WHY DO WE SHARE CONTENT?

I cannot deny the fact that we are living in a connection economy, with information overload in a new order of digital deluge.  We share the history of compilers, with a sense of excess. Five centuries ago, a new technology swamped the world with the invention of the printing press. There was a monumental shift in access to ideas, knowledge and mass communication. Even long before, in the absence of the formal written language, humans have shared information from generation to generation by telling and retelling of stories, through word of mouth. 

Today’s word of mouth is manifested in sharing content over the Internet, facilitated by technologies of the Information Age. So sharing is not new; it can now be done at a much faster, more visible and immediate pace, and with a greater scalability factor than ever before. Online content is more accessible to sharers who are fueled by their enthusiasm to select, sort, summarize, share information and connect with other people. The role of the human is integral in building, strengthening and supporting relationships that form the framework of our online behavior.

In a constant stream of posts, feeds, and emails that augment our transformative digital media, there are motivating forces to share content online. Here are some of the leading factors:

• To create a self-identity: Sharing content online is an outlet to present ourselves as the person we want to be as perceived by others. The nature of our online interactions cast our digital media persona. It gives an opportunity to self-identify with issues that build our online reputation within our social circles.

• To foster and nourish our relationships: Common interests and shared values bring us together as an online community. We share information in the social sphere with those we think would understand and appreciate the message. These online dialogues encourage us to cultivate relationships by supporting and being interested in one another.

• To spread the message about causes we care about: When there is a product, brand or issue we care about, it becomes a catalyst for sharing. It acts as a medium to show our support and affiliation. The online interactions triggered by sharing content and contributing to a discussion, makes us feel more valued, engaged, and involved in the virtual community.
  

• To announce a sense of urgency: These situations occur when we become aware of promotional offers, events, and contests; we feel a need to share the content before the time runs out. We want others to know of the exclusive opportunities as they offer something out of the ordinary.

• To delight and provide value through sharing: Content that is emotive evokes high arousal, which makes it more viral. Positive reactions for awe, humor, inspiration and negative emotions like anger, anxiety, fear, shock, and controversy get most attention and are likely to be re-shared. We do not share content that we are embarrassed or feel scared about. We share exciting and informative content as it makes us feel good. A large section of people carefully consider how the information they share will be useful to the recipients, as they feel these actions will add value to their social network.

We have the power and ability to contribute to the online experience and information. Many of our technology tools will soon become obsolete, but ultimately human attention and judgment will always guide the process of sharing. 

Keep those connections alive!

DIGITAL STORYTELLING: INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL BRAND VOICE

A story is a sense-making device that speaks to our emotions. Stories matter as they evoke a psychological response and create meaning in our lives through which we can make better sense of the world. Powerful stories have the capacity to empower and humanize. Storytelling can be successful when it is engaging enough for the audience to incite an emotional reaction while being relevant. Stories have been the most effective and persuasive medium for human communication and competitive offerings.  We are humans first, consumers second. 

Brands require powerful storytelling to unite the brand’s values to a meaningful emotional experience to its audience, through a narrative material. A strong brand carries a combination of facts and emotions. Storytelling and branding are in that regard closely linked and emanate from the same starting point of emotions and values. Storytelling is the means, branding is the goal. A story drives the bond between the brand and the consumer. In order to differentiate a brand from the competition and to retain loyalty of the customer, a brand needs to create an experience that is relevant and clearly illustrates its unique value proposition. 

Brands need to adopt a holistic and strategic communication strategy in order to craft a strong compelling story. It requires a deep authenticity from the brand, in which the message is consistent through all departments and channels that represent the brand. The internal brand voice can be projected through its values, beliefs, and culture.  The employees embody the company’s values on a daily basis. They become the great ambassadors for the company’s values and their stories about the product or service. Gaining credibility from opinion leaders, experts and consumer groups, who lend their seal of approval, provide a good source for conveying the story to the media. If these sources form a unified message when delivered, the audience hears the same story, no matter from which medium they receive it, which amplifies the brand meaning. These synergies created across media, reinforce the messaging. 

A simple unified message creates greater impact. The audience seldom remembers the statics, or the fine details of the message but do remember how the story made them feel. A good story elevates the receiver to make them feel smart and secure. It does not talk about how great the brand is, but talks about how great their audience can be. Brands place the people as their focus. As the audience internalizes the story, the brand’s story becomes their story. This becomes a catalyst for sharing it with others and for the brand to build a relationship with the audience.

The digital distribution of storytelling not only requires the brand to have a consistent message for the audience, but also make it relevant and within the context of the external environment. The shared values and interests of the online communities bring them together through their engagement. They have the power to mobilize in great numbers and the strength to get the message out more quickly. The audience takes the role of the storyteller and they co-create the parts of the story, which allows them to impart and complete their own meaning. These personal stories are humanized as they are built on values, beliefs, trust and creating relationships. This creates a whole new dimension for interpreted, free flowing exchange of storytelling, with the massive exchange of opinions about the brand’s product or service. But the brand needs to understand which part of the story they need to create and which to co-create with the audience, so it stays close to the intended message. 

Companies need to be proactive listeners to the stories of what the customers are saying. The brand can strategically leverage these individual customer stories in its brand building strategy. Customers in this way actively contribute towards the making of the brand. These shared exchanges offer the most credibility for the brand since it comes from the external source of the audience. In today’s connected society, brands that explain how they can bring value and make a difference, enjoy a loyal customer base. Brands need to take advantage of the exciting possibilities of collaborative storytelling, while staying current in the evolving landscape of new media platforms. 

The story never ends...

LITTLE MONSTERS TURN BRAND FANATICS

A few weeks ago I attended a presentation by marketing maven, Jackie Huba. It was another gorgeous summer evening on the rooftop of the Ecotrust building here in Portland. A sudden light drizzle later that evening, did catch all of us off-guard. However, it did not in the least dampen the spirit of the audience as Huba continued to captivate our attention with her engaging story; a pop diva who relentlessly sought to achieve her dreams, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all times. 

Huba has been studying Lady Gaga for the past 4 years and is inspired by her intuitive customer strategies and messaging methods on social media. Lady Gaga has built an incredibly large fan base worldwide, in just four short years, with 55 million Facebook fans and 33 million Twitter followers, and the number of her loyal supporters keeps growing exponentially. 

Huba shared with us how businesses can learn from Lady Gaga’s savvy strategies to become a model loyalty marketer. 

• Focus on Your One Percenters: It is a known fact that it is easier and cheaper to retain current customers than to acquire new ones. Gaga focuses on her core advocates, the superfans that will become evangelists to bring in new followers.

• Lead with Values: A company can create identity bonds with their customers, where they admire and identify with the brand’s values, attitudes, and ideals. Customers form an emotional attachment based on these shared values.

• Build a Community: Companies can engage their group of supporters to create a collective experience that will help build and strengthen a community.

• Give Fans a Name: Creating a name for the loyal customers, assigns then an identity that is based on distinct behaviors and personal characteristics. It gives the customers a sense of belonging. Gaga calls her fans her “Little Monsters.”

• Embrace Shared Symbols: Symbols are a medium through which meaning is expressed. Symbols belonging to a particular group make the group and its members easily recognizable. This helps build connections between the group members.

• Make them feel like Rock Stars: When the company treats brand fanatics like Rock Stars, they patronize the company. As the customers feel special, they have a stronger emotional connection with the brand.

• Generate something to talk about: The power to create a buzz on social media is immense and messages can go viral very quickly. A two-way communication can be established with the customers, to create a real world relationship as well as an opportunity to listen to them.

At the end of the talk, each one of the attendees walked away with a free signed copy of Huba’s newly released book, “Monster Loyalty: How Lady Gaga turns Followers into Fanatics.” With the book in tow, there is no doubt that we will be the best word of mouth marketing for it! 

“I believe that everyone can do what I’m doing. Everyone can access the parts of themselves that are great. I’m just a girl from New York City who decided to do this, after all. Rule the world! What’s life worth living if you don’t rule it?”  -- Lady Gaga