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Storylines
What do your social media posts say about you? If you don’t know, it’s time to look at the broader storyline. By Dawn Zimmerman Here are questions to consider when evaluating if what you’re posting is telling the right story for your organization: 1 Does your value
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ake a moment to scroll over the social media posts your organization has shared in the past year or even the past month. When taken as a collective group, what do they say about your organization? It’s uncommon for organizations to step back and look at the broader storyline, but post-by-post your organization is telling a story.
Social media has thrived because of its ability to deliver messages and make connections in real-time. The best examples of social media by organizations are those that feel organic, authentic and even spontaneous while also retaining a clear and compelling storyline about the essence of the organization (or individual leader).
proposition come across clearly and consistently? This begins with clearly understanding why your organization exists. That’s different than what it does. Organizations that articulate their “why” upfront and build a social media content strategy around ways to communicate and reinforce that “why” produce the best storylines long-term. Your social media posts should consistently communicate “how” you are delivering “your why.” For many organizations, it helps to develop 1-3 key questions to help shape the content each week. For a school, a question may be “How are we equipping students to lead?” 2 Do your posts share or tell? What if the radio station you listen to started airing just commercials? They
contributor Dawn Zimmerman is CEO of The Write Advantage, a St. Cloud-based communications company that specializes in social media.
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may be entertaining for awhile (assuming they are of SuperBowl caliber), but even our attention to the best advertisements fade. We want the music. As a former journalist, I appreciate the concepts behind the Radio Theory. It’s easy to share posts about upcoming events, product releases and other promotional information related to your organization on social media, and they can be valuable, in limited doses. But it’s the human-interest stories within your organization and posts that speak to your personality and our humanity that capture attention – and have the potential to go viral. Take the time to share some good music to keep people coming back. 3 Are you talking too much about yourself? What if you sat down for coffee and only one person did all the talking? You would probably think twice before inviting that person to coffee again. Social media is inherently social. It’s designed to be a conversation. Too often in social media, organizations talk all about themselves and do all the talking. Not every post on your organization’s social media accounts should be about your organization. Seize opportunities to give kudos to others and not just talk about your own awards, events