I think what makes social media so compelling sometimes isn't the numbers, but the stories. Specifically, it's the stories people tell each other about their lives, about their interactions with companies, about everything else they do, and while many people will say that too much information gets passed around when it comes to cats, what's being eaten etc., there is nonetheless something compelling about the details that are shared, and the desire to connect with people through even the most banal of details.
In general, stories are powerful. There's a saying I heard recently: "Facts tell, stories sell." And there's some real truth to that. People like to read stories, like to watch them, etc., which is why the entertainment industry does so well, but it's also how a business can grab people's attention, because a business can tell a story as well about how it was founded, what the struggles were, how they help people. And they can use social media to do this, via blog, video, or social networking profiles.
And stories extend past that to situations where businesses helped clients. Recently, I saw a commercial for Les Schwab the tire company. The story in the commercial is of a client who saves some money, because Les Schwab finds a small rock between the calipers of her brakes and removes it for free. You can bet that story has helped boost some business, because people can identify with saving money and being taken care of by a business that wants to help its clients.
Let me tell you another story. Recently I joined Third Tribe Marketing. It's a forum site focused on internet marketing. I've been slowly scaling my participation up, as I get used to the site, and what I've found really helpful is that it's significantly changed my approach to internet marketing, because I'm learning what other people, many of them more successful than I, are doing with their own internet marketing. It's actually helped me overcome some resistance I had to monetizing my blog, because I am learning how people can do it without being offensive about it, which was an initial concern I had. But I'm also learning more about the power of stories, because so many of these people use stories to create compelling interest in what they are doing, and in the services and products they offer.
Stories are important in social media, because with so much text, what will really stand out is not how much information you pout out, but how you make it interesting enough that people will read it.
Stories sell, facts tell. Are you using stories in your business? Are you using stories on your social media sites?