I’m not sure why but when I think of storytelling, my mind automatically goes to that grandpa narrating from the Princess Bride.
Storytelling
Like the story the grandpa sets up, it’s also as important to introduce and lead your audience through your story. Social media storytelling allows you or your company to tell the story of our brand, products, and values to connect with our audience. As you delve deep into your content and decide the cadence of your social posts, you will begin to wonder and decide how you want your TOV (tone of voice) and messaging will come across. Will my posts be witty? Or serious? Conversational? Informative?
Each social platform has its own story of how it came to be–so should yours! We all know the story of Facebook (or Meta), Instagram and how it was bought by Facebook, and even Tik Tok’s/Bytedance’s scandalous rise. So it’s important to set a tone when launch your site and focusing on how you will say things is just as important.
Also, depending on each post and post type, each social platform will need its own copy and hashtags. Example: #BookTokIG vs. #BookTok. #TeachersofIG vs. #TeachersofTikTok
ToV (Tone of Voice)
| Platform | TOV |
| Personable, Professional, Concise | |
| Shareable, Action-Orientated, Conversational | |
| Contextual, utilize hashtags, Short | |
| Short, Personable, Friendly |
LinkedIn is evolving into a true social media platform and striding further away from being a place to dump your resume. People are leveraging LinkedIn for networking opportunities, Sales outreaches, Lead Generation, paid campaigns, webinars, events, news sharing, personal, uplifting stories, job postings and searching, and etc. And because it is transforming, it gives individuals the chance to take their company’s social media into unique positions. Company’s can be playful, witty, use emojis–it all depends of whether your tone reflects your values, brand’s personality, and how you communicate with customers.
Each social platform attracts different demographics; therefore, there needs to be a consideration of TOV for each Social.
I’m just going to say it – I hate Facebook. Yes, maybe it’s because it holds a treasure trove of awkward photos of me from 8th grade and cringeworthy comments on my wall, but it’s also a chaotic mess that can be challenging to market to your audience. Sighhh BUT it’s a great place to do paid ads, community management, and more.
Instagram has been going through an identity crises for awhile. Once a platform to just share photos, it’s blown up to become this narcissistic/micro-influencer party/ sponsored content/ video reel/ shopping(?!?) / dumping ground but depending on your business, can greatly benefit you. For example, the cosmetic industry has greatly benefited from working with influencers to promote their brand.
Oh, Twitter – red-headed stepchild – I love you. Depending on your brand, you can really leverage Twitter to your benefit, especially if you experiment with methods to stand out. A great example is Steak-umms:
Why is this frozen steak company super hilarious on Twitter?
There is no rhyme or reason why this company chose violence but they have taken a unique stance and because of that, are memorable.
What’s the TOV you will use for your social media channel?
Mecca-Amirah Jackson 
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