This week in class, we learned about the art of storytelling and how we can utilize this in social media to market a brand or start a movement. Is storytelling ethical in the workplace, or is it manipulative to use emotions to appeal to people?
According to strategic communication expert Susan Fisher, people don’t tell stories enough at work in order to seem more professional, but we still need to consider the impact of what authentic storytelling can do. Susan Fisher states: “It’s because they have been taught that at work you use logic and slides and statistics; this seems more professional. Telling stories seems too emotional and possibly manipulative. So people stick to facts and numbers. But the truth is that real emotions always work better, because that is the way to reach hearts and minds, and also people get to see the real you. It’s authentic.” A good story is short, has a takeaway message, and displays a conflict or question that reaches a resolution like in a movie. If we can effectively utilize these basic tools of good storytelling, we can use stories for almost anything in order to reach both the minds and hearts of our clientele.
For example, one of the most famous and viral charity movements in the last decade started because of a tragic story that turned into a beautiful triumph. Outliving our children is a classic worst nightmare. On July 23, 2011, a nine-year-old girl named Rachel Beckwith died in a car accident outside of Seattle only one month after her ninth birthday. On her birthday, she had dedicated it to raising money so that 15 people in a third-world country could drink clean water. Her goal was $300, but she only reached $220. When she died, her story went viral. This sparked a huge movement for “Charity: Water”, which ended up being able to bring clean water to 37,700 people in Ethiopia due to the impact of Rachel’s story all over the internet and news. What was so moving about her story is that it took a great tragedy and turned it into something that would make an infinite, lasting memory as well as an impetus to help others and create awareness about the water crisis in other countries around the world. It isn’t always common to see people have such big hearts and actually try to make a difference in the world, so knowing that there was a child who gave up her birthday to donate money to help others who were struggling is deeply moving and allows us to keep her memory alive long after her own life was tragically cut short.
While it may be a controversial topic, I believe that it is ethical to use stories like Rachel’s to gain the attention of people who were previously unable to see outside their provincial lives and realize that they could be heroes and make a true difference. The thing that really impacted Rachel’s movement was that it wasn’t just all about her, but rather that she represented empathy and generosity for others. According to Donne Torr, there is a lot to learn from this type of marketing. In her blog post on Hootsuite on May 2, 2014, Torr discusses the digital media company called VICE, who has had tremendous success as a media organization due to effective storytelling. One of Torr’s main points is that VICE creates stories on social media that display authenticity and humility because the stories are about the people they encounter in their world travels. What we can take away from companies like VICE and Charity: Water is that, if you can effectively tell stories that make your audience feel like the hero, it empowers people to participate in a cause and choose to represent your brand. This is an incredibly powerful tool and something that we should consider as we represent ourselves, our companies, and whatever brands we believe in through social media.
VITAMINPEE 