Storytelling can be scary.
Telling a story can be seen as a daunting task. But what if instead of thinking of storytelling as a chore you need to incorporate into your existing PR and marketing activity, but instead put stories at the heart of your organisation and brand?
Stories should be seen as an engine to drive all your activity forward, from press releases and articles to videos and social posts. Creativity can sometimes be neglected when it comes to social media, and in particular; Twitter. Too often people just post to share content, to answer queries, and to drive traffic to their website. But where’s the fun in that?
We’ve put together 5 ways you can to tell great stories on Twitter.
1. The golden rule of headlines
Like any good press release or blog article, always, always write your headline first. It helps keep you focused, it ensures that all the important information is clear from the start, and it makes sure that your post is as engaging as possible. It’s worth taking a few minutes out to write down all the possible headlines before you begin, this way you can see what works best.
Enjoying the sunshine over Blessington Lakes ☀️ pic.twitter.com/9kpAfpEoo4
— Aer Lingus (@AerLingus) June 8, 2018
The same should be sone when it comes to Twitter. Think of the first part of your tweet as a headline, and craft it. You can add in the call to action, the link or the query then after.
2. Readability V ‘Retweetability’
A great story should be well-written while still being compelling, and most importantly – share worthy. You should aim for your Twitter activity to be both readable and ‘retweetable’. Ask yourself does this tweet make sense to my audience, and would they share it? If they answer isn’t yes to both then log out my friend.
3. Play to people’s emotions
Emotions and empathy are hugely important in storytelling. Remember the last story you heard? How did it make you feel? Whether it was laughter, sorrow, or anger doesn’t really matter as much, what matters is that it made you feel.
Ever wondered what your Dad would do in unlikely situations? 😝 Now you can with our VR headset that turns your smartphone into virtual reality glasses! The perfect gift this Fathers Day! 👴🏻
In stores from 7th June for only €7.99! pic.twitter.com/aA0pL0mSqq
— Lidl Ireland (@lidl_ireland) June 6, 2018
Emotions resonate with people, they compel people to act, and they make people share. Emotions in social media are contagious. Think back to the latest slew of viral videos and popular posts from sick children overcoming their illness to grumpy cats, they all sparked emotions in people.
4. The personal touch
People like to talk to people. They don’t like speaking to a robot or chatting to a machine. Make it clear that there is a face behind the tweet, give it personality, sign your name or initials if you want. Even corporate companies or government bodies can give their social accounts personality.
Look at how An Garda Siochana handle their Twitter account. Rather than pointing the finger, they poke fun at people. If our police force can be funny on Twitter, there is no excuse for your tweets to lack personality.
Do as I say, not as I do…
This Driving Instructor might want to consider going on a refresher course! €150 fixed charge notice issued #OperationEnable pic.twitter.com/BqGqM87Ys5
— An Garda Síochána (@GardaTraffic) June 8, 2018
5. Kick it into their court
The best storytellers get their audience involved.
Encourage your followers to interact with your stories online. Ask them questions, create polls, find out their opinions and views. This will not only help increase interactions and boost your online presence but you will find out so much more about your audience – your marketing team will want to hug you!
Don’t spend all that time on your website crafting content to be let down by boring tweets.
