Nine ways to use storytelling in your business's social media campaigns

It's wise to create content catered to the various platforms that you're planning to disseminate it to. You should also focus on building rapport with your prospective customers.

Storytelling is an amazing strategy that professionals use to build their personal brand on LinkedIn, for example — one of the world's biggest social platforms. They then use it to drive targeted traffic back to your website.

Here are nine ways and examples of how storytelling has built brands:

1. The 'One Rand Man' advert

Sanlam Bank wanted to connect with its South African clients and with the way that they handled their finances. In turn, the bank decided to launch 'One Rand Man'. Half social experiment and the other half ad, this campaign became one of the most viewed ads in the country.

Social experiments are a great way to tell a story, because they deal with real-life situations that are combined with a little creativity. Consider this in your storytelling strategy. 

2. The 'Happy Father's Day' campaign

Omo had a tearjerker ready for a lot of people with its 'Happy Father's Day' campaign. Omo told a story using an emotional connection, highlighting the issue of 60% of South African children growing up without a father figure in the household.

Use emotional connection in your storytelling methods to create a connection or relative interaction with your audience.

3. The '#iLobolaNgeBhubesi' video campaign 

Lobolas used to be a thing back in the day, but not a lot of people knew about them anymore. This is why Lion decided to do something. Lion launched a video campaign that told the story of a lobola negotiation and it struck a chord with the people that followed.

The reason behind this is simple; it took the educational approach to storytelling and chose to spread awareness about a historically traditional matter in order to reach a new audience.

Their media, which also featured English subtitles, gained proper traction and showed people the past in both a creative and educational light. You can do the same in your method of storytelling.

4. The Sonke Gender Justice – Silence Speaks case study 

Even humanitarian causes have been seeing the benefits of digital storytelling. Sonke released a case study about using the narrative of storytelling to explore gender, violence and HIV and Aids. 

5. The 'Right My Name' campaign

It generated a buzz for the brand and allowed a lot of people to engage with the company, because people were relating to the issue that was brought to light. You can take the same approach in your storytelling by addressing an issue in society that your audience will relate with. 

6. The 'Carling Black Label' hashtag on Twitter

'#No Excuse' was championed by Carling Black Label as a way to speak out against negative views on traditional masculinity. The brand had a Twitter hashtag and even had a flash mob to commemorate the event.

This connected with its crowd by using a popular social media platform and by pursuing a controversial issue. It won the brand the hearts of many. You can also condiser this approach to your storytelling method.

7. The '#CapeWineConnect' campaign 

For people who love wine, this old campaign as a great way of encapsulating the interest of a lot of people. There was a collection of short videos by the leading people in wine in South Africa that covered a variety of topics.

Sometimes, all that you have to do to tell a story is to take a collection of short stories related to a very specific subject. This is also an example of how powerful video is in delivering a message to your audience.

8. The 'Enjoythefeeling' campaign

Another company that uses friendship and close connections in its storytelling was Coca-Cola when it launched the '#Enjoythefeeling' campaign in South Africa. This particular campaign was heavy, given the brand's marketing budget. But it was able to capture the hearts of many people.

The campaign used a combination of heartwarming storytelling and short ads on Facebook. The brand was able to increase its reach and create a connection with its followers because it was relatable. At the same time, Coca Cola utilised Facebook's carousel ads system and they even used GIFs to tell its story.

Streamlined storytelling for your campaign is a definite approach to consider in your own storytelling strategy. 

9. The 'Bed or Breakfast' campaign

Consider how Ford's marketing team integrated their product into our daily lives and how they used their brand as a pivot to talk about hallmark events. They did a series on Twitter highlighting how Ford's cars could be used for all sorts of occasions. 

They also casually dropped how their car's features help people out, and it really worked. Twitter has always been a good platform to get stories out to people, so reach out over the platform if you see that your target audience is active on Twitter.

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