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Hello! I had undertaken this project Storytelling in Social Media, during my first social media job, at
a digital firm called Flarepath.
Today, Social Media Agencies are still trying to figure out new and unique ways in which Social
Media can be best optimized to its fullest strength. Storytelling in Social Media helps in
understanding how one such unique way, storytelling, can be used to make effective use of social
media.
The concept of storytelling has evolved over the years, from people to books to movies. Yet, the
effect that a story can have hasnt diminished a bit, even today. It is evident that storytelling can
influence people like no other art can. Stories are able to engage, captivate, connect and have a long
lasting impact on the audience.
Marketers are now starting to incorporate storytelling into social media in some way, because they
think it could solve all the problems faced by them in marketing any brand or product. Stories are
meant to be shared and social media is all about sharing, therefore this blend could do wonders for
businesses.
In my project, I have used Facebook to show how the concepts of successful storytelling could be
used for social media optimization.
If you have any questions regarding this project you can contact me at sagartaneja@gmail.com
or ping me on any of the following:

http://www.linkedin.com/in/sagartaneja

https://twitter.com/_sagart

http://www.facebook.com/sagartaneja12k

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Contents

Storytelling An Introduction .............................................................................................................. 4
Importance of Storytelling .................................................................................................................... 5
Social Media .......................................................................................................................................... 6
Some Interesting Statistics on Social Media ...................................................................................... 7
Advantages of Social Media ............................................................................................................... 8
Storytelling in Social Media ................................................................................................................ 10
How do we tell a story through Social Media ? ................................................................................. 11
Different ways of telling a story ....................................................................................................... 11
3 important things about storytelling .............................................................................................. 12
1.

Content ................................................................................................................................ 12

2.

Creativity .............................................................................................................................. 16

3.

Navigation ............................................................................................................................ 19

Elements in a story .......................................................................................................................... 24

1.

Plot ....................................................................................................................................... 24

2.

Character ............................................................................................................................. 25

3.

Situation ............................................................................................................................... 26

4.

Dialogues ............................................................................................................................. 27

5.

Twists and Turns .................................................................................................................. 32

6.

High Concept ....................................................................................................................... 35

Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................... 40
References ........................................................................................................................................... 41

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Storytelling An Introduction

Stories are an intrinsic part of our societies and culture. Movies, books, music, news media,
religions, architecture and painting, you name it, and the influence of storytelling is to be seen in all
aspects of our life.
Stories define our values, aspirations, dreams and, unfortunately, our prejudices and hatreds. But
how did storytelling begin? Traditionally, stories have been passed over from generation to
generation.
The origins of storytelling are ancient and lost in the mist of time. Nobody knows when the first story
was actually told. Did it happen in the gloomy recess of a cave around a flickering fire told by a
primitive hunter? Well, we may never know. It is believed that storytelling may have begun as
excuses for failure. Perhaps stories were used long time ago to calm the fears or doubts of a family.
As families joined with other families to form clans, then tribes and eventually nations and societies,
those who could spin a good yarn and tell tales of heroic events of the tribe began to attain position
of respect and power. People began to listen to them. The priest, the judge and the ruler were
perhaps the earliest to use this art effectively in the history of storytelling.
Storytelling days were considered important.
Before man learned to write, he learnt anything by listening. For this, he had to be a good listener. A
good storyteller was always respected. He could easily find an audience, a good meal and place to
sleep. When people travelled, they took along their stories and shared them with others in far away
lands. When they returned home, they brought back exciting tales of exotic places and people.
The oldest surviving tale in the storytelling history is the epic, Gilgamesh, relating to the deeds of a
famous Sumerian king. The earliest known record in the origin of storytelling can be found in Egypt,
when the sons of Cheops entertained their father with stories.
The history of storytelling reveals that stories came in all variety like myths, legends of all kinds, tall
tales, fairy tales, fables, trickster stories, hero stories, ghost tales, teaching stories, oral histories and
epic adventures. These stories were told, retold and passed down from one generation to another.
Stories of gods and heroes bound groups of people to a common heritage and beliefs.
These stories convey and reflect the wisdom and knowledge of early people.
Many historians, anthropologists and psychologists suggest that storytelling is one of the many
things that define our humanity. Humans are perhaps the only animals that create and tell stories.
For good or bad storytelling is a big part of our history, heritage and psyche!

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Importance of Storytelling

Whether we intend to or not, we listen, tell, read or watch a story every day.

Why Storytelling Is So Important

It has been said that those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. That's the
importance of storytelling. Stories have been used throughout history in many different ways for
development of character and virtues.

Origin of Stories
Early man used stories to explain natural events. Imagine experiencing an earthquake without ever
knowing what it was. In order to understand, the tribe would turn to the storytellers. Across all
cultures, there are hundreds of stories to explain natural occurrences. They explain where people
came from and why they speak different languages. There are stories to explain why birds fly and
why snakes crawl. Before there was science, the world was described through stories.

History
Before there was the written word, storytellers were the keepers of the history of people. In many
cultures, storytellers were considered the most important people in the village. In the event of some
natural disaster or in the case of war, the storytellers were always protected. Early man understood
that if you lost your stories, you lost a piece of yourself.

Morality and Faith

Many stories were told to help people understand how they should interact with and treat each
other. Storytelling taught character development and virtues. Many tribal laws were carried through
the storyteller. All major religions use stories to convey their messages.

Entertainment
People have always wanted and needed to be entertained, and long before there were radios or
television, there were storytellers. Many stories were told purely for fun. But even these stories
often carried elements of the topics mentioned above. For example, the Anansi stories, which can be
found all over Africa, were often told for amusement but also conveyed an underlying message.
Many of the Anansi stories were origin stories as well.

Cross-Cultural Similarities
There are more than Cinderella stories that span the globe. When people migrated they took their
stories with them, and as they met people in other parts of the world, they shared the stories.
Everyone associates the story of the Tar Baby with Br'er Rabbit, but there are multicultural tales of
tar baby stories from many different cultures from Africa to the Americas, each with its own flavor.

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There are many multicultural tales of disaster that wipes out all the bad people, allowing the gods a
cosmic do-over. More than almost anything else, stories show how close we are as a human tribe, a
tribe of many different flavors.
Stories have entertained us, informed us, educated us and inspired us. We have grown up with
stories.
Whether it is the biography of a great leader, the history of a war, the evolution of science or a fairy
tale from childhood, stories have made a huge impact on our lives.

Social Media

Today, social media has a very big role to play in all business and marketing circles. Services such as
Twitter and Facebook have almost taken over a large part of our lives, and with good reason. There
consequently is a huge potential target audience just waiting to be tapped into, for every business,
through social media.
Social media makes life easier for business owners. Since more and more people have started
utilizing social media websites such as Twitter and Facebook, both established and emerging
businesses are using this as a medium to connect with their existing customers, along with reaching
new target audiences.
Social media refers to bringing together of various activities which help in integrating technology,
social interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, videos and audio into a seamless entity.
There are several leading social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube
that help companies to build a strong base, advertise and market products through conducting
interactive strategies like contests, polls, webinars, ebooks and so on. The key importance of Social
Media in business is the customer engagement with the brand and a free word of mouth publicity
for the company.
Business can use social media for several objectives. Some of these objectives are: establishing
business contacts, finding prospective customers, getting instant customer feedback and
suggestions, doing market research and so on. Business also can connect with customers through
videos and presentations.
Most business owners and managers today are recognizing the benefits and huge potential that a
social media marketing and business blogging strategy can offer and are always on the lookout for
implementing the same.

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Some Interesting Statistics on Social Media

Over 50 % of the worlds population is under 30 years old.

Adults spend more than 15 hours a week on the Internet.

Facebook tops Google for weekly traffic in the US.

50% of the mobile Internet traffic in the UK is for Facebook.

34% of bloggers post opinions about products and brands.

A new member joins LinkedIn every second.

2-3 Twitter accounts are activated every second.

On average, 50 million tweets are posted every day.

The average user spends more than 55 minutes a day on Facebook.

The average online viewer watches 12.2 hours of online video each month.

It is estimated that the mobile device will be the worlds primary connection tool to the Internet
in 2020.

Businesses

93% of marketers use social media for business.

83% of all companies use Facebook.

41% of business owners said that Twitter delivers great value to their company.

95 % of companies using Social Media for recruitment use LinkedIn.

Newspaper circulation has gone down by 7 million in the last 25 years whereas online readership
of newspapers has gone up by 30 million in the last 5 years.

E-readers have surpassed traditional book sales.

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Traditional advertising is in steep decline

Newspaper advertising has reduced by 18.7 %.
TV advertising has reduced by 10.1 %.
Radio advertising has reduced by 11.7 %.
Magazine advertising has reduced by 14.8 %.

whereas, digital advertising is growing rapidly.

Mobile advertising has shot up by 18.1%.
Online advertising has shot up by 9.2%.

By the end of 2009, Dell had generated $6.5 million in sales from Twitter alone.

Groupon will reach $1billion in sales, faster than any company in history.

[Source: www.youtube.com/user/EconomistMagazine, www.youtube.com/user/Socialnomics09]

Advantages of Social Media

Social media is becoming an indispensible part of the marketing mix for many businesses and is one
of the best ways to reach customers and clients.
Social media platforms such as blogs, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have a number of benefits for
companies and are fast overtaking traditional media formats such as print and TV ads, brochures,
flyers and email campaigns. Here are just a few of the many advantages social media has over
traditional media:

Low cost
Traditional media can be extremely expensive, especially for small businesses. In contrast, most
social media platforms are completely free to use, the only cost to businesses being the time spent
on updating profiles and interacting with contacts.
The low cost of entry to social media makes it particularly useful to small businesses who often find
the costs associated with traditional media prohibitive.
Businesses can use social media to create and distribute promotional material, such as articles,
videos and audio for a fraction of the money it would cost for this content to appear in the press, on
the radio or on TV.

Unlimited access
In many ways, social media levels the playing field for businesses as it is accessible to anyone,
regardless of company size, turnover and contacts. Social media tools are open to anyone, whereas
reaching the traditional media often requires a lot of money and a good network of media industry
contacts.

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Simplicity
A high level of skill, training and specialist equipment is involved in traditional media production. In
comparison, social media channels are extremely simple to use. Even for people with basic IT
experience, all that is required is a computer and an internet connection.

Global reach
Traditional media can reach a global audience but this is usually very costly and time-consuming.
Through social media, businesses can communicate information in a flash, regardless of geographical
location. Social media platforms also allow you to tailor your content for each market segment and
give businesses the opportunity to get their messages across more widely than ever before. Indeed,
once a piece of content goes viral, there is no limit to the amount of people it could potentially
reach, all at no extra cost for the business.

Contact building
Social media channels offer unparalleled opportunities to interact with customers and build
relationships, largely due to their real-time, interactive nature. Companies can source feedback, test
ideas and manage customer services quickly and directly online in a way traditional media could not.
Where traditional media only allows for one-way communication, Facebook, Twitter and the likes
give customers the chance to select the type and frequency of messages to receive and send out.
The business customer proximity characteristic of social media outlets also allows for a more open
communication process, as opposed to simply pushing out sales messages.

Flexibility
Social medias adaptability makes content management generally more flexible. Information can be
updated, altered, supplemented and discussed in a way completely unknown to a print
advertisement, a newspaper article or magazine feature.
Whats more, information can be published in seconds, making it possible for businesses to ensure
that their content is always up to date a condition to a more prominent spot in the search engine
rankings.

Measurability
Social media stats are immediately measurable, whereas traditional media figures often need to be
monitored over a long period of time. With social media, businesses can test marketing messages
and approaches, gauge user responses and tweak the message accordingly. This is done through the
ever-growing number of free, easy-to-use social media measurement tools.

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Storytelling in Social Media

As mentioned earlier, storytelling has evolved over the years, from people to books to movies. Yet,
the effect that a story can create hasnt diminished a bit, even today. It is evident that storytelling
can influence people, like no other art. Stories are able to engage, captivate, connect and make a
long lasting effect on the audience.
Marketers have thought that, if storytelling can be incorporated into social media in some way, it
can solve all the problems faced by them today.
Stories are to be shared and social media is all about sharing, therefore its blend could do wonders
for businesses.

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How do we tell a story through Social Media ?

Before we go into details, let us see the different ways of telling a story:

Different ways of telling a story

BOOKS
The different ways of telling a story through a book are:
1) NOVEL The novel is the simplest way of telling a story. The entire story is presented in text.

2) GRAPHIC NOVEL If a story is told through pictures, it is called a graphic novel.

3) COMIC - When a story is told through cartoons, it becomes a comic.

MOVIE/TV SERIES
The different ways of telling a story through a movie are:
1) SILENT MOVIE A movie without any sound or dialogues is called a silent movie. In the olden
days, all movies used to be silent movies.

2) NARRATION A movie where the entire story is told by a narrator is called a narrative movie.
This usually happens when a character has a flashback.

3) RASHOMON EFFECT The rashomon effect is the effect of the subjectivity of perception on
recollection, by which observers of an event are able to produce substantially different but
equally plausible accounts of it. In simple words, in the rashomon effect, characters hold
different opinions from each other on remembering an event which was witnessed by all of
them.

The rashomon effect was used in the movie The Usual Suspects and also in the animated
movie Hoodwinked.

4) Even a scene can be presented in two different ways in a movie.

For example, there could either be a scene about a murder taking place or a scene where a
conversation is taking place about a murder.




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A very important point to be noted is that there are countless number of stories, and the audience
will only be interested in the story of the genre they like.
Different stories appeal to different people. Some like dramas, love stories and comedies, while
others like thrillers, horror and sci-fi. To make a story a success, it is necessary to know the target
audience and tell the story in a way which is appealing to them.

3 important things about storytelling

Three important things which help make a story better and more attractive to the audience are:

1. Content
2. Creativity
3. Navigation

1. Content

The content part is very important in any story. Content is basically what and how a character says.
The content comprises of all the conversations and dialogues in a story.
For a story to be successful, it is very important for the content to be good.

SOCIAL MEDIA
In social media context, the content is the posts.












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RULES FOR WRITING GOOD CONTENT

1.) GOOD CONTENT COMMANDS ATTENTION AND COMMUNICATES THE MESSAGE
The content should be presented in a way that stimulates the audience. It should not be dull in any
way. The idea should be to keep the audience interested throughout the story.

Here is a news item about one of the worlds most popular celebrity going to have a baby.

Notice the difference between the two posts. While they deliver the same message, the first one is
simple and straight, whereas the second one is more flashy and exciting.
Imagine the newsfeed of a user who has liked hundreds of pages. Hundreds of posts appear on
his/her newsfeed every day. Which of the two do you think will catch the users attention?
The first post just gives the message, as if nothing happened.
The second post, on the other hand, is passionate about the news. The message is told to audience
excitedly. The bold letters and the exclamation mark aim at catching the audiences attention.
The addition of a picture and a link to the post is a plus. It makes it even more noticeable.

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2.) GOOD CONTENT CONNECTS WITH THE AUDIENCE

The content should be able to connect with the audience on a personal level. On knowing the story,
people should be able to relate it with their lives.

The beauty about this post is that its not just another message which promotes the organisation
and tries to prove its greatness.
Its a personal question asked to the audience, giving them an advice and a solution to a problem
which they arent aware of. And the solution, of course, is the company/brand!

This post here, again, is not just selling a burger. It is selling an experience. An experience which will
make someones day better!



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3.) TONE/THEME OF THE STORY

It is very important to understand the theme (genre) of the story when telling it.
The tone in which the story is told should be according to the theme of the story, otherwise it will
lead to a disaster.
For example, a horror story cannot be told in a humorous way.

Given below is an example of a Water Conservation campaign by four different TV channels.
Notice how the tone changes with the theme of the channel.

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2. Creativity

Creativity is the role of aesthetics in a story.
From the cover of the book to the costumes and the sets in a movie, from the quality of pages in a
book to the lighting used in a movie, from the fonts of the text in a book to the makeup of the actors
in a movie, aesthetics play an important role.
Aesthetics played a vital role in some of the most successful movies of recent times.
For example, the sets and the costumes in the movie The Lord of The Rings gave the perfect feel of
the middle ages. The makeup of the actors in the movie Twilight made the characters look more
realistic.

SOCIAL MEDIA
In social media context, creativity is to do with how a page looks, which involves the landing tab, the
display picture and the color combination.
Given below are examples of some of the best landing tabs. It is interesting to see how uniquely a
message can be provided.

WALMART

ASDA

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AT & T

CASIO - EDIFICE

MANGO

NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL GIFT FAIR

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T.G.I.F.

PORSCHE

BUDGET

TACO BELL

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SAMPLE LANDING TAB FOR MOVIES NOW

3. Navigation

Navigation is basically how a story is told and presented. It is very important that a story is presented
in a chronological order.
Books and movies have adopted a universal format of how a story is presented.
In a book, the name of the author appears first. Then comes the Preface page, which is followed by
the Contents page and finally, the story. At the end of the book, there is usually a summary of the
story or reviews by critics.
The story is divided into chapters. Each chapter is divided into pages and each page has a number
which can be easily found from the Contents page.
In a movie, the name of the studio and the production company appear in the beginning. Then
comes the starring credits and finally, the movie begins. At the end of the movie, the ending credits
appear.
A chronological order exists so that it is easier for the audience to view and understand the story.


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SOCIAL MEDIA
In social media context, the navigation is the ease with which the page can be accessed and how
conveniently the tabs can be navigated.

Here you will see the different ways of providing related websites/links to the brand on a
Facebook page:
The simplest and the most common way to provide related sites to the brand is to put the links in
the Website section in the Info tab.

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A better way of doing it is by giving the links
in the About section under the tabs. Not
only is it more noticeable to the u ser, it is also
easier for the u ser to find out the websites.

Some fan pages have so many tabs that a

user fails to look at the About section. This
can be avoided by creating separate tabs for
each of the links.

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Another way of doing it is by making the landing tab an on-screen menu, like a mobile phone
interface. This is the most easily accessible and navigable of all ways.

DOLCE AND GABBANA

H & M

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Here are two different ways of p roviding the addresses of a brands outlets:

A separate tab for locations makes it easier for a user to find the address of the brands outlets
and a map tells the user how far the location is from his/her home.

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For the sake of understanding the next part better, it is important to know that Long Projects in
social media can be likened to TV Series, while Short Projects in social media can be likened to
Movies.

Elements in a story

Every story has some elements which, when combined together, form a story. These elements are
common in each story irrespective of the medium it is told through.
The elements which make up a story are:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Plot
Character
Situations
Dialogue
Twists and turns

1. Plot

Every story has a plot. The plot is the basic storyline. It is basically the idea of the story: how a story
starts and ends.
The plot is usually pitched by the writer or the producer of the TV series/movie. It is the first known
thing to the writer of the TV series/movie. Only once the plot is known and approved, can the writer
proceed with writing the story.
Within the plot there are some sub elements:
1) Desire The desire is something which the character wants. In every story, there is always
something at stake. There is something, which the character not just wants but has to acquire,
for which the character is ready to take any kind of risk, or struggle against all the forces of life.

For example, in the movie The Prestige, the character Alfred Borden played by Christian
Bale, wants to become the greatest magician in London, for which he is ready to do anything
like, ruining his rivals tricks and even cheating his wife.

2) Conflict The conflicts is the obstacles in a story. In every story, there are always obstacles
which come in the characters way of achieving its goal. The conflict is usually the villain in the
story, but can also be something intangible, like the system or the society.

At times, conflict and obstacles may even be physical or emotional.

For example, in the animated movie Finding Nemo the character of the fish Marlin voiced by
Albert Brooks, faces obstacles like sharks, hypnotic jellyfish and seagulls on his way to Australia
to find his lost son.
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3) Ghost/Wound - In most stories, the character also has an inner obstacle, some mental or even
spiritual problem that is resolved by the time he/she reaches the outward, physical goal of the
story. This is called the ghost/wound.

For example, in the movie A Beautiful Mind, which is the biography of the Nobel-prize winner
John Nash, the character, John Nash played by Russell Crowe, who wants to make a significant
contribution to the field of mathematics, finds out that he has schizophrenia. So the character
has to achieve his goal and at the same time also has to deal with his ghost, which is his illness.

TV SERIES
For a TV series, sometimes the ending of the story might not be known, when the plot is
conceptualized. It might be decided as the story evolves. This usually happens because of the long
duration of a TV series.
For example, when the popular sitcom FRIENDS started, the writers did not how what the
characters would do in the last season.

MOVIE
Since the duration of the movie is short, the writer always has some idea about the end, which in
movie terms is called the climax.

SOCIAL MEDIA
In social media context, the plot is what the company/brands page talk about.
Sub elements:

1) Desire The desire is Mission/Vision of the Company.

2) Conflict The conflict is the problems faced by the company/brand such as, competitors doing
better, people not accepting the brand, people having a different taste etc.
3) Ghost/Wound The ghost is the internal problems faced by the company/brand. It can be
anything such as the brand not being a very popular one, poor marketing or even poor quality of
the product/service offered.

2. Character

Every story has a character some have one, some have many. The character is the main element in
a story. The story is centered around the character.
When writing a story, designing the characters is the first thing which, writers do.
Every character created has its own unique characteristics/behaviour which is properly defined and
listed. This includes everything: the characters nationality, age, parents, marital status, likes,
dislikes, habits, hobbies, interests, his/her daily routine, the places he/she goes to etc.
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This exercise helps the writers to know how a character would behave in a particular situation.

SOCIAL MEDIA
In social media context, the characters are the brands.

3. Situations

Every story is a collection of situations leading towards a change. The situation is the experience
which the character goes through.
Once the character has been formed, it will follow the plot, but will deal with the situations in its
own unique way.
When a story is written, initially the situations are created around the characteristics of the
character, but as time passes, the characters evolve according to the situations.
In the TV series Southpark, the four main characters, who are kids, were never seen using any
abusive language initially. After a few seasons, the creators of the series came up with a movie
under the same name. In the movie, it is seen that the kids watch a movie which has foul content
and the movie has an impact on these kids after which they start using abusive language. Since the
movie, every Southpark episode which has been created, the kids are shown using foul language.
In the first few seasons of the sitcom FRIENDS, the character Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) has a
very juvenile behaviour, but after his marriage with the character Monica Geller (Courtney Cox),
Chandler Bing matures and becomes more responsible.

TV SERIES
In the TV series, an important feature of the situation is research.
Writers study the response of the audiences on a continuous basis. Every episode aired is observed
and evaluated through the TRPs it garnered.
If a particular situation is doing well, the writers write more of the situation, similarly if a particular
situation is not doing well, the writers write less or none of that situation.
In the first few seasons of the TV series Southpark, the character Eric Cartman is portrayed as a
naughty, troublesome and shrewd kid. Eric is often shown offending people or doing something bad,
like a dirty prank. This wicked behavior of Eric was loved and appreciated by the people so much
that the writers made these characteristics the hallmark of Erics personality, and ever since, most
situations are written to bring them out.

SOCIAL MEDIA
In social media context, the situations are the latest updates about the companys product/service.

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The situations can be presented either through posts or applications. The response of the audiences
can be judged by data from insights, comments, replies and likes.

4. Dialogues

The dialogue has a very important role to play.The dialogue is the expression of a character. It is
what the character says.

SOCIAL MEDIA
In social media context, the dialogue is the content.

How to write a good dialogue:
As mentioned earlier, there are three rules for writing good content, namely:
1. GOOD CONTENT COMMANDS ATTENTION AND COMMUNICATES THE MESSAGE.
2. GOOD CONTENT CONNECTS WITH THE AUDIENCE.
3. TONE/THEME
As also mentioned earlier, every character has its own unique characteristics/behaviour which is
properly defined.
and
it is necessary to know the target audience so the story can be told in a way that is appealing to
them.

We shall take the brand Movies Now as an example.
Lets define the characteristics of Movies Now.
Movies Now usually shows pop-corn movies, movies which achieve huge success at the box office
and are very main stream in their appeal.
The Target Audience of Movies Now consists of people who like watching movies of the following
genres:
Superhero
Sci-fi
Action

If we can incorporate the reactions/feelings of the audiences when they watch the movies of the
following genres, we shall be successful in writing a good dialogue.
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So lets see the reactions/feelings of the audiences on watching these movies

In the next page, you are going to see how these reactions can be incorporated in the posts for
Movies Now.







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TV SERIES
In the TV series, a key part of the dialogue is the catchphrase.
A good catchphrase can turn a character into a legend ! Some of the greatest TV shows have been
remembered by their catchphrases.
Rules of a catchphrase
1. It has to be permanent Once a catchphrase has been created and used, it cannot be
modified later.
2. It has to be shown very often For a catchphrase, to become a catchphrase, it has to be
shown very often, so that it lasts in the minds of the audiences.
3. It has to be a dialogue A catchphrase should be a part of the dialogue. [In social media,
context, the catchphrase should be a part of the post and not the post itself, otherwise it
would seem like a one liner or a company slogan.
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We shall take the brand Movies Now as an example again.

Now instead of writing the same status messages again and again like:

We can incorporate a catchphrase in the status. For example:

Advantages of a catchphrase
1. It would define our character and give it a quality.
2. It would make our character unique, since we would have a signature style of writing our posts.









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5. Twists and Turns

A twist is a sudden change in the story. Writers introduce twists and turns from time to time so that
people dont get bored.
A twist is usually for a short period of time and its duration is known. At the end of the period, either
the twist results in a change in the plot or the situation gets back to normal.

SOCIAL MEDIA
In social media context, the twist is any change brought in by a company such as the launch of a new
product, any innovation introduced, any discount offered etc.
A twist is usually presented through an application.
The different types of twists which can be used in social media are:

Flash games

Interactive applications

Personality test

Contest/competitions

Offers discounts, something free

Buy merchandise

Share your stuff and get likes (stories/pics/videos)

Video of experts opinion/ask questions to an expert

An important point to be noted is that whenever a twist is brought in, the display picture and the
landing tab needs to be changed (it should talk about the twist), otherwise the audience would
not come to know about the change.








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Given below are examples of some twists.

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6. High Concept [Only for movies/Short projects]

The high concept exists only for movies.
The high concept is a popular Hollywood term used in scripts. A high concept means anything new or
anything which catches the public's attention.
A good high concept makes a script apart from the pack and urges people to watch the movie.
For example, in the movie Independence Day, the alien invasion on earth was the High Concept.

SOCIAL MEDIA
In social media context, the high concept is only for short projects. It is the USP of the page of
the product/service. A high concept is usually presented through an application.

Given below are examples of some high concepts.

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The last thing that one shouldnt forget is the name of the writer or the director in a TV series or a
Movie.
It takes a great deal of effort to make a TV series or a Movie and thats why it is important to give
credit to the writer or director.
SOCIAL MEDIA
In social media context, giving credit means displaying the company name who manages the
page/account.

Given below are a few examples of doing this.

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Conclusion

The aim of marketers has always been to make a long lasting effect on the audience.
Without a doubt, stories are able to make a long lasting effect on the audiences irrespective of the
medium they might be told through.
It is evident, that if storytelling is incorporated into marketing in general and social media in
particular, it will not only create a new era in marketing but also solve all the problems faced by
marketers today.

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References

http://www.storytellingday.net/history-of-storytelling-how-did-storytelling.html
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_art_of_storytellling/110011/1
http://www.augusthouse.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=StoryTelling&PageName=WhyStoryTellin
g
http://twb-dl.com/corporate/?p=54
http://www.techiemania.com/how-to-use-social-media-to-drive-your-business.html
http://www.techiemania.com/social-media-in-business-an-infographic-of-fortune-100-
statistics.html
http://www.outsourcingdesk.com/2011/04/importance-of-social-media-in-business/
http://www.organicseoconsultant.com/advantages-of-using-social-media/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/arts/features/howtowrite/screenplay_structure.shtml
http://www.screenwriting.info/
http://www.screenstyle.com/screenvssits.html
http://www.ehow.com/how_2067605_write-soap-opera-story.html
http://www.ehow.co.uk/how_4883752_write-soap-opera-script.html
http://www.creativescreenwriting.com/how/index.cfm
http://www.scriptologist.com/Magazine/Tips/Factual/factual.html

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