engaging customers through story

Engaging Consumers in !!

Dr. Pamela Rutledge Director, Media Psychology Research Center

November 12, 2012 @pamelarutledge

Your Story

What’s Happening Out There?

What’s in a Story

How Do You Find It?

1

2

3

Overview

4 What Do You Do With It?

What’s Happening Out There?!

1

The Lecture vs. The Cocktail Party

Mobile On-demand Information Full-time connectivity

The New Normal

Consumers expect to participate, be heard, collaborate, get information, and connect.

Fast. All the time.

How Do You Compete?

Tell a story!2

Storytelling is Timeless

q  Draw on ancient traditions, legends and myths

q  Create an authentic connection

1

q  Build trust

q  Transcend generations

q  Engage our emotions

q  Inspire us

q  Are contagious

Stories Connect People 2

Stories Are How We Think

q  Explain how and why q  Define our values

and purpose q  Put us in “Learning Mode”

q  Decrease our resistance to persuasion

3

It’s How We’re Wired

q  Imagined experiences create real emotion

q  Narrative structure provides comfort

q  Trigger neural networks of multi-sensory responses: auditory, kinesthetic, and visual

4

The shortest distance between people is

through story!

A Shoe Company

•  Founded 2006

•  Unique business model

•  Product distributed via recognized 501(c)(3) non-profits and non-governmental organizations (NGO’S)

Total Sales 500,000

Employees 90

Interns 22

COGS 37%

SG&A 24%

Distribution 300 Stores; 9 Countries

First Year Sales 10,000 units

Yr Sales Goal 300,000 units

Annual Growth (Y/Y)

10%

EBITDA 153,000

Stories are flight simulators for the brain

Finding Your Story!3

Elements of Story

þ Message

þ Characters

þ Conflict

þ  Plot

Act 1 Beginning Set-up

Act 2 Middle Conflict

Act 3 End Resolution

Exposition Denouement

Climax

Falling Action Crises Rising Action

Tension

Time

Three Act Structure

Where the Action Is: Conflict

C – Context •  Where, When? •  Who are the characters •  What does the main character want? •  What’s in the way?

A – Action (Plot) R – Result (Resolution)

The Psychology of Story: Narrative Transportation: Use C-A-R to take your audience on a journey

Source: Paul Smith Lead with Story

Archetypes: Joseph Campbell

q  Hero

q  Mentor

q  Threshold Guardian

q  Herald

q  Shapeshifter

q  Shadow

q  Trickster

Fairy Tale Model Benefactor Goal Beneficiary

Supporter Hero Adversary Source: Fog, K., Budtz, C., & Yakaboylu, B. (2010). Storytelling: Branding in Practice (2nd ed.). Berlin: Springer.

 Cultural Metaphors

q Anna Nicole Smith q  Rags to Riches

q  Gold Digger/How to Marry a Millionaire

q  Live Fast/Die Young

Finding The Story!

3

Story Themes

q  The Hero’s Quest --> Entrepreneurial Venture

q  Creation Stories --> Establishment of Organization

q  Stories of Transformation --> Coming of Age

q  Stories of Fall and Redemption --> Crisis Phase

q  The Myth of the Crossroads --> Transition Phase

Using Shared Metaphors

I’m a lawyer. I write contracts

and wills. Where’s the story in that?

The Family Lawyer Watching over your

legal health

Questions to ask

q  Who am I? q  Why am I here?

q  What is my vision? q  What do I want to teach people? And

why?

q  What values do I want to demonstrate? And why?

q  What do I want my customers to know I understand?

One-Sheet Exercise

q  Story in three sentences q  Work from the experience of the image of

your company or brand

q  Characters in three sentences q  Who are the characters? q  Are you a character? q  Does place matter?

Telling Your Story!4

Additive Storytelling

Brand develops from multiple media sources over time

Transmedia Storytelling

•  A story that… •  Unfolds across platforms •  Each piece adds something

unique and valuable •  Motivates user to find others

q  Users can… •  Join at different places •  Participate and contribute

content

Henry Jenkins USC

Traditional Story Path

Transmedia Content

Main Story Anchor: Novel

Pig 1: Website

Pig 1: Anime Super Pig

Wolf: Website

Wolf: Ning Network for Team

Wolf

Pig 2: Twitter Dialogue

Pig 3: Cooking Blog

Pig 3: YouTube Videos

Pig 3: Cookbook

Pig 3: Fan Page

Case Study: The Three Little Pigs

Sequels

Case Study: Jay-Z

Main Story Anchor: Website

Twitter Dialogue Blog

Videos

Green Tips Contest

Case Study: Houweling’s Tomatoes

Point of Purchase: Hangtags

Social Gardens

Main Story Anchor: Website

Facebook Fan Page

Case Study: Tanimura and Antle

Recipes

Food Service Chef QR Codes

Invite the Customer into Your Story

Discovery Experience Exploration

Increasing Audience Engagement

There are things we know that we know.

There are things we know

that we don’t know.

And then there are the unknown unknowns— the things we don’t know

we don’t know.

Donald Rumsfeld, 2002

Traditional ROI Calculations

Ripple Effect

What Do We Know?

q  Biggest value = new relationship potential q  Awareness measures

q  Brand mentions, reviews and share of voice (your brand divided by the industry)

q  Fan Growth

q  Traffic

q  Engagement q  Comments, question, retweets

q  Market intelligence q  Product feedback q  Customer needs and experiences

Where the Rubber Meets the Road!

4

Social media strategies start with a strategy, not with a

Facebook page

Social Media Strategy

q  Tools are only useful if you know q  what you want to do q  what tools will get the job done.

q  Online networks are like offline ones q  People use Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and

LinkedIn to meet people, get information, share resources and connect with colleagues

Social media are are not a waste of time

unless you allow them to be

Social Media: Total Time Suck?

q  Social media networks are not a waste of time unless you allow them to be

q  Networking opportunities

q  Great way to build social capital

q  Be very clear on WHY you’re doing it and the outcomes you want to see

You need a mission statement

Mission Statement: Questions

q  Why am I on social networks and what will I use them for?

q  How do I want to build my personal or organizational brand using social media?

q  What outcomes do I want to see?

q  How does social media fit into my overall strategy?

Create a social media policy

Social Media Policy: Be Prepared

q  What information is public, what should be kept private?

q  What your rules are for researching customers and employees?

q  How you can be contacted and when?

q  What is your policy for employees social media use?

q  How you will handle the inevitable social media crisis?

q  How often will I evaluate the strategy?

Choose your tools carefully

Access Control Potential Completely

Public Mostly

public Mostly

private Website x     Blog x     Twitter x   x LinkedIn x x   Facebook x x x Flickr x x x Pinterest x     Industry sites   x  

Curation tools (Scoop, paper.li) x

Google+ x

Tool Audit Example: Privacy

Connect your tools so they feed each other

Build relationships

Think before you speak

In Conclusion!4

Summary

q  New communications means new consumer psychology and big competition for attention

q  Story rises above noise by tapping fundamentals and emotions

q  Transmedia storytelling extends the power of your story and changes ‘selling’ into a valued relationship

Key Take-Aways

q  Start with the story

q  Identify your core story and passion at a universal level to engage your audience

q  Think multi-dimensionally

q  Prepare a strategy based on YOUR goals and resources

q  Connect with your audience’s emotions and needs

q  Use the media landscape—ripple out, don’t broadcast

q  Prepare to collaborate where you don’t expect it

q  Have a plan for misadventures

My Hopes for You

q  That you will embrace storytelling

q  And approach communication in a cross-platform, integrated way

q  So that you take your customers on a journey to create the valuable relationships that

q  builds long-term commitment and loyalty

q  And increased profitability

Thank You!Dr. Pamela Rutledge

Director, Media Psychology Research Center November 12, 2012

@pamelarutledge