Within creative industries, storytelling becomes an integral part of what we do on a daily basis. It forms the basis of our proposals; the hook for our presentations; even the cliffhanger for our marketing campaigns.
We here at All Good Tales are particularly keen about using storytelling as a weapon for business. But behind each good story is an even better storyteller.
So in this bi-weekly series, we chat with a different storyteller about their work and how telling stories helps them. This week, we speak with Samantha Kelly, or TweetingGoddess as she’s better known as in the social media sphere. Samantha owns and operates Tweeting Goddess and the Women’s Inspire Network. With the support of her team,Samantha plans and delivers effective social media strategies to businesses and entrepreneurs, harnessing the power of social media and the online community.
Q.1: On your website, you explain the foundations of “Tweeting Goddess”. Could you elaborate more on that? Also, what exactly do you do as Tweeting Goddess?
I created Tweeting Goddess after my first business Funky Goddess. I sold this business and having marketed it totally through social media (I had zero marketing budget), I found I was very good at it! So a couple of businesses had approached me about managing their social media for them…so my new business Tweetinggoddess was born!
Q.2: Social media is clearly a major part of your daily life. The story of your brand shines in your tweets. How did you get so good at storytelling through social media?
Gosh I don’t know! I just share my knowledge and my experiences as a female entrepreneur. I tell it like it is and keep it real. That resonates with a lot of small business owners. Some things aren’t talked about enough so I talk about those things. E.g. the isolation, lack of support when you don’t have money to do what you need to do etc.
Q3: I actually found how about you through the Women’s Inspire Network. It’s an amazing initiative with such a positive force for change driving it. But what is the story behind it? How did it start?
The story behind it is that I felt isolated myself working from home, (building my empire from my kitchen) and thought….’I can’t be the only woman working on her own needing support’ …and it turns out I’m not!
I had been to many networking events and joined a few networks but found they weren’t for me. I also noticed a gap regarding the social media engagement on other networks. So I decided that Women’s Inspire Network had a unique selling point of being active on social media and also I knew we were time poor as regards attending events (especially ‘Breakfast meetings’ …most Women can’t get to these as we have the school run). So because of this, Women’s Inspire Network is online mostly. We do weekly webinars on topics such as sales, time management, well being, self care and even social media platforms is covered too. As it’s online we are also global!
Behind every successful woman is a tribe of other successful women who have her back.#justsaying #womensinspire pic.twitter.com/4aAsA9QtN8
— womensinspireIE (@WomensInspireIE) July 23, 2018
Q.4: How important is storytelling to your everyday work?
People buy from people. Stories are what people love to hear. Us Irish are great story tellers. I like to use humour and don’t take myself too seriously. Perhaps that is why some don’t take me seriously either. But I have built many engaged communities and community is essential in business. The stories from that community are also essential. It’s all about treating the people around you well and looking after them. The story of how I went from a lone parent on social welfare to a social media influencer resonates with people and also gives them ‘Hope’ …and we all need hope in our lives.
Q.5: What aspect of your work do you enjoy most?
Seeing my clients succeed. Seeing people I’ve trained soar. Seeing members of Women’s Inspire Network get results and implement what they have learned. Connecting the dots is a skill I have. One useful introduction could make all the difference to a struggling business.
Q.6: What advice would you give to anyone looking to tell their brand’s story on social media?
Keep your branding similar on all platforms. Use video. Surround yourself with like minded people who will share your story with others. Be real, assist others and be kind.
Q.7: How do you think social media, and the way brands communicate via social media, will change in the future?
I feel with all of the noise behind social media engagement at the moment that the corporates will realise that they need to connect with people and use influencers who have engaged communities to reach their customers. Video is essential and telling the customers’ stories will have a better impact then just selling. We want experiences not ads. Customers want to be treated as special too.
Interesting results ……when do YOU expect a response on Twitter https://t.co/FNidzm7Yah
— Samantha Kelly (@Tweetinggoddess) July 23, 2018
Q.8: How did you become involved with FeedAlpha? How have you helped tell their story?
Gary from Feedalpha had been watching me for a while. He and his wife Jane approached me about becoming their brand ambassador. I had to like the product and believe in it first. So as an Irish husband and wife team with a social media tool that helps small business owners and is affordable I felt that it was a perfect fit!
I’ve advised them on telling their own story and we have featured them on webinars. We have also started to build a community around Feedalpha too. This is key. Add value to your clients and the customers will do your marketing for you!
We recently were lucky enough to get to meet @joelcomm with our brand ambassador @tweetinggoddess
It was a really great 2 hours of chat about social media, content, cryptocurrency and everything else life has to offer. #feedalpha #joelcommdublin pic.twitter.com/u4USju7ebK— feedalpha (@feedalpha) July 23, 2018
Q.9: Storytelling is a powerful tool, especially for public speaking. How do you employ this in your courses/talks?
I always tell my own story when I’m on stage. Many in the audience identify with losing a parent or someone dear to them. I always tell about how my Dad was hard working and always helped others along the way. I also ask my audience who has come alone and then run down to them to ask them more about themselves. They don’t expect it but actually love it as it gives them the spotlight.
Here at All Good Tales we are passionate about stories and love to showcase brands and individual who we think are great at telling their story. We are currently doing great work for brands like Entekra, Ancestry.com, and daa, to name just a few. We are building brand newsrooms, executing exciting PR strategies, and training key staff how to source, structure and tell great stories. For more information please click here or call Gaye on (01) 254 1845.
