Story and Social Media: Communicating
Brand Experience in the Digital World
Daniel Noll & Audrey Scott, Uncornered Market
UncorneredMarket.com
facebook.com/UncorneredMarket
@umarket
Close Your Eyes
What Business Are We
In? Travel?
Experience?
Inspiration?
Differentiation?
Transformation?
Consumer Travel Trends
“Authentic + engaging travel experiences”
Deeper connections, esp. to people
Local approach + unique
Transformative journeys
Source: SKIFT Reports: Megatrends Defining Travel in 2015 & Rise of Experiential Travel 2014, ITB Travel Trends 2014
Millennial & Youth Travel Trends
• Support brands that they feel are doing
something good for them…and the world
• Always online, especially on mobile
• Need to share amusing and enlightening
updates = social currency
• More interest in volunteering, learning
experiences
Source: http://www.pgavdestinations.com/images/insights/Meet_the_Millennials.pdf & SGB Millenials Report
Backdrop: Too many messages
Prospect, 6000 messages. Japan photo Too many messages…! Your average prospective customer is enduring more than 6000 advertising messages every day
Storytelling: Why?
Story Action
Cuts through noise
Trust and retention
Depth of impression
Storytelling: What it is NOT
An itinerary
A list of sites, activites, amenities
A press release
Fiction, making things up
What is Story and Storytelling?
An account, a telling of an experience
Demonstrates via characters and their changes
Does NOT need to be long-form
Storytelling Techniques
Show, don’t tell
Involve characters, find one person
Seek emotion
Crux and conflict
Multi-dimensional, multi-sensory
Communicate: what, how and why
Brand Story: How & Why Show your values in action, don’t assert
Be transparent, invite customers to be part of
the journey and solution
Humanize the brand
Connect what you do to why it matters
Experience: Go Beyond the
Brochure
Transformative journey, come back different
Perceived homogenization of travel -> want
personalized and unique
Experiences aligned with values -> give back
From observing -> connecting and creating
Connection with Nature…
With People…
And with ourselves…
Digital and Social Media
Strategies
Digital Media & Storytelling
Source: Euromonitor International, The New Online Travel Consumer, February 2014
Inspire AND Inform
Become an authority
Be human, be helpful
DON’T be spammy
Develop trust -> Relationship
Show your values
Social Media: Engagement & Branding
Engagement & Relationship > Numbers
Empower and engage your staff & customers to be your storytellers
Video Content: Not Just for YouTube
Short, mobile videos effective
Encourage Your Customers to
Share!
People trust people,
especially family and friends.
“If they can do it, I can do it.”
Content Creators
Videographers
Social Media Mavens
Digital Storytellers Photographers
Writers
Story
Business
Consultants
Marketers Advocates
Speakers Twitter
Destination Ambassadors
Quality
Personal Voice
Facebook Instagram
YouTube
Adventurers
Who Are Bloggers?
Personal voice and tone
REAL experiences, REAL people
Authority from independence & trust
Engaged community, follows blogger
Your story part of blogger story
Multi-Platform, versatile
“People don’t trust entities. People trust people.” - Tim Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Workweek
Why Are Bloggers/Influencers Effective?
Social Media: Immediate exposure
And real-time interaction & engagement
Content: Long Life & SEO
Other Media Coverage
Destination Ambassadors
Long-Term Benefits of Working with Bloggers
EXPERIMENT!
Upshot & Take-aways
New travel currency = Experience and Connecion
Story = differentiator & connector
Social Media = storytelling tool
Bloggers = storytelling agents
This is a human exercise
Have fun!
Thank You!
Let’s continue the conversation. Connect with us on:
UncorneredMarket.com & QVGlobal.com
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @UMarket
Facebook: /UncorneredMarket
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