I'd like to blame the five glasses of seder wine that I feel are still in my system for what I am about to say, but let's be real—we all know that I would have said them without the wine.
And no, it does not have to do with the AI-generated action figurines that every business account has decided to make in the past two weeks (I have thoughts, though). It has to do with how, every year at this time, I can't stop thinking about storytelling.
The Universal Power of Stories
How important is storytelling to us? It's not just important—it's ingrained in our DNA, and far too many businesses could be utilizing it but aren't.
This time of year (Passover/Easter) is the highlight of storytelling season.
In Jewish culture, the story of the Exodus from Pharaoh is told and celebrated with bitter herbs, a feast, and glasses of wine.
In Christianity, the story of the rising from death is told and celebrated with an egg hunt, feast, and glasses of wine.
Both events are stories shared and handed down from generation to generation that we still tell and celebrate today.
Because, at our core—we humans love stories.
And here in the present day, our stories translate to digital content.
This got me thinking about why we all fell in love with social media in the first place.
In my opinion, it's because of the lifestyle content we all used to share before we decided that we needed to monetize every new hobby we picked up.
If you've ever been to one of my presentations, then you already know I say your biggest competition on socials is always:
The news cycle &
Dog videos.
In consulting sessions, I always joke that if you want more engagement on Instagram, you should put the product next to a puppy or a baby because that's a guaranteed scroll stop.
But in all seriousness, lifestyle content is what we love the most. It's why we fell in love with social media in the first place.
We want to know you beyond what you do.
We fall in love with brands and become loyal fans by feeling like we know them and belong in their community.
Because we aren't your followers. We are the members of your community.
So take this as your sign to invite us into your world... a smidge (we don't need all the dirty deets).
Stop constantly selling us your product, your affiliate links, and how sensational you are.
When you share a story, that's where the magic and, eventually, sales happen.