emotional transfer of information.”

Everyone views and ingests content differently based on their personal experiences. Do you plan for that? Do you think about that when crafting your stories?

TAKEAWAYS:

• Watch your latest video content, does your brand come off human?
• Are you taking someone through an unforgettable, yet relatable journey?
• What feelings does it evoke?

Winning Attention

I loved this statement from Mark Schaefer about spending time on social media >>> How can you make people waste time with you?

Most of the time, Facebook and Instagram are endless scrolls. I would consider YouTube, Pinterest, and LinkedIn channels you go (most of the time) to look for something specific.

TAKEAWAYS:

• What can only YOU provide?
• Do you have buy-in from your boss or execs to test the boundaries on your content? Get creative!
• Are you a conversational brand? Are you crafting your captions in a way that invites people to respond?
• Be original and think outside the box. I know this is easier said than done, but it’s time to break out that whiteboard and brainstorm with no restrictions. What do you come up with?

Be ICONIC

This session by Scott McKain provided some tips that we should all integrate into our businesses.

“Your brand is what your customers/donors/volunteers say about you when you’re not in the room.”

TAKEAWAYS:

• Play offense – be aware of what your competition is doing, but play your own game
• Stop selling and tell stories (we’ve heard this one before..there’s a theme here) 🙂
• What kind of experience do you provide your customers with? <<< This one is BIG. Do you go above and beyond? Are you giving them a reason to brag about you on social media?
  • Think about when you stay at a hotel. If you walk in and there’s a personalized card and a bottle of wine, how much more likely are you to take a photo and post it raving about the property?

Repurpose Content

This might seem like a simple concept, but how often do you find new ways to use one single piece of content? Exactly. Read on.

Melanie Deziel shared her six-step process:

1. Copy – Increase visibility by sharing your content across multiple platforms.
   1. Example: A blog post could become…a LinkedIn article, posted on Medium, turned into an Email or a Downloadable/Freebie.
2. Excerpt – Highlight key points and create quote graphics to drive attention back to the original piece of content.
3. Update – Extend the life of content – give it a 2.0 version. Refresh a headline or update information that might be outdated.
4. Reformat – Turn a piece of written content into audio, video or an infographic. We all learn differently! Expand your audience by creating different types of media.
5. Curate – Resurface your best content – ” Top 5 X”
6. Multiply – Identify one topic that you can turn into multiple posts.
   1. The Top Spring/Summer/Fall 2020 Fundraising Campaigns
   2. My 5 Favorite Nonprofit Conferences in California/Florida/MidWest

Are you ready to level-up your social media efforts this year?

Focus on SERVING your audience, being emphatic, and telling human stories.

Let’s get started together.

Click here to learn more about how we can transform your social media strategy.