What’s Your Story?
Storytelling’s Link to
Social Marketing Success
@prblog│#summitup
prblog│#summitup

What’s Your Story?
1) Social Media Paradox
2) The Need for Story
3) Types of Stories
4) 12 Action Items
summitup09 Copyright Kevin Dugan │ @prblog

University of Dayton | Kiefaber St. | 1990
summitup09 Copyright Kevin Dugan │ @prblog

A Tale of Two Cities
SOCIAL MEDIA PARADOX
summitup09 Copyright Kevin Dugan │ @prblog

Social Media Paradox
People
Create, Social Technology
Interact
Media
Offline
Contact
summitup09 Copyright Kevin Dugan │ @prblog

Social Media Paradox
Person Technology
One to One One to Many
Personal Push Button
Organic Instant
401-(k) Lottery
Commitment Campaign
Long Tail Viral
Earned Paid
summitup09 Copyright Kevin Dugan │ @prblog

The Power of Narrative
THE NEED FOR STORY
summitup09 Copyright Kevin Dugan │ @prblog

The Need for Story
• When facts are widely available and instantly
accessible, they become less valuable
-- A Whole New Mind, Dan Pink
• Stories are easier to remember than facts
• Stories are facts, wrapped in an emotion
-- The Elements of Persuasion, Maxwell & Dickman
summitup09 Copyright Kevin Dugan │ @prblog

The Need for Story
• Fact: The Queen died and the King died
• Story: The Queen died and the King died of a
broken heart
-- E.M Forster
summitup09 Copyright Kevin Dugan │ @prblog

What is a Story?
Beginning Middle End
Problem Solution Results
Antagonist Hero/ Transformation
Awareness
<<-- PASSION -->>
summitup09 Copyright Kevin Dugan │ @prblog

The Need for Story
• Stories are contagious
• Storytelling is scalable (sometimes)
• Stories bring people together and build loyalty
-- The Elements of Persuasion, Maxwell & Dickman
• What do stories look like online?
summitup09 Copyright Kevin Dugan │ @prblog

connect live
support
feedback
friend/ Facebook, LinkedIn,
follow/ Twitter, Flickr, YouTube
fan
reply/ rt
share/
comment/ link discuss
summitup09 Copyright Kevin Dugan │ @prblog

The Need for Story
• “Incessant online chatter are pixels of people’s
online identity.” – Clive Thompson, NYT
• Consumers are constantly finding ways to
express themselves via varying media -- from
online profiles to fashion – Iconoculture
• Ambient awareness is the end result
summitup09 Copyright Kevin Dugan │ @prblog

A Story for Any Occasion
TYPES OF STORIES
summitup09 Copyright Kevin Dugan │ @prblog

Types of Stories
• Stories:
– Change the Conversation
– Humanize Brands
– Start Conversations
– Can be Enabled by Products
– Can Be Simple
– Create Brands and Communities
summitup09 Copyright Kevin Dugan │ @prblog

summitup09 Copyright Kevin Dugan │ @prblog

myunionterminal.org
• Approximately 100 stories contributed
• Twitter and Facebook are top 5 referrers
• More than 4,250 visitors (Jun – Sept)
• Election blitz forthcoming
summitup09 Copyright Kevin Dugan │ @prblog

summitup09 Copyright Kevin Dugan │ @prblog

summitup09 Copyright Kevin Dugan │ @prblog

wecanliveunited.org
• More than a dozen stories contributed
• Facebook is a top referrer to site, followers
have increased
• 2,921 visits between 8-26 and 10-8
summitup09 Copyright Kevin Dugan │ @prblog

wecanliveunited.org
• Campaign at 75% of goal (baseline year)
• Blogger tours, Enquirer partnership
• Smaller communities had more sharing
summitup09 Copyright Kevin Dugan │ @prblog

summitup09 Copyright Kevin Dugan │ @prblog

summitup09 Copyright Kevin Dugan │ @prblog

my Starbucks
• Starbucks was almost named after the boat in
“Moby Dick” instead of the boat’s first mate
• Would you drink a cup of Pequod?
• Can you tell a story more than 16,000 stores in
49 countries?
summitup09 Copyright Kevin Dugan │ @prblog

summitup09 Copyright Kevin Dugan │ @prblog

summitup09 Copyright Kevin Dugan │ @prblog

Best Buy
• Genuine stories, transparency and
experimentation
summitup09 Copyright Kevin Dugan │ @prblog

summitup09 Copyright Kevin Dugan │ @prblog

Types of Story
• #beatcancer #followfriday #pepsifail
• Enable your audience to tell their stories, on
their terms
• Enable your audience to share these stories
summitup09 Copyright Kevin Dugan │ @prblog

Applying All of This Stuff
12 ACTION ITEMS
summitup09 Copyright Kevin Dugan │ @prblog

Action Items
1. Revisit Creative Brief
2. Storyboard your ideas
3. Tell your own stories through social media
summitup09 Copyright Kevin Dugan │ @prblog

Action Items
4) Share instead of broadcast
5) Broaden definition of story
6) Mash-Up
summitup09 Copyright Kevin Dugan │ @prblog

Action Items
7) Tell consistently, taking into account strengths
and limitations in each medium
8) It’s in the details
9) Consider blended opps
summitup09 Copyright Kevin Dugan │ @prblog

Action Items
10) Revisit customer touchpoints
11) Break down silos to tell stories
12) The BtoB Opportunity
summitup09 Copyright Kevin Dugan │ @prblog

Thank You
bit.ly/summitupstory
bit.ly/summitupstory
@prblog│@empowermm
prblog│