Creating your own social media content can seem overwhelming and downright scary. Were you a great math whiz in school but struggled with English? Don’t worry, because right there with those math skills was probably the ability to tell a good story. You’re in a people-oriented business, right? So you must be good at relating to others, and basically, telling good stories. Use that gift to create your social media content. Sheri Fitts, social media speaker, president of ShoeFitts Marketing, and a storyteller in training shows you how to take your people skills and create interesting and compelling social media content in the slideshow "Use Storytelling to Create Content."

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Sheri Fitts
ShoeFitts Marketing, Inc.
Use Storytelling to
Create Content
@missfitts

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Source: orartswatch.org, photo credit: Angie Moore

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Since the first cave
paintings were
discovered, telling
stories has been one
of our most
fundamental
communication
methods.

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Today’s Purpose
• A short review: tell me a story.
• Your brain on stories.
• Storytelling via social media.
Thank you!

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Meet aBoo! (#TBT)

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Eight year old, 116 lbs, Little Girl Newfie: aBoo!

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Do you tell your life in bullets?

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We’re wired for stories…
Source: Uri Hasson, Princeton University
A story is the only way to activate parts
in the brain so that a listener turns the
story into their own idea and experience.

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10
NEURAL COUPLING:
A story activates parts in the brain
that allows the listener to turn the
story into their own ideas and
experiences.
MIRRORING:
Listeners will not
only experience the
similar brain activity
to each other, but
also to the speaker.
DOPAMINE:
The brain releases
dopamine into the
system when it
experiences an
emotionally-charged
event—making it
easier to remember
the concepts with
greater accuracy.
CORTEX ACTIVITY:
When processing facts – two areas of
the brain are engaged. A well-told story
can engage many more areas including
the motor cortex, sensory cortex and
parts of the frontal cortex.
Source: http://socialtimes.com/files/2014/06/onespotscience.jpg
More About Your Brain on Stories

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Once upon a time…

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“It’s a very visceral
feeling. … You’re one
with this person who’s
speaking, and their voice
holds you.”
~ Dave Isay, StoryCorps

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Source: BufferSocial, Power of Story
• The post with the narrative
intro had nearly 300% more
people scroll all the way to
the bottom.
• Average time on page was
more than five times higher.

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Start at the Finish Line
Portland’s PDX Adult Soapbox
Derby, around since 1997, features
a brave group of racers willing to
face speeds of up to 45 miles per
hour, enclosed in a tiny vessel.
Prizes and bragging rights are
awarded for categories such as
Best In Show, Lifetime
Achievement, Best Engineering,
Crowd Favorite, Best In Art, Most
Original and, you guessed it, Best
Crash. But, before a racer even
begins to head down the hill they
may wish to have a clearly defined
strategy. (Who would ever consider
careening down a hill with a curve
named “Blood Alley” without one?)
Image Source: TravelPortland.com

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Great brand stories
• start with the customer’s story
• appeal to the heart (not the head)
• make people to feel like they belong
• give people something to believe in
Source: The Story of Telling

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“Use every customer point of contact to
weave stories about who you are and what
your brand stands for.”
- Gary Vaynerchuk

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Your brand tells your story
phone
social
media
interactions with
customers
Written
content
office
environment
website
design
logo
branded
collateral
note
paper
advertising Employee
dress

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29. © ShoeFitts Marketing, Inc. All rights reserved.Photo sources: The Guardian, Financial Post, Daily Herald, The Buckeye Dispatch

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it’s not business
it’s personal

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TheMoth.org

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No sale without
the story…
no knockout
without the
setup.

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www.smarsh.com/whitepapers/financial-advisors-guide-social-media-strategy-policy/

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100 Tips for Social Media Success
www.shoefitts.com

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Sheri Fitts
www.shoefitts.com
www.linkedin.com/in/sherifitts
@missfitts
www.facebook.com/shoefitts
www.advisortweets.com/blog