Micro Storytelling and social media – using FB, Snapchat, Instagram to target Generation XBox

Storytelling has evolved, and in order to avoid getting left behind in an increasingly crowded marketplace, brands need to know how to effectively reach their audience with engaging, funny and meaningful content.

One way of achieving this is through micro storytelling, which refers to the use of status updates, short videos, photos and hash tags to convey a brand’s message while taking up the least amount of the audience’s time as possible. This is undoubtedly the best way to get the attention of “Generation Xbox”; white papers, long blog posts, and in-depth videos are a thing of the past, with consumers now preferring their content to be delivered in these easily digestible formats.

The best thing about micro-content is that you don’t need to be a professional writer or spend hours of your time each week writing a blog to utilise it effectively. The reality is that in less than 15 minutes a day it is possible to create effective content that manages to attract relevant inbound leads for your company.

The art of micro storytelling

So how exactly do you go about creating an effective micro storytelling strategy across your business’s social media accounts?

As we know, most of the world now regularly accesses the internet via mobile devices, and as such micro storytelling should be an important part of any business’s communication with potential customers, particularly in terms of social media where users want to ‘read and run’. Expecting potential customers to wade through a huge amount of text on a mobile device is impractical, and let’s face it, the majority simply won’t do it! The trend of short messages delivered through Twitter, as well as visual messages of the type that are popular on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat, is what the modern consumer requires. That means this needs to be a fundamental aspect of any business’s marketing strategy.

Experts have predicted that in only a few years from now, approximately 60-80% of all web traffic will come from mobile platforms, so becoming comfortable with this type of social media now means that your business won’t have to make a tricky transition when trends change.

Make it count

Just because micro storytelling focuses on ‘micro’, don’t make the mistake of thinking you can dash off a short piece of content and the sales will start rolling in.

In some ways, the shorter the content, the more thought has to go into it; but once you get accustomed to writing micro-content, you’ll be able to create compelling, high-quality and relevant stories that pack a real punch. When you’re using micro-storytelling in your marketing strategy, there are three main factors to keep in mind.

Targeted content – always have your ideal customer at the forefront of your mind and target your message to them. What are the problems they’re facing, and what type of message do they want to see?

Helpful content – whether it’s a sales message or not, as with any type of marketing, you need to be offering value to your prospects. This can be even harder with shorter content, but tips, quotes, and curated content all fall into this category.

Don’t forget your call to action – no matter how short your message, never miss out on an opportunity to include a CTA!

It’s apparent that companies that want to keep their brand at the forefront of customer’s minds should implement micro storytelling as a part of their overall marketing strategy. It is an effective and powerful way of combating the short attention spans that seems to have become a normality within society, so make the most of it to attract even more customers.

Are you ready to tell stories for the new generations? Drop us a line if you have any doubts or if you need help.

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