At its heart, storytelling is the substance of human connection. It’s how we engage, how we relate and how we understand the world around us. Understanding and communicating the story of your brand through social media is essential to building an engaged following that is as passionate about what you stand for.

Let’s look at a few ways that you can start telling your story on social media!

1. Know your brand story

What is your Why? What gives your brand heart and soul and captures an audience’s attention? This story should be simple, credible and specific. It should have a voice and a personality. Maybe this tale centers around a specific person or event. Maybe it’s the story of your origins and how that changed your life.

Once you nail down the specifics, create a full narrative, including colors, voice descriptors and photo suggestions. Use this as a guideline to build a consistent story that can be communicated across platforms.

2. Tailor your narrative to your audience

Who are you talking to? Utilizing your greater brand story, let the chapters be specific to this audience. Imagine a real and specific person, and create a persona. Now tell them a story.

Perhaps your patrons are college students. Tell stories about being a young person, and how your product or service relates to their everyday lives. Maybe it’s parents. Talk about the trials of childbearing and raising.

Highlight specific moments your audience can relate to; offer advice. Use your unique brand voice to connect with your target audience in a way they relate to with real-life experiences.

3. Be authentic and relatable

Nothing is more obvious or annoying than disingenuous sales-pitch-y posts spamming your feed. Capture real interest by leaning into stories that inspire emotion.

Be vulnerable! Share stories from real people in your company, including struggles they may have faced and how they overcame them. Show your product affecting real people’s lives in meaningful ways.

Every good story has conflict. Create a narrative around yours, and show how you and your brand evolved because of it.

4. Tell a story with your captions

Do you remember in elementary school, when you learned about the constructs of storytelling? All good stories include the basics: an explanatory beginning, a conflicted middle and resolution in the end.

Using this format when building post cadences can inspire audiences to come back to your feed again and again to learn the ending!

5. Include your audience

Not only do people want to hear great stories, they want to be involved! Creating a sense of community around your brand will make your audience feel loved and included. No longer is it your story, it’s our story.

Share user-generated content. Get involved in your community through service projects, and post about it. Share photos of people who are regulars in your brick and mortar store, or ask users to share their own tales of meaningful interactions with your brand or product.

Through our stories, we are able to build deeper relationships, not only with our professional brands but with our greater communities.

Let the passion you already have for your business shine through every post you share with your audiences. Get connected with your brand story, incorporate it in your social media journey and see your company flourish!

About the author

Hannah Call began her career at Madwire as a Project Manager and has now found her passion in the Social Media department. She is passionate about helping small businesses reach their communities through great content. On her off time, she enjoys riding her horses on the ranch where she lives with her husband and two dogs.