Story and Social Media: Communicating

Brand Experience in the Digital World

Daniel Noll & Audrey Scott, Uncornered Market

UncorneredMarket.com

facebook.com/UncorneredMarket

@umarket

Close Your Eyes

What Business Are We

In? Travel?

Experience?

Inspiration?

Differentiation?

Transformation?

Consumer Travel Trends

“Authentic + engaging travel experiences”

Deeper connections, esp. to people

Local approach + unique

Transformative journeys

Source: SKIFT Reports: Megatrends Defining Travel in 2015 & Rise of Experiential Travel 2014, ITB Travel Trends 2014

Millennial & Youth Travel Trends

• Support brands that they feel are doing

something good for them…and the world

• Always online, especially on mobile

• Need to share amusing and enlightening

updates = social currency

• More interest in volunteering, learning

experiences

Source: http://www.pgavdestinations.com/images/insights/Meet_the_Millennials.pdf & SGB Millenials Report

Backdrop: Too many messages

Prospect, 6000 messages. Japan photo Too many messages…! Your average prospective customer is enduring more than 6000 advertising messages every day

Storytelling: Why?

Story Action

Cuts through noise

Trust and retention

Depth of impression

Storytelling: What it is NOT

An itinerary

A list of sites, activites, amenities

A press release

Fiction, making things up

What is Story and Storytelling?

An account, a telling of an experience

Demonstrates via characters and their changes

Does NOT need to be long-form

Storytelling Techniques

Show, don’t tell

Involve characters, find one person

Seek emotion

Crux and conflict

Multi-dimensional, multi-sensory

Communicate: what, how and why

Brand Story: How & Why Show your values in action, don’t assert

Be transparent, invite customers to be part of

the journey and solution

Humanize the brand

Connect what you do to why it matters

Experience: Go Beyond the

Brochure

Transformative journey, come back different

Perceived homogenization of travel -> want

personalized and unique

Experiences aligned with values -> give back

From observing -> connecting and creating

Connection with Nature…

With People…

And with ourselves…

Digital and Social Media

Strategies

Digital Media & Storytelling

Source: Euromonitor International, The New Online Travel Consumer, February 2014

Inspire AND Inform

Become an authority

Be human, be helpful

DON’T be spammy

Develop trust -> Relationship

Show your values

Social Media: Engagement & Branding

Engagement & Relationship > Numbers

Empower and engage your staff & customers to be your storytellers

Video Content: Not Just for YouTube

Short, mobile videos effective

Encourage Your Customers to

Share!

People trust people,

especially family and friends.

“If they can do it, I can do it.”

Content Creators

Videographers

Social Media Mavens

Digital Storytellers Photographers

Writers

Story

Business

Consultants

Marketers Advocates

Speakers Twitter

Destination Ambassadors

Quality

Personal Voice

Facebook Instagram

YouTube

Adventurers

Who Are Bloggers?

Personal voice and tone

REAL experiences, REAL people

Authority from independence & trust

Engaged community, follows blogger

Your story part of blogger story

Multi-Platform, versatile

“People don’t trust entities. People trust people.” - Tim Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Workweek

Why Are Bloggers/Influencers Effective?

Instagram

Twitter

Facebook

Social Media: Immediate exposure

And real-time interaction & engagement

Content: Long Life & SEO

Other Media Coverage

Destination Ambassadors

Long-Term Benefits of Working with Bloggers

EXPERIMENT!

Upshot & Take-aways

New travel currency = Experience and Connecion

Story = differentiator & connector

Social Media = storytelling tool

Bloggers = storytelling agents

This is a human exercise

Have fun!

Thank You!

Let’s continue the conversation. Connect with us on:

UncorneredMarket.com & QVGlobal.com

Email: dan@QVGlobal.com

Twitter: @UMarket

Facebook: /UncorneredMarket