Most of today’s content strategies involve publishing hundred of bits of content per month across social networks, without any cohesive story or narrative behind the content. These random pieces of information tell a story to your fans and customers, whether intended or not. Are you telling the right brand story? This hands-on session will help you: · Identify the genre or type of story that you want to tell · Develop a monthly story arc in your content calendar · Create compelling, interesting characters your customers will want to engage · Invite your customers to be in your story · Frame your story within the Facebook Timeline layout Presented by Liveworld at SXSW Interactive 2013 by Mark Williams and Carri Bugbee

1. Social Storytelling Workbook
The Next Wave of Engagement
Presented by Mark Williams and Carri Bugbee
SXSW March 11, 2013

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WORKBOOK TABLE OF CONTENTS
WORKBOOK TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................... 2
SOCIAL STORY CHECKLIST................................................................................. 3
WORKSHEET #1: CRAFTING YOUR BRAND STORY ......................................... 4
WORKSHEET 2: DEVELOPING BUSINESS OBJECTIVES .................................. 5
WORKSHEET 3: CUSTOMERS AS CHARACTERS ............................................. 7
Main Character/Primary Customer(s) .................................................................................... 7
Detailed Character Description Worksheet........................................................................... 8
WORKSHEET 4: FINDING YOUR BRAND TONE & VOICE.................................. 9
Personifying the Brand – Social Media is a Party. ............................................................... 9
WORKSHEET 5: CONTENT CALENDAR AS STORY ARC ................................ 10
Seasonal, Sales and Life Events .......................................................................................... 10
Annual Event Calendar At-A-Glance ................................................................................... 12
WORKSHEET 6: START THE STORY AND KEEP IT GOING ............................ 13
Story Starters and Rules for Scripted Improv .................................................................... 13
WORKSHEET 7: SOCIAL CHANNELS AS GENRES .......................................... 15
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Social Story Checklist
o Who is the main character that we can identify with?
1. Is the character real, fictional, or a customer profile?
2. Why will we identify with him or her? (Inspire, Aspire, Entertain, Inform)
o Context for the story: Place, Time Restrictions, and Relationships
1. Where does the story happen and what time restrictions spur action?
2. Brand to customer? Peer to peer? Customer to product? Customer to lifestyle?
o Challenge to Overcome:
o How does the story end?
o Who is the intended audience?
o How are you going to encourage interaction? (Channels/media)
o Why will people interact? (Express themselves, Make friends, Gain attention, Status):
o What is your response plan? (How often will you respond to different prompts?)
o What are we (the brand) giving that is of value? (What does the audience get out
this?)
o Why will people share this? (Express themselves, Make friends, Gain attention, Status)
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Worksheet #1: Crafting Your Brand Story
1. What are your strategic objectives? (Branding, Transaction, Engagement, Education,
Rebranding)
2. How will you use social to fulfill the objectives? (Express, Connect, Attention, Status)
3. How will you measure success? (KPIs)
4. Whose voice tells the story? (POV: Customer, Brand, Blend of both, 3rd person)
5. Describe the characters in your brand story. Who is the star and who plays
supporting roles? (Customer/Brand profiles)
6. What problem does your brand solve for your customers? (Character objectives)
Am I special? Am I Good or Bad? Am I Beautiful? Smart? Safe? In control of Life?
7. What challenges to their needs and wants do your customers face? (Character
obstacles)
8. Which social channel(s) will you use to tell and amplify your story – and why?
(Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, etc.)
9. How does the story begin and how will you keep it going? (How frequently will you
update?)
10. How does the story end?
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Worksheet 2: Developing Business Objectives
1. Business Objectives (Rank each by % of priority of attention.)
• Brand Awareness ____________
• Transaction (sales, registrations, promo codes, etc.) ____________
• Engagement (customer feedback, ideation):__________
• Education (downloads, product info): _____________
• Re-branding (re-brand, alternative uses of product): _______________
2. Objectives KPIs - How will you know your effect on the audience? Pick 2-3 KPIs for each
strategic objective and your target: (Story analogy: Plan for laughs, chuckles, gasps, ahhhs,
etc.)
Objective KPI #1 Goal KPI #2 Goal KPI #3 Goal
Brand
Awareness
Transaction
Engagement
Education
Re-branding
3. Business Strategies - How do you hope to achieve selling more product, earning more
market share, share of voice, etc. Goals can be broad or very specific.
1. Objective (sample): Increase market share among single females 18 – 34
2. Objective (sample): Increase share of Hispanic market
3. Objective (sample): Be most authentic brand in our industry
4. Business Objective KPIs - How will you know when you have reached your objectives? Pick
2-3 KPIs for each business objective and your target.
Objective KPI #1 Goal KPI #2 Goal KPI #3 Goal
Increase Increase
Increase Positive mention
Engagement engagement sales to
market share Share of voice by 3-4 key Sales revenue
rates from 8% to group
women 18-24 influencers
12% on FB by 5%
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5. Tactical Objectives – What will you do to support your business objectives, and how will
they benefit your customer? (Check against your customer profiles, and their wants and needs.)
Objective #1 Tactical/Creative Brainstorm (Increase market share among 18-24 female)
Idea 1:
Customer benefit:
Idea 2:
Customer benefit:
Objective #2 Tactical Brainstorm
Idea 1:
Customer benefit:
Idea 2:
Customer benefit:
Objective #3 Tactical Brainstorm
Idea 1:
Customer benefit:
Idea 2:
Customer benefit:
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Worksheet 3: Customers as Characters
Main Character/Primary Customer(s)
Name _____________________________
• Age __________
• Gender ____________
• Marital Status ______________
• Children (number and ages) __________________
• Location (rural, small town, medium, urban) ___________________
• Three adjectives to describe them _____________________________________
• What do they want? _______________________________________________
• What size role do they play in the story? (% of customer base) _________________
• Name _______________________________
• Age __________
• Gender ____________
• Marital Status ______________
• Children (number and ages) __________________
• Location (rural, small town, medium, urban) ___________________
• Three adjectives to describe them _____________________________________
• What do they want?
_____________________________________________________
• What size role do they play in the story? (% of customer base) _________________
• Name _______________________________
• Age __________
• Gender ____________
• Marital Status ______________
• Children (number and ages) __________________
• Location (rural, small town, medium, urban) ___________________
• Three adjectives to describe them _____________________________________
• What do they want?
_____________________________________________________
• What size role do they play in the story? (% of customer base) _________________
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Detailed Character Description Worksheet
It’s very helpful to have a very clear picture of your customers as characters, and to know as
much about them as possible. This checklist helps draw a character sketch of people your brand
will interact with. Fill out one form for each persona, including the brand.
Character Profile: (include a photo)
Name:
Age/Sex/Location:
Education:
Occupation:
Responsibilities:
Likes About Job or Home life:
Dislikes About Job or Home life:
Frustrations:
Concerns:
Customer for How Long:
Needs:
Wants:
Role in Buying Process (decider, user, gatekeeper, advisor):
Motivation to Buy:
Social Channels Used and Experience in Channel:
Optimal Social Times (when is s/he online?)
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Worksheet 4: Finding Your Brand Tone & Voice
Personifying the Brand – Social Media is a Party
Sometimes you’re the host of the party, and sometimes you’re just another invited guest. The
image you portray of your brand might not be what people actually think of you; and likewise, you
can change your image by participating in social channels.
This is a very customer-centric model of discovery. When “I, your customer, exist in my
relationship networks…
1. Who is your Brand to me? (Relationship)
2. Why should we invite your brand along? (What do you bring to the party?)
3. How does the brand empower my network of associates and friends? (What do you
do for me?)
4. How should I introduce you to my friends?
5. What will they tell me about you?
6. What kind of party are you having in your social channel?
7. How do we give recognition or status?
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Worksheet 5: Content Calendar As Story Arc
Seasonal, Sales, and Life Events
1. Identify the seasonal events that are most influential on your customers.
What are your customer objectives and obstacles around these events?
(Example: For a young mom, Thanksgiving might be a stressful time. She wants to gain approval
from her and her spouse’s parents, and prove her worthiness by having an amazing
Thanksgiving dinner for the entire extended family. Her obstacles might be that she isn’t a great
cook, doesn’t know very many recipes, and she has never cooked for 12 people before.)
Main Character 1:
Seasonal Event Date(s) Character Objective Obstacle(s)
Betsy, 28 yo mom
Create a happy memory for
Event 1 Valentines Day Feb 1-14 Time, resources
her daughter
Event 2 Mothers Day
Event 3 Spring Break
Event 4 Thanksgiving
Main Character 2:
Seasonal Event Date(s) Character Objective Obstacle(s)
Brad, 32 yo dad
Event 1 Valentines Day Feb 1-14 Demonstrate his love for wife Not romantic
Event 2 Mothers Day
Event 3 Summer Vacation
Event 4 Christmas
Main Character 3:
Seasonal Event Date(s) Character Objective Obstacle(s)
Event 1
Event 2
Event 3
Event 4
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2. Brand Events – What are the most significant events for the brand during the year?
What does the customer get from them? What tangible or emotional benefit do they get?
Customer
Sales Event Story Theme Date(s) Customer Benefits
Obstacles
Taking the family
Labor Day Season of Change Great prices is expensive and
a hassle
Can’t get there
CES The Future is Now Trendsetter
himself
Be a great dad and make
Christmas Family Traditions Too busy to shop
great memories
Self esteem – show their
Express the Real Social norms
Halloween heroic/naughty/creative
You
self
3. Life Events – What events happen in the lives of your characters/customers that are not
necessarily seasonal, but happen in common to us all? What are their benefits and obstacles?
Character
Character Life Event Date(s) Obstacle(s)
Objective
Logistics, schedule,
Betsy Weddings Spring/Summer Create a fairy tale
expense
Memorial Day, Recall pride, sense of
Forgotten or ignored
Brad Military Service Veterans Day duty, show patriotism,
past
+/- 2 weeks sense of community
Late
Create great memories Expense, choosing
Character 3 Spring break March/Early
and friendships destination/experience
April
Character 4
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Annual Event Calendar At-A-Glance
Month Holiday/Event/Theme Main Character(s) Story Objective(s)
Resolve to be a smart
Jan Clearance Sale Becky
mom
Becky – pass on romantic
Becky
Feb Valentines Day traditions to kids
Brad
Brad – prove your love
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
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Worksheet 6: Start The Story And Keep It Going
Story Starters and Rules for Scripted Improv
1. Ask questions to Get Story Idea.
These set the conditions for the story to follow. For any story you tell, you need:
a. Location/environment
b. Character objectives
c. Relationship between people (could be between brand and customers)
d. Conflict
e. Time limits
This is easily done on Facebook, Twitter, and most social media channels. This technique
can be used as a process of discovery to create/develop campaigns, AND be used as a
check-in during a campaign to adjust the story according to interest and KPIs.
Asking Who Is, Why, and Fill-in-the-Blank questions are great story-starters, and check-
ins to either escalate the story, or take it in another direction.
2. AGREE and say YES, AND…
Listen to what the other characters are saying and use their comments in Facebook,
Twitter, Pinterest, etc., to inform your next communication. Sometimes this means using
an individual customer comment that is clever, sometimes it means using analytics to
determine “most of our customers say…”
Do not block or deny what your customers are saying. You cannot possibly defend
yourself or change anyone’s mind online anyway. But you can play with them and engage
by saying yes. (You CAN be selective and ignore some things, unless the noise becomes
overwhelming.)
3. Give Up Control.
You know where YOU want the story to go, but the story that is being told may not be the
story you wanted to tell. That’s okay.
You don’t have to know how the story is going to end (even though we set objectives at
the beginning). No matter what happens, the story WILL end and you will have gained
something valuable, one way or another.
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FLOW with the story. If you’re listening, saying “yes, and…”, and incorporating what is
being said into the narrative, you will learn, influence, and most importantly, truly engage
with your customers. They will continue to engage with you as long as the story is
compelling.
4. Fail Big! Be bold in your ideas and execution.
You cannot be GREAT (and memorable) if you’re not bold and shooting for a Big Win.
There is nothing worse than a boring, pointless story; customers get tuned out and make
you irrelevant.
Even a big failure in telling your story will get you talked about. That will humanize you
and endear you to some, and turn others away, AND it will gain you attention for you
NEXT story.
People will be eager to see how you recover from a failure and you can develop DEEPER
loyalty by recovering from a failure. You just can’t fail 3X’s in a row.
5. Make Statements. Give your characters something to respond to and work with!
Most brands try not to offend their customers, and that’s understandable. In doing so, they
don’t advance the story, and don’t show any personality or connection with their
customers, characters and audience — they are BORING.
Which of these do you think will provoke a response and invite people to tell a personal
story?
1. People are messy.
2. Who’s the messiest person in your house?
3. Men are so MESSY!
6. There Are No Mistakes — Only Opportunities.
The whole point of a story is to entertain, inform, or inspire. We (audience and brand)
LEARN from mistakes. Many people are entertained by finding mistakes embrace
them. You just gave them an opportunity to show how smart they are!
7. Reincorporate!
When something works, keep using it until it no longer works. Remember the rule of 3 for
comedy: set-up, anticipation, pay-off.
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Worksheet 7: Social Channels As Genres
Social Channels are both a distribution path and a storytelling device. There are best
practices/rules in using each channel, similar to conventions used in story genres. While we
focus on online channels here, don’t forget to ALSO include print, TV, radio, other marketing.
1. Channel: Facebook
Strengths: Big audience potential, multi-media storytelling, multiple integration points — can
connect customers offline and online (events, check-ins, deals, encourage real-world
relationships), threaded conversations, robust advertising platform, based on symmetrical
relationships
Limitations:
Story Engagement Frequency:
Best Practices:
2. Channel: Twitter
Strengths: Discovery (people curious about the unknown), hashtags/tagging conversation,
trends, brevity, becoming multimedia; organic, paid
Limitations:
Story Engagement Frequency:
Best Practices:
3. Channel: Pinterest
Strengths: Heavily female, aspirational content, visual identity, more topic oriented than
individual oriented, pop-culture, fashion, build
Limitations:
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Story Engagement Frequency:
Best Practices:
4. Channel: Instagram
Strengths: Visual, creative, playful
Limitations:
Story Engagement Frequency:
Best Practices:
5. Channel: Linked In
Strengths:
Limitations:
Story Engagement Frequency:
Best Practices:
6. Channel: YouTube (other video channels)
Strengths:
Limitations:
Story Engagement Frequency:
Best Practices:
7. Channel: Blogs
Strengths:
Limitations:
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Story Engagement Frequency:
Best Practices:
8. Channel: Mobile Apps
Strengths:
Limitations:
Story Engagement Frequency:
Best Practices:
10. Channel: Social Samba/Storytelling
Strengths:
Limitations:
Story Engagement Frequency:
Best Practices:
11. Channel: Owned Communities
Best Used For:
Limitations:
Optimal Post Frequency:
Best Practices:
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