I had the great fortune of participating on a panel at this year's Social Shakeup alongside a few really fun (and smart) ladies from Oracle, Polaris and IBM. Our session - Big Brand Theory: How the Best Brands Are Winning the Popularity Contest on Social - focused on how businesses approach content generation, audience engagement and analytics (post campaign).
During the art of storytelling discussion I shared my thoughts on what makes for a great storyteller. First and foremost, they're a great listener.
Storytelling fails if your message doesn't resonate with the people you're trying to connect with. I used the analogy that it's like throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping your story sticks.
Our session had me thinking about a conversation I had with my brother-in-law about the fun ad series UnitedHealthcare just launched - he's one of their regional sales managers. I asked him how they figured out what programs/products to focus on. He told me that each year they ask the same question from partners, providers and most importantly, participants, "How can we take UnitedHealthcare to the next level?" Listening is at the core of the question and what we get on the other end [as consumers] isn't just a great product offering, we gain great stories! Companies like UnitedHealthcare understand the importance of listening first.
Listening comes with 4 simple truths.
Google the key phrase "how to be a good listener" and you'll find a plethora of content on the subject. The interesting part is that most experts agree on 4 things: Good listeners (aka great storytellers) are present, they're open-minded, they ask good questions and they don't allow themselves to become defensive.
- Be Present: While being present when someone is right in front of you seems easy, being present when your audience isn't might feel difficult. That's where social listening on social channels works great. Monitoring your channels to hear what people are saying about your brand is a fantastic way to help your audience feel the connection. The key is to be actively engaged within your community. One of my favorite brands on Facebook - Kraus Pizza - posts Topper Tuesday. They upload a picture of a pizza and ask their community to guess what's on it. The use of gamification is a great technique a lot of brands use to get the conversation started. Benefit? It can get the community talking about more than just the game. Remember, once you get the conversation started, stick around to hear the responses.
- Be open-minded: UnitedHealthcare asks the same question at the beginning of each year to see where they should focus their energy. One of the ways they do this is by deploying a survey. Surveys come with risk - you might not like everything you hear. Having said that, you're bound to gain fresh ideas and that's the beauty of being open-minded. When you allow yourself the opportunity to filter through the good with the bad to find those nuggets, you take your brand to the next level. As for the bad, there's always opportunities for growth. If we believed everything we did was perfection, there would be no need for innovation and that's never a good thing.
- Ask good questions: The easiest way to get a conversation started is to ask an engaging question. During the Social Shake-Up someone asked me, "What does SAS do?" It would have been easy to offer features and benefits of our products and our company in order to promote our brand. I chose a different route. I asked her a few questions in order to understand her lifestyle better. I took those nuggets and shared a story [about her] that showed how our products help our customers enhance and improve the lives of their customers. The interesting part was how freely she offered more information than I'd asked for. If you ask the right question(s) you might uncover more about your audience that can lead to really powerful stories worth sharing.
- Don't be defensive: Feedback can hurt which can lead to defensiveness as you hold your ground. On the flipside feedback can offer unexpected, valuable lessons and add to a brand's authenticity when you use it to educate people about your brand's core values. This week while in Salt Lake City, I had a conversation about a staple in Austin - Alamo Drafthouse. A few years back they made the news when they removed a patron for texting during a movie. When she left harsh feedback, Alamo turned it into a YouTube video. Risky move? Maybe, but my conversation proved that turning feedback into a moment of education has positively affected movie goers far outside Austin's city limits. In his words, "Man, I wish I could go to Alamo Drafthouse - that's a great way to do business." Alamo's fans got behind the message and it's what's made their decision to address the feedback even more valuable.
The go-to for great storytellers is being a good listener first. What are a few techniques you use to listen?
*Photo courtesy of Twitter.