People's Insights Volume 1, Issue 47: Small Business Saturday
Storytelling for the Social Media Era
1. Storytelling for the
Social Media Era
An Overview of Key Concepts, Strategies, Tactics for
Engaging Online Communities
Hong Qu @hqu
CUNY JCamp
Nov 13, 2012
Tuesday, November 13, 12
2. Overview
Introduction:
Why are we here?
Who tells a good story?
24/7 news cycle in which every millisecond count and every story is fact-checked by the crowd
What is Social Media?
How is it different from Mass Media?
How to activate a vibrant community of fans?
Community of practice, fandom, social capital, and amplifiers
Best practices for engaging with audience/fans/community
Tuesday, November 13, 12
3. Storytelling
Storytelling is the conveying of events in words,
images and sounds, often by improvisation or
embellishment. Stories or narratives have been
shared in every culture as a means of
entertainment, education, cultural preservation
and to instill moral values. Crucial elements of
stories and storytelling include plot, characters
and narrative point of view.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storytelling
Tuesday, November 13, 12
8. The Network Society
We live in a Network Society
http://www.amazon.com/The-Rise-Network-Society-Information/dp/1405196866/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1352789653&sr=8-5-20
Tuesday, November 13, 12
9. The Network Society
We live in a Network Society
Wireless connectivity 24/7
Real-time info/communication on demand
Wisdom of the crowd production, filtering, collaboration, and consumption
Dis-intermediation leads to shifts in centers of power in society
Everyone fight to influence the “amplifiers”
Stories are transmitted by word of mouth through social networks
Social graphs propagate in 2 different configurations
Peer to peer
Hub and spoke
http://www.amazon.com/The-Rise-Network-Society-Information/dp/1405196866/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1352789653&sr=8-5-20
Tuesday, November 13, 12
10. Everyone is a Natural Born Storyteller
“...on the internet interpersonal, organizational,
and mass communication come together. People
become linked to one another and have access to
information and communication with one another
constantly.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_society
Tuesday, November 13, 12
12. News Media vis-à-vis Social Media
"If I had asked people what they wanted,
they would have said faster horses."
- Henry Ford
"What information consumes is rather obvious: it
consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth
of information creates a poverty of attention, and a need
to allocate that attention efficiently among the
overabundance of information sources that might
consume it."
- Herbert Simon
http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/08/henry_ford_never_said_the_fast.html
http://avc.blogs.com/a_vc/2005/11/the_looming_att.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attention_economy
Tuesday, November 13, 12
14. What business are we in?
News
Publishing
Media
Entertainment
Content
Information Distribution
Advertising
Subscription
Social Media Optimization
Communication Platforms
Mobile Apps
Tuesday, November 13, 12
15. What business are we in?
News
In the Social Media Era, content
Publishing
producers must compete for:
Media
Entertainment
Content
Information Distribution
Advertising
Subscription
Social Media Optimization
Communication Platforms
Mobile Apps
Tuesday, November 13, 12
16. What business are we in?
News
In the Social Media Era, content
Publishing
producers must compete for:
Media
Entertainment
Content Attention!!!
Information Distribution
Advertising
Subscription
Social Media Optimization
Communication Platforms
Mobile Apps
Tuesday, November 13, 12
17. What business are we in?
News
In the Social Media Era, content
Publishing
producers must compete for:
Media
Entertainment
Content Attention!!!
Information Distribution
Advertising
To activate a community of fans who
Subscription
Consumes
Social Media Optimization
Advocates
Communication Platforms
Co-creates
Mobile Apps
Tuesday, November 13, 12
19. Fandom
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKu-5NiKvy0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJ-4B9weldc
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fandom
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_Surplus
Tuesday, November 13, 12
20. Where do memes come from?
http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/events/binders-full-of-women
https://www.facebook.com/romneybindersfullofwomen
http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/events/binders-full-of-women
Tuesday, November 13, 12
21. Amazon Binder Reviews
http://www.amazon.com/Avery-Durable-Binder-EZ-Turn-17032/dp/B001B0CTMU/ref=cm_rdp_product
Tuesday, November 13, 12
23. Community of Practice
Group of people who share a craft and/or a
profession
Through informal connections that participants
build in their community of practice, and in the
process of sharing their expertise, learning from
others, and participating in the group, members
are said to be acquiring social capital.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_of_practice
Tuesday, November 13, 12
24. Seven principles for cultivating
communities of practice
http://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/2855.html
Tuesday, November 13, 12
25. Seven principles for cultivating
communities of practice
Design for evolution.
Open a dialogue between inside and outside
perspectives.
Invite different levels of participation.
Develop both public and private community spaces.
Focus on value.
Combine familiarity and excitement.
Create a rhythm for the community.
http://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/2855.html
Tuesday, November 13, 12
29. Amplifiers
“As both social media and traditional media have
evolved, a complex, symbiotic relationship of filtering
and amplification has developed.”
http://charman-anderson.com/2012/02/22/social-media-one-to-some-communication-that-needs-amplifiers/
http://www.livestream.com/knightfoundation/video?clipId=pla_dd03d006-2ac0-4017-b6af-12922ff13075
Tuesday, November 13, 12
30. Case Study: Social Flow
http://blog.socialflow.com/post/5246404319/breaking-bin-laden-visualizing-the-power-of-a-single http://cdn.socialflow.biz/drop/obl-graph-final.pdf
Tuesday, November 13, 12
32. Action Plan
Storytelling
Package stories differently for each
social network
Headline, thumbnails, descriptions,
hashtags
Curiosity gap
Emotional valence
Resonates with your audience
Be a conversation starter
Target your social graph
Test your headlines
Tuesday, November 13, 12
33. Action Plan
Storytelling Engagement
Package stories differently for each
social network Measure distribution analytics
Headline, thumbnails, descriptions, Live-tweet reportage
hashtags
Reciprocate social capital
Curiosity gap
Ask for shares and re-shares
Emotional valence
Amass subscribes and followers
Resonates with your audience
Segment your audience
Be a conversation starter
Cultivate amplifiers
Target your social graph
Test your headlines Update your stories in real time
Tuesday, November 13, 12
34. Action Plan
Storytelling Engagement Community
Package stories differently for each
social network Measure distribution analytics Email list
Headline, thumbnails, descriptions, Live-tweet reportage Facebook Page
hashtags
Reciprocate social capital Twitter
Curiosity gap
Ask for shares and re-shares Instagram
Emotional valence
Amass subscribes and followers YouTube
Resonates with your audience
Segment your audience Crowdsource content production
Be a conversation starter
Cultivate amplifiers Spotlight contributors
Target your social graph
Test your headlines Update your stories in real time Manufacture memes
Tuesday, November 13, 12
35. Action Plan
Storytelling Engagement Community
Package stories differently for each
social network Measure distribution analytics Email list
Headline, thumbnails, descriptions, Live-tweet reportage Facebook Page
hashtags
Reciprocate social capital Twitter
Curiosity gap
Ask for shares and re-shares Instagram
Emotional valence
Amass subscribes and followers YouTube
Resonates with your audience
Segment your audience Crowdsource content production
Be a conversation starter
Cultivate amplifiers Spotlight contributors
Target your social graph
Test your headlines Update your stories in real time Manufacture memes
Focus on what’s working and simplify your workflow!
Tuesday, November 13, 12
37. Discussion and Q&A
Social Media Native Storytelling
The Real Life Social Network
Packaging and propagating through the social graph
Real-time event coverage
Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Crowdsourcing
Transparency, accuracy, and fact-checking
Community of practice, Social Capital
Consumers, Curators, Fans, Amplifiers
Ladder of Engagement, Incentives, Recognition and Rewards
Tuesday, November 13, 12
38. My Memo in 2009
Fri, Jan 23, 2009 at 7:34 PM
Here is a very rough outline of my thoughts on the evolution of information products:
Newspapers and Magazines
Economics of information goods in physical medium
- bundled
- broadcast (one to many)
- authoritative and reliable
Content on the Web
Economics of information goods in digital medium
- unbundling
- production cost decreases
- reproduction cost becomes zero
- distribution cost decreases
Bloggers
Economics of information goods in digital medium over the interactive Web
- a few consumers become producers
- peer review and fact checking (aka open sourcing news and politics)
- discussions replace broadcast (few to few, with many still only consuming)
- production cost decreases further
- distribution cost decreases further
Twitter and emerging services
Economics of information goods in digital medium over the social media Internet
- many consumers become producers
- producers' brand, reputation, authenticity, transparency, and disclosure accumulates over time
- distribution cost becomes revenue source for "popular" producers
- 2% self-promoting producers; 98% producers who share with small groups of friends
- multiple, simultaneous real-time conversations (one to few to many to few... in parallel over small networks)
- mobile apps enable real time sharing creating a sense of immediacy
As for monetization, I think mobile apps (preferably social, idealistic, and transparent about their mission) with local
ads has the highest potential of making money. Separate, small content producing operations run by individuals will
continue to be profitable (adsense and sponsorships) because they command a lot of attention and trust.
Tuesday, November 13, 12