October 2014 - Rottman Creative

So, you’re ready to leave “NEC” mania behind? Ready to stop hinging everything on the same one-note message of Networking, Education, and Certification-and instead, embrace a storytelling approach?

Great! We can help. Let’s review quickly why we’re trying to hammer home the storytelling message, with a story of our own. It should sound familiar.

Once upon a time, associations were central parts of people’s lives, because there was less competition, fewer alternatives for learning and connecting with peers, no web, and no insta-anything. There was one message from above, and one place to show up. But now, we live in a new era where competition and options are plentiful, and there are many places to show up. A time when people are talking to each other, and ideas are spreading horizontally-versus from the top down. Recession or no recession, these old ways of talking to people . . . Come for networking, education, and certification! . . . have simply grown stale and are losing effectiveness. They don’t forge the three things absolutely needed to make people feel an emotional attachment to your event brand: passion, connection, and affection. What best forges those things, deep in the emotional center of the brain where most decisions are made, are stories.

With that, here we are in 2014, ready to tell stories. The communication vehicle that associations use more than any other is email. So that’s where we’re going to start. In fact, the rest of this article is dedicated to creating compelling story-based email campaigns.

Finding the Stories

If you’re going to turn stories into emails, you first need the stories. They most likely wonít be apparent until you start looking. In fact, the stories you think you need to tell when you first start this process may not wind up being the best ones.

Mining stories is a journey of discovery, and you need to approach it with an air of fluidity, where nothing is a foregone conclusion.

This is why third parties are so helpful for story mining and development. They assume nothing and see possibility in everything-and because they don’t know your “star” members (the ones who sign up the second registration opens), they cast a wide net.

When we start working with an organization, the first thing we do is request every single recent survey or feedback form we can get our hands on. For story mining, we are most interested in the qualitative data: the comments attendees make, the anecdotes they offer, and the hints they drop. We start to see little bits and pieces of stories take shape. Little nuggets of passion, affection, and connection. We know what we’re looking for, and it involves a certain kind of enthusiasm and specificity, and another crucial element: experiences that can be used to counter objections.

As an association, you have to be very clear on the reasons people don’t come. The objections. The best stories answer those objections, not with bullet points, but with concrete experiences. By telling the stories of your attendees, you are letting them talk to one another-instead of you talking at them. Youíre creating horizontal, peer-to-peer movement and elevating personal experience.

What does this look like, practically speaking? Well, instead of sending an email that simply lists the sessions, send an email where an attendee shares the story of how a session impacted their life and business. Instead of an email with a general message of: ìCome for the networking!î try sending an email where an attendee recounts how a conversation in the hallway wound up opening a major door for them.

Identifying the attendees to interview is the first make-or-break point. The second is knowing how to pull the story out of them. Again, this is where a third party is so helpful, because they come to the conversation without preconceived ideas. Plus, attendees/members tend to open up more to someone from the outside. They donít take shortcuts to explain things. They start from the beginning, which means there are many more chances to find the real story.

Finding the Voice of the Stories

It would be wonderful if we could tell you that good stories simply wrote themselves. But they don’t. It takes forethought and careful attention to voice. Remember voice? We’ve written about it many times. It’s not an area to compromise on, or just phone in.

The voice of the story begins with identifying your brand archetype (something we discussed in detail here). What are those timeless stories your brand taps into (healer, hero, ambassador, etc.), and what is the language around that story? What is the personality of your conference? Write dry, boring stories and no one is going to read them.

You’re looking to present lively characters and specific experiences.

If the only thing you say in the story is: “John Smith enjoys the networking, education, and certification options of the XYZ Event,” don’t even bother. You need to show what that looks like, rather than simply saying it. What makes this person tick? What challenges did they face? What problems did the event solve? What surprises did they encounter there? Remember, your glue for creating brand attachment: passion, affection, and connection. Those things should come through in the voice of your story.

A few more quick tips:

We usually advocate writing these kinds of attendee stories in third person, with plentiful quotes. But you can incorporate first person (testimonial style) as well. Remember, you still have to craft these first-person pieces: one-line testimonials (“The conference was great!”) are useless.
Keep your stories in the present tense (use past tense only to recall a past event), because present tense keeps the story present.
Use active voice. Passive voice drains energy out of a story, and makes it sound academic rather than conversational.

Presenting the Stories for Email

So, you’ve found your stories to share and youíve written them. Now itís time to think about the visual element! These are NOT simply text emails. You should design a fully-branded HTML-based template.

There are two main ways to approach designing these story-based emails:

Lay out the entire story (usually between 300 – 500 words) in the body of the template.
Have a teaser paragraph in the template that links through to the entire story on a landing page on your website.

We’ve done it both ways, and there are pros and cons to each. On one hand, why interrupt someone’s reading experience by taking them away from the email: why make them go somewhere else? One moment of hesitation or disruption, and you might lose them. On the other hand, directing them to your website puts them right at the point of registration. They are one click closer.

You don’t have to do it the same way each time: you can test out each way, and see if one generates a stronger response. However, if you do option #1, you definitely need an email template that is both responsive and adaptive. With so many people reading emails on their smart phones, you need an email template that reads correctly-in essence, re-configuring itself for the smaller screen, without losing anything (and still being readable, i.e., it’s more than just a miniature version of the email). Of course, for option #2, it’s important to have a responsive and adaptive website, because readers will also click through on their mobile phone.

The lesson? You can’t escape being responsive and adaptive, no matter how you go about it. Itís a design investment well worth it!

As for the design of the email itself, a few tips we have:

Ask your attendee for a nice headshot. Casual shots-even ones taken at the eventóare best because they feel conversational and showcase personality more. Stuffy, boardroom shots often feel too formal.
Create a bold heading for the title of the story.
Break up the text with pull-quotes, blocks of color, and additional pictures. And of course, always include a clear call-to-action.
We also recommend designing a downloadable PDF for your website. This is a chance to expand beyond the limits of a template. Make this a piece people truly want to share.

So, before you send your next email promoting your event, ask yourself: is there anything in this email that will create brand attachment? Is there anything in this email that makes an emotional connection? Is this email a story about what happens at this event, or a directive to register, based on logic and facts?

We know storytelling works. And we know email works. Blend them together, and make your marketing start working better for you.

Next up: how to integrate storytelling into the rest of your event marketing, including direct mail, website, video, association magazine, and social media.

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Our lives used to be ruled by something we called NEC. Networking, Education, Certification. We preached it to clients, defended it at all costs, and executed it over and over again. NEC was the be-all, end-all marketing formula for events. People showed up at events for these three reasons. Create nice visuals around them, list the details, and that would fill the seats.

“How long can I keep putting that message out there? How many years can I do that before it’s stale?” This became the great debate. “It will never get stale,” we said. We were so certain. A few years later, we realized that we were wrong. Dead wrong.

The Message is Stale, Not the People

NEC is what people want at an event: that part is right. The wrong part, the staleness part, is in the message. The way associations present NEC. They shove it out in front, and say the same things over and over again. We have networking, education, and certification! Do you want to register now?

Does this ever work? Yes, it does. People can form connections to events for their own reasons, even when the marketing is completely uninspiring. But . . . and this is a very important BUT . . . it works less and less with each passing year. Itís certainly not something to bank on. Because everybody in this space has NEC. And because increasingly, people are looking for something more extraordinary. They are looking for experiences and connections that will enrich their lives.

Your event is a product, plain and simple. It’s a product you have to sell.

Hitting people over the head with the facts and stats and bullets is not a relevant way to sell things in 2014. It’s stale. But your people arenít stale. They are continually seeking, continually looking for inspiration. You have to inspire them to choose your offering above other offerings-or the perennial favorite choice: nothing at all.

We believe that storytelling is what needs to replace NEC. Storytelling is trending right now: we know that. We’ve gotten the webinar invites, heard the keynote speakers, seen the books, read the blog posts (and written some of them). But stories are more than hot commodities. More than hype.

Telling stories-the right stories-is a proven way to connect with your base. Or as we say, to connect the unconnected. It all relates to how our brains are wired. When you hit people with NEC, you are hitting them in the logic center of the brain: the pre-frontal cortex. It’s where executive function comes from, and we couldnít do taxes, make lists, or create spreadsheets without it. But gut decisions don’t live there. Inspiration doesnít bubble up from there.

For that, you need to hit the emotional center: the limbic brain. That’s where memories are kept, and emotional connections are spun. It ís actually where the majority of decisions are made (up to 90 percent, neuroscientists say).

We may rationalize the decision after itís made. But more often than not, it starts with the gut. So you want people there in the moment of decision about your event. Stories are what take them there.

There is really interesting recent research about brand attachments, by JoAnn Sciarrino, a former executive VP for BBDO North America, and the current Knight Chair in Digital Advertising and Marketing at the UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication. She says that how emotionally attached someone is to a brand is the single biggest indicator of whether that person will buy that brand (far more than likes or shares in social media).

The three feelings that really form the “bonds,” if you will, are passion, connection, and affection. Sciarrino has measured this, and found that when people feel those three things, they form an attachment.

This is the basic science of why stories are so powerful for brands. Told appropriately, stories rouse passion, forge connection, and generate affection. You want brand attachment so that people buy your event? Storytelling is your glue.

Everyone is Talking the Talk: Let’s Walk the Walk

The association arena is talking about storytelling. Even the heads of associations are touting it, such as in this video. But talking about it and doing it are two different things.

You need to do it.

We have a whole series of newsletters in the works on how to use storytelling to market your event. Because it’s more than just saying: “Hey, try telling a story.” There is a good deal of strategy behind it. Right now, we’re imagining that you have questions. What kind of story? Whatís it about? What form does it take? What do I do with it?

We have some really good answers for you, and weíll be sharing them in the next three newsletters. But first, gather your answers to these questions. Are you ready for a fresh way to market your event? Can you leave NEC marketing behind, even as its siren song calls to you? Are you committed to engaging the next generation (and for that matter, the current generation)?

Embracing a “yes” to all of these questions will make the journey more seamless, more interesting, and definitely more fun. Be on the lookout for part 2, where we’ll dive into how to use storytelling in your email marketing.

Are you ready to start connecting the unconnected?

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SHOW DON’T TELL: MARKETING WITH STRATEGIC STORYTELLING

Storytelling is a craft as old as humankind. It long predates the written word as a form of communication, a way to record history, and a method for teaching. It links us to our ancestors and to each other. Despite its name, storytelling is an interactive communication form in which we SHOW others something important by illustrating a scenario, rather than simply TELLING them facts and figures we think they should know. The results of good stories are “sticky” lessons and information that strike us with awe, stay with us, and move us to action.

What is Storytelling?

A story has characters. It has conflict and color. A vivid setting. Tension. A plot twist. It involves looking audience members in the eye and saying, “Have you ever?” or “Do you know what I mean?” And they wait on the edge of their seats for these brilliant details, twists and turns, points of connection, climaxes, and resolutions. A story can be as simple as a joke or as complex as an epic tale.

Ultimately, a story has an ending-one that leaves us laughing, crying, smarter, wiser, or filled with wonder. Stories are memorable. Some, unforgettable.

How Does Storytelling fit into Marketing?

As marketers, we strive to connect with our audiences in meaningful ways. We tap them on the shoulder and say “Do you need what we offer? Would you like to connect with us?” Too often, we recite information, facts, dates, keynote speaker names, panel topics’ that we want our audience to know. Our websites include About Us information about how long we’ve existed, awards we’ve won, and services we offer. (As a test, take a look at your web content. How many times do you use the word “we” vs. the word “you.”)

A better approach is one of storytelling, of relating vivid details of real human beings, their successes and failures.

Good storytelling is an exchange of conversation and key information, always keeping the needs of your audience in mind. This is both and art and a science. It’s also a soft sell. Once they’re fully engaged and struck with awe and wonder, your audience will come to you on their own because they’re educated, informed, and connected.

Storytelling vs. Strategic Storytelling

Bill Baker of BB&Co eloquently makes a distinction between storytelling and strategic storytelling. He notes that storytelling generally involves a company spilling out whatever it wants to brag about. Strategic storytelling, on the other hand, is savvy marketing that relates to your audience on a one-on-one level and “establishes context and relevance for your message.” (View his entire blog post here). According to Baker, strategic storytelling can “shape the way people think, focus their understanding, and compel them towards desired actions.”

Where to Start

Customer testimonials are a type of story, but standing alone these don’t do all the heavy lifting to actually tell your story. Collect these and other customer experiences, employee anecdotes, and company history.

Often, the reason why your association was founded, a hurdle overcome, or a problem you’re still solving make excellent, compelling stories.

Weave all these threads together for a strategic story that SHOWS the world what your association is all about. Include bits of your story in emails, postcards, your website, events, and in your face-to-face interactions. Then stand back and watch as this interactive, collaborative approach fills seats, attracts new members, and builds long-term loyalty.

People Relate to People

The fundamentals of storytelling, much like the pirate’s code, are more like guidelines than actual rules. Not all stories have a villain, a love story, or even a happy ending.

But all good stories evoke a sense of wonder and connection.

Storytelling works because people relate to other people, not to brands or products.

What’s your story? How might you use it to inspire your base?

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In Jab, Jab, Jab, Vaynerchuk says that if Facebook is the dining room where we entertain, then LinkedIn is the library, where we go for resources and to get deals done.

Associations have already embraced LinkedIn, but not necessarily for what LinkedIn is becoming, which is a place where thought leaders gather and share ideas.

It’s no longer just job seekers and networking and group discussions. LinkedIn is bringing back the idea of long form copy, and they’ve been working hard to encourage content creation.

Both trade and consumer brands are embracing LinkedIn (we heard an executive from Coca-Cola recently talking about all of the traction they are gaining for their Journey magazine by using LinkedIn). Take a look at what LinkedIn is doing (if you haven’t yet), because it’s an emerging opportunity for associations.

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Instagram is similar to Pinterest in that it’s 100 percent visual. There is a realness about Instagram—even through the filters—that Pinterest sometimes lacks, because it’s about photography and slices of life, versus aspirational ideas.

Instagram has the quality of an old-time print campaign. If Pinterest deals in products and ideas, Instagram deals in moments. And that’s where associations can really capitalize—because events are full of Instagram-worthy moments.

In our view, Instagram will only grow in popularity, because it is so easy to story tell, and to invite others in to story tell with you (through the hash tag). Instead of the thumbs up for like, Instagram uses the heart: click it and you fill the empty heart. If that’s not a metaphor for what associations need to do, then we don’t know what is!

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This all-visual platform is a great chance to connect to your members’ and supporters’ aspirations and interests. Pinterest is less about your brand, and more about creating a vision board around what your organization is about.

It’s a chance to have fun (yes, fun is allowed). For example, perhaps you know that a lot of networking at your event happens on the coffee breaks in between sessions.

You might create an entire board around the idea of “coffee breaks”: beautiful images of coffee, interesting quotes about coffee, strange collections of coffee cups . . . you get the idea.

Pinterest is all about the re-pin (which keeps original image links in tact).

This means you don’t need to necessarily spend a lot of time creating your own images. Just make sure to tag your images with interesting and relevant hashtags. And, like Twitter, offer your take on the image and provide context.

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What Facebook has on its side is mass appeal. But more and more, that appeal isn’t coming for free as Facebook is transforming itself into a paid advertising platform. The first thing to understand is that you probably will have to pay to be seen on Facebook now. But anyone can tell you that. Let’s talk about how to craft the right kind of Facebook posts worthy of sponsoring.

If Twitter is your take on the conversation, Facebook is the love fest of sharing: a picture-based storytelling platform.

It’s visual stories, with bright, interesting, and real color commentary.

It is not:

Links with poor context.
Things that should really just be Tweets.
Beauty shots of your product or spreads from your magazine.

At the root, Facebook is being part of the community in a deeper way; it’s about cultivating friendships through sharing.

Most importantly for associations: it’s about exposing vulnerability and showing a piece of who you are.

That starts with compelling images that show something real. Something interesting. For example, one of our association clients usually gets 15 or so likes for Facebook posts. When they posted pictures of staff wearing Halloween costumes, they got 150 likes. Does that translate directly into more seats being filled at their event? No, but it’s part of a relationship-building process that does translate into that. More likes means more visibility, which can lead to more engagement, which leads back to more visibility. But it all comes from being real.

Large, good quality images that show the people-side of what your association and event is about: that’s what Facebook is for. And think carefully about the status update that goes with it. Remember your social media voice, and always offer interesting, funny, or informative commentary, with a link.

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Twitter seems to be the preferred platform for many associations.

We suspect it’s because Twitter is safe. It’s fairly easy to spin out Tweet after Tweet as tangible evidence that you are doing something regular on social media: Look, we’re Tweeting! We’re telling everyone about our event!

The problem is, with so many people talking, there is a big listening problem on Twitter. Even the most robust feed doesn’t translate into engagement if you’re not actually engaging.

This is because Twitter is less about the content itself, and more about coming up with unique takes on what’s going on—not just in your industry, but the trends at large, from world news to pop culture.

For associations, this is a great opportunity to add relevancy, engage directly with followers about the stuff they care about, and show that you have a distinct voice and place in their world.

How can you do that? First, always pay attention to what’s “trending.” Instead of Tweets that are just links to your association’s latest blog post or offer, pull from what’s trending and find ways to offer your own fresh take. Sometimes it’s directly related to your association. Other times, only tangentially. But that’s sort of the point. It’s a conversation, and not every Tweet is the zinger.

Build interest through engagement and insight.

And only then should you bother to promote anything.

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“Those who tell the stories rule the world.”-attributed both to Plato and Hopi Native Americans

Storytelling is a craft as old as humankind. It long predates the written word as a form of communication, a way to record history, and a method for teaching. It links us to our ancestors and to each other. Despite its name, storytelling is an interactive communication form in which we SHOW others something important by illustrating a scenario, rather than simply TELLING them facts and figures we think they should know. The results of good stories are “sticky” lessons and information that strike us with awe, stay with us, and move us to action.

Why it Works

At its core, storytelling works as a marketing tool because of the way our brains are wired.

It turns out that the part of the brain that processes emotions is the same part that makes decisions-that’s the limbic system. While it seems counterintuitive, appealing to your audience with facts, figures, and other generally credible and logical information is not enough to really “sell” them on your association or your event. You absolutely must appeal to emotions if you want to propel your base toward action. Engage your membership emotionally with brand storytelling and watch how many seats fill up at your next event.

What is Storytelling?

A story has characters. It has conflict and color. A vivid setting. Tension. A plot twist. It involves looking audience members in the eye and saying, “Have you ever?” or “Do you know what I mean?” And they wait on the edges of their seats for these brilliant details, twists and turns, points of connection, climaxes, and resolutions. A story can be as simple as a joke or as complex as an epic tale. Ultimately, a story has an ending-one that leaves us laughing, crying, smarter, wiser, or filled with wonder. Stories are memorable. Some, unforgettable.

Know Your Archetypes

One reason storytelling is timeless is that basically we keep telling the same stories over and over again. We’re accustomed to tales of good vs. evil, creation, humans vs. monsters, a hero on a journey, and lots of other familiar plot lines. These classic storylines are called archetypes. They serve as frames upon which we can hang a given cast of characters and send them along more or less the same path with the same outcome as many characters who came before them.

Consider these textbook examples of stories that employ archetypes:

“The Chronicles of Narnia” books by C.S. Lewis are a fantastical retelling of Christian biblical stories using talking animals. They contain a creation story, a hero’s journey, monsters, villains, and more classic archetypes.
The movie “Apocalypse Now” is a retelling of Joseph Conrad’s book “The Heart of Darkness,” set during the Vietnam war rather than during the Imperialist expansion into Africa of the late 1800s. Archetypes employed include the hero’s journey, the everyman, and good vs. evil.
The “Star Wars” movies are a classic example of the battle between good and evil, just like Milton’s epic poem “Paradise Lost” from 1667.
Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales” and Shrek movies 1 though 4 all use the hero’s journey archetype.

Characters themselves can also be archetypes. In fact, your brand likely fits a character archetype that you can use to your advantage. (We’ve talked before about the patriarch, the advocate, and the caregiver.) A few more examples of character archetypes include:
the hero: Indiana Jones, The Lone Ranger, Katniss Everdeen
the everyman: Mr. Smith (the one who goes to Washington), Orphan Annie, Frodo Baggins
the villain: Lex Luthor, Voldimort, Wicked Witch of the West, Hanibal Lecter
the creator: Steve Jobs, Victor Frankenstein, Pinocchio’s Geppetto
the jester: The Fool in Hamlet, Dori in Finding Nemo, any role played by Jim Carey

Whether characters or storylines, archetypes provide familiar patterns that tug at emotions and hearken back to our most basic human instincts and desires.

They help us as brand storytellers know what kinds of stories to tell, what tone to take, and what kind of words to use. Similarly, they help our audience connect with us on a deeper level because, in a sense, our story is already familiar to them.

How Does Storytelling fit into Marketing?

As marketers, we strive to connect with our audiences in meaningful ways. We tap them on the shoulder and say

“Do you need what we offer? Would you like to connect with us?”

Too often, we recite information-facts, dates, keynote speaker names, panel topics-that we want our audience to know. (As a test, take a look at your web content. How many times do you use the word “we” vs. the word “you.”)

A better approach is one of storytelling, of relating vivid details of real human beings, their successes and failures. Good storytelling is an authentic exchange of conversation, emotions, and key information, always keeping the needs of your audience in mind. This is both and art and a science. It’s also a soft sell. Once they’re fully engaged and struck with awe and wonder, your audience will come to you on their own because they’re educated, informed, and connected.

Storytelling vs. Strategic Storytelling

Bill Baker of BB&Co eloquently makes a distinction between storytelling and strategic storytelling. He notes that storytelling generally involves a company or organization spilling out whatever it wants to brag about. Strategic storytelling, on the other hand, is savvy marketing that relates to your audience on a one-on-one level and “establishes context and relevance for your message.” (View his entire article here).

According to Baker, strategic storytelling can “shape the way people think, focus their understanding, and compel them towards desired actions.”

Where to Start

Customer testimonials are a type of story, but standing alone these don’t do all the heavy lifting to actually tell your story. Collect these and other attendee experiences, employee anecdotes, case studies, and company history.

Often, the reason why your association was founded, a hurdle overcome, or a problem you’re still solving make excellent, compelling stories. Consider also your audience, what they need to hear, and problems you can help them solve. Choosing an archetype that represents your brand will also help you determine what kinds of stories to gather and how to tell them.

Weave all these threads together for a strategic story that SHOWS the world what your association is all about.

Engage your audience emotionally by including bits of your story in emails, postcards, your website, events, and in your face-to-face interactions. Then stand back and watch as this interactive, collaborative approach fills seats, attracts new members, and builds long-term loyalty.

Measuring Results

While storytelling, ancient archetypes, and emotions might seem very subjective and nebulous when it comes to measuring effectiveness, it turns out there’s some pretty concrete science behind all this connection and emotion.

JoAnn Sciarrino, a researcher and the Knight Chair in Digital Advertising and Marketing at the UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication, developed a way to measure brand engagement by analyzing social media conversations.

By looking at the words people used in association with a given brand, a.k.a. the stories being told, Sciarrino was able to determine to what extent people were emotionally attached to the brand.

Her findings concluded that an emotional brand attachment had a higher correlation to sales than any other factor-including overall satisfaction, willingness to recommend, likes, shares, and a host of other metrics.

Brain Science

Sciarrino reminds us that emotion resides in the limbic part of our brain, the same part of the brain where 90% of our decisions are made. A neuroscientist named Antonio Damasio first discovered the connection between emotions and decision-making when he studied people with damage to the limbic brain. While they basically seemed normal aside from experiencing no emotions, Damasio’s subjects had difficulty making even simple decisions-such as whether to have chicken or turkey for lunch. Damasio’s research suggests that human beings depend on emotion to make decisions. All this science tells us that we can’t ignore emotion when it comes to connecting with our base. If we want people to take action by joining our ranks and attending our annual events, we must create an emotional connection with our brand. And storytelling is a proven, measurable way to do so.

People Relate to People

The fundamentals of storytelling, much like the pirate’s code, are more like guidelines than actual rules. Not all stories have a villain, a love story, a journey, or even a happy ending. But all good stories are “true” in the sense that they are authentic. All good stories evoke a sense of wonder and connection. Storytelling works because people relate to other people, and they connect with brands primarily on an emotional level. The end goal of storytelling is timeless inspiration. And while that might sound like a lofty goal, it’s certainly an attainable one. What’s your brand story? How might you use it to inspire your base?

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The age of social media represents a fundamental change in where power is clustered.

A better way to say it is that social media has “unclustered” power. No longer do large corporations and brands hold all the cards. We’re entering an age when individuals, especially individuals working together, can do what only big brands and corporations used to be able to do, like influence.

Your members, supporters, fans have more power than you. That’s not something to be feared. Rather, it’s a tremendous opportunity—if you use it effectively.

Let’s talk quickly about how NOT to use social media. First, it’s not a dumping ground for existing content. It’s also not a place to make endless sales pitches. And it’s definitely not a rinse-and-repeat, one-size-fits-all operation.

But you do need to develop a consistent social media voice across your platforms, and then share your best stuff, tailored to fit what that platform is truly about.

We love the advice from Gary Vaynerchuk in his book Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: “Stop thinking about your content as content. Think about it, rather, as micro-content—tiny, unique nuggets of information, humor, commentary, or inspiration that you reimagine every day, even every hour, as you respond to today’s culture, conversations, and current events in real time in a platform’s native language and format.”

In other words, if you are only using social media for an endless series of updates and calls to action, pushing your Facebook feed through to Twitter, or pinning images of your own brand to Pinterest, you’re missing the opportunity.

We don’t have the time or space to tackle the nuances of every platform. But we’d like to share a few tips about the social media platforms we know that associations are using most.

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Let’s start with an idea that you know is true, but may stress you out to think about nonetheless. It’s this:

SOCIAL MEDIA IS A POWERFUL MARKETING TOOL FOR YOUR EVENT.

If you’ve read anything about social media, heard any story about it on the radio, or generally not been living under a rock, inside a cave, or on a deserted island, you know this is true.

But we’re beyond it being true. What we want to address is the “powerful” part. Because that’s where we have something to add to the conversation—something we see that many organizations still aren’t grasping. Social media isn’t powerful just because it’s a giant microphone. The power doesn’t even come from the fact that these are billion dollar platforms with social reach unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. It’s not the platforms themselves that are the source of the power.

The source of the power comes from the inherent desire baked into all forms of social media, and that is the desire for human connection. That’s why social media has taken off: because people inherently want to connect to other people.

If you can work social media through the lens of connection, it will feel more natural, take on a stronger purpose, and ultimately, be a lot more fun for your association.

In case you’re not sold yet, here’s one more truth: there are too many options and ways to spend time today. The existence of your association is not nearly enough.

It won’t survive or thrive if it’s not a vehicle for connecting people.

In fact, if you want to be sustainable for the future, you need a system that doesn’t just help you connect with people, but also helps empower those people to reach out and keep making more connections.

How handy that social media exists. Honestly, it came right in time for your organization.

Clusters are Out: Micro is In

The age of social media represents a fundamental change in where power is clustered.

A better way to say it is that social media has “unclustered” power. No longer do large corporations and brands hold all the cards. We’re entering an age when individuals, especially individuals working together, can do what only big brands and corporations used to be able to do, like influence.

Your members, supporters, and fans have more power than you.

That’s not something to be feared. Rather, it’s a tremendous opportunity—if you use it effectively.

Let’s talk quickly about how NOT to use social media. First, it’s not a dumping ground for existing content. It’s also not a place to make endless sales pitches. And it’s definitely not a rinse-and-repeat, one-size-fits-all operation.

The advice we used to give (that we were passing on from the social media experts) was to pick one platform and do it well. That’s not really enough anymore. It’s not that you have to tackle every single platform out there. But you do need to develop a consistent social media voice across your platforms, and then share your best stuff, tailored to fit what that platform is truly about.

We love the advice from Gary Vaynerchuk in his book Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: “Stop thinking about your content as content. Think about it, rather, as micro-content—tiny, unique nuggets of information, humor, commentary, or inspiration that you reimagine every day, even every hour, as you respond to today’s culture, conversations, and current events in real time in a platform’s native language and format.”

Addressing the nuances of every platform is more than we can tackle in this space. But we’d like to share a few tips about the social media platforms we know that associations are using most.

Twitter: Everybody’s Talkin’ At Me . . .

We’ll start with Twitter, because it seems to be the preferred platform for many associations.

We suspect it’s because Twitter is safe. It’s fairly easy to spin out Tweet after Tweet as tangible evidence that you are doing something regular on social media: Look, we’re Tweeting! We’re telling everyone about our event!

The problem is, with so many people talking, there is a big listening problem on Twitter. Even the most robust feed doesn’t translate into engagement if you’re not actually engaging.

This is because Twitter is less about the content itself, and more about coming up with unique takes on what’s going on—not just in your industry, but the trends at large, from world news to pop culture.

For associations, this is a great opportunity to add relevancy, engage directly with followers about the stuff they care about, and show that you have a distinct voice and place in their world.

How can you do that? First, always pay attention to what’s “trending.” Instead of Tweets that are just links to your association’s latest blog post or early-bird rate offer, pull from what’s trending and find ways to offer your own fresh take. Sometimes it’s directly related to your association. Other times, only tangentially. But that’s sort of the point. It’s a conversation, and not every Tweet is the zinger. Build interest through engagement and insight. And only then should you bother to promote anything.

Facebook: I Like You; Do You Like Me?

What Facebook has on its side is mass appeal.

But more and more, that appeal isn’t coming for free as Facebook is transforming itself into a paid advertising platform. The first thing to understand is that you probably will have to pay to be seen on Facebook now. But anyone can tell you that. Let’s talk about how to craft the right kind of Facebook posts worthy of sponsoring.

If Twitter is your take on the conversation, Facebook is the love fest of sharing: a picture-based storytelling platform. It’s visual stories, with bright, interesting, and real color commentary.

It is not:

Links with poor context.
Things that should really just be Tweets.
Beauty shots of your product or spreads from your magazine.

At the root, Facebook is being part of the community in a deeper way; it’s about cultivating friendships through sharing.

Most importantly for associations: it’s about exposing the human side and showing a piece of who you are.

Pinterest: The Middle School Locker

This all-visual platform is a great chance to connect to your members’ and supporters’ aspirations and interests.

Pinterest is less about your brand, and more about creating a vision board around what your organization is about. It’s a chance to have fun (yes, fun is allowed). For example, perhaps you know that a lot of networking at your event happens on the coffee breaks in between sessions. You might create an entire board around the idea of “coffee breaks”: beautiful images of coffee, interesting quotes about coffee, strange collections of coffee cups . . . you get the idea.

Pinterest is all about the re-pin (which keeps original image links in tact). This means you don’t need to necessarily spend a lot of time creating your own images. Just make sure to tag your images with interesting and relevant hashtags. And, like Twitter, offer your take on the image and provide context.

Instagram: Life, Only Better

Instagram is similar to Pinterest in that it’s 100 percent visual. There is a realness about Instagram—even through the filters—that Pinterest sometimes lacks, because it’s about photography and slices of life, versus aspirational ideas.Instagram has the quality of an old-time print campaign. If Pinterest deals in products and ideas, Instagram deals in moments.

And that’s where associations can really capitalize—because events are full of Instagram-worthy moments.

LinkedIn: Calling All Thought Leaders!

In Jab, Jab, Jab, Vaynerchuk says that if Facebook is the dining room where we entertain, then LinkedIn is the library, where we go for resources and to get deals done. Associations have already embraced LinkedIn, but not necessarily for what LinkedIn is becoming, which is a place where thought leaders gather and share ideas.

It’s no longer just job seekers and networking and group discussions. LinkedIn is bringing back the idea of long form copy, and they’ve been working hard to encourage content creation. Both trade and consumer brands are embracing LinkedIn (we heard an executive from Coca-Cola recently talking about all of the traction they are gaining for their Journey magazine by using LinkedIn). Take a look at what LinkedIn is doing (if you haven’t yet), because it’s an emerging opportunity for associations.

The channels of social media each represent opportunity. We know that many of them are already part of your marketing plans. Move the effort from repurposing your content and hitting your followers with an endless stream of offers and updates to creating quality micro content, meant to engage without asking anything in return.

When you approach social media that way – as a means of talk to your people in the very ways they are self-selecting – you’ll find they listen much better.

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Let’s start with an idea that you know is true, but may stress you out to think about nonetheless. It’s this:

Social media is a powerful marketing tool for your event.

If you’ve read anything about social media, heard any story about it on the radio, or generally not been living under a rock, inside a cave, or on a deserted island, you know this is true.

Social media isn’t powerful just because it’s a giant microphone. The power doesn’t even come from the fact that these are billion dollar platforms with social reach unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. It’s not the platforms themselves that are the source of the power.

The source of the power comes from the inherent desire baked into all forms of social media, and that is the desire for human connection.

That’s why social media has taken off: because people inherently want to connect to other people. If you can work social media through the lens of connection, it will feel more natural, take on a stronger purpose, and ultimately, be a lot more fun for your association.

In case you’re not sold yet, here’s one more truth: there are too many options and ways to spend time today. The existence of your association is not nearly enough. It won’t survive or thrive if it’s not a vehicle for connecting people.

In fact, if you want to be sustainable for the future, you need a system that doesn’t just help you connect with people, but also helps empower those people to reach out and keep making more connections.

How handy that social media exists. Honestly, it came right in time for your organization.

Share this post in LinkedIn:

NOT ANOTHER SNOOZELETTER.