17 Lessons From StoryBrand’s Social Media Made Simple [Infographic]

Most people have two goals when it comes to social media.

Ironically, you shouldn’t care about either of them.

If you’re like most marketers and entrepreneurs I talk to, then you probably want to…

1. Go viral


2. Get more followers

Now there’s definitely nothing wrong with going viral or getting more followers on social media.  It’s just that those two things don’t accomplish what you think they will.

In other words, neither going viral nor growing your follower count is going to impact the bottom line.

So how do you use social media to reach more people and grow your business?

Today I want to share with you one of the best resources I’ve found on creating a social media strategy that gets results.

It’s simple, it’s comprehensive, and it’s equally as effective whether you’re a total beginner or a seasoned pro.

And yes, while each platform has unique capabilities and important differences that you should pay attention to, the overarching strategy is the same whether you’re using Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, or anything else.

If you’ve read other posts on this blog, then it will come as no surprise that this is from the amazing team over at StoryBrand.  

They invited social media maven Claire Diaz-Ortiz — an early Twitter employee who got THE FREAKIN’ POPE to join the platform — to record a video series for the course Social Media Made Simple.

The course itself is an incredible resource that I 100% recommend checking out — but if you want to save some time and get straight to the key takeaways, I created this handy infographic.

Want the infographic emailed to you as a PDF?  Click here to get it sent directly to your inbox.

Below I’ll break down each part of the “SHARE” model and give you an action step to make it even easier for you to run an effective social media strategy.

Note: I’m not at all affiliated with StoryBrand, Donald Miller, or Claire Diaz-Ortiz. I simply found this resource SO. VALUABLE. and wanted to share with all of you.

Story: What story are you telling?

Claire and I are on the same page here: CONTENT. IS. QUEEN.

Whether it’s on your blog, social media, physical marketing materials, or anywhere else, your content is how you communicate what you do and who you serve.

That said, you need to pay attention to the type of story you’re telling.  Specifically, your brand story needs to be about your AUDIENCE, not about you.

We’ll get more into your audience in the third point below, but know that you’ll always be on the right track if you think “What’s in it for them?” instead of talking about yourself the whole time.

So what kind of content should you be posting?  

It needs to inspire your customer (or beneficiary, if you’re marketing a program) and give them what they need to live a better life.  Think educational posts, quick tips in shareable graphics, and things like that.

Ask yourself: What does your customer or audience want, why do they want it, and what’s getting in the way of getting it?

Then, figure out how you can use social media to share blog posts, podcasts, interesting stats, testimonials, impactful images, case studies, recorded or live videos, selfies, and curated content — great content from other channels — in order to provide value to your audience.

Action Step: Define your audience’s problem and brainstorm how you can educate, inspire, and encourage them through your content.

How: How do you create an online presence that builds your brand?

Anyone can create a social media account.  It’s a lot harder to create one that actually helps your business. 

So how do you do it?  Which platform should you use, and how often should you post?

Everyone wants a magic formula.  But actually, there isn’t one.

Instead, ask where, when, and how you can meet your audience where they’re at.

Which platform are most of your customers on actively?  

(If you’re not sure, then which platforms are your most successful competitors focusing on?  That’s often a good indication.)

The right platform for you often depends on your industry and whether you’re business-to-business (“B2B”) or business-to-consumer (“B2C”).  

For instance:

• LinkedIn is great for B2B (e.g. when you provide technical assistance, philanthropy, or agency-level services)

• Instagram is a great B2C (e.g. when you serve younger audience or have products to show off)

• Facebook is good for both, but especially B2C (there’s a lot of community engagement and groups can be a powerful marketing tool)

You should also consider when your audience is likely to be using the platform you choose.

As Claire points out, industry matters here.  Holidays are slow for fitness, for example, but spike for nonprofits.

Platform matters as well.  LinkedIn might get more engagement during the day while people are at work, while Facebook might pick up traction at night.

Then there’s the question of how often you should post.

As much as I hate the typical “post consistently” advice that people think will solve all your problems, consistency really is the most important part of growing your brand.

Your audience needs to be able to sense a pattern and come to expect valuable, high-quality content from you at regular intervals.  It makes them look forward to connecting with your brand just like you’d look forward to meeting a friend.

To help you stay consistent and organize your content into themes, you absolutely should create an editorial calendar.

It doesn’t have to be anything major — just what you’ll post and when.  You can use a spreadsheet or a more robust project management tool like Trello or Asana.

A lot of social media planners like Hootsuite and Buffer even have simple calendars built in, so try one out and see how much easier it is to stay on top of everything.

Action Step: Decide on ONE platform to completely focus on, then plan out your next month’s content.

Audience: Your social media is about THEM, not you

I once heard Donald Miller explain this with a great analogy…

You know that feeling when you go over to someone’s house and they start showing you a photo album of their childhood, grandparents, ancestry, pet goldfish, etc?

While you can appreciate it, you always feel a little disconnected because, at the end of the day, it’s not your family.

Well, your customers, clients, and donors probably feel the same way about you.  

If all you do is talk about yourself and show off what’s happening on your side of things, it neglects that central question: “What’s in it for them?”

Here’s another thing…

Everyone wants a bigger audience — but size doesn’t matter unless they’re ENGAGED!

This is what we mean when we say that follower count is a “vanity metric.”

It can be very impressive, and there are times when it can be important, but it’s not the one you should be focused on.

Why? Ultimately, people open social media to find engagement. When they get it, they come back. (This highlights both the great potential and great danger of social media in general.)

So how do you increase engagement? It requires empathy and connection.

It also requires telling a great story, which you’re already doing from step #1.

One easy tactic to show empathy and connect with your audience is is to help someone publicly by answering a question or resolving a customer service issue. That can go a long way both for the person on the receiving end and for others who witness it.

Action Step: Look for ways to directly connect with your audience.  What questions can you ask them to spark a conversation, or what answers can you offer publicly to help them overcome a problem?

Reach: Expand your reach by focusing on engagement

This goes along with the point above, so it’s worth repeating: “How do I get more followers?” is the WRONG question to be asking.

Social media platforms only succeed when people spend time on them.  That means they’ll always reward people who consistently engage their followers — often by promoting those profiles the most.

Your reach depends on how engaged your existing followers are.  So the best way to grow your social media followers is by engaging the followers you already have.

This is why an editorial calendar full of great content is important!

To prove the point, religious leaders with small followers get way more engagement than celebrities with large ones. 

Claire would know. She got Pope Benedict on Twitter and he became the most followed person ever.

Here’s one strategy: Pay attention to your hashtags. 

Create a campaign around one that’s pretty broad without already being associated with something else.  Encourage people to use that hashtag when they interact with your brand, offer a giveaway or some kind of reward, and repost.

Action Step: Go back through your editorial calendar and look for opportunities to deepen engagement.  Where can you encourage people to use a unique hashtag you created?

Excellence: Fine tune your strategy for long-term success

You can’t avoid making mistakes on social media, even those that threaten to destroy your business.

Every brand has done it, and yours will, too.

This was actually my favorite module in the course. In it, Claire skillfully contrasts two case studies from McDonalds and the American Red Cross.

Both brands made potentially damaging mistakes, but only the Red Cross managed to turn it into a win. (You can go through the course if you want all the details.)

What did the Red Cross do successfully that McDonald’s missed? Two main things:

1. They were transparent about the mistake and owned up to it quickly


2. They turned a negative story into a positive one and made it into a win for everyone


You have the opportunity to do the same when your brand makes a public mistake. Test out your approach and see what works for your audience BEFORE it happens.

Claire gives a helpful (hypothetical) example of a dairy-free ice cream company that’s getting backlash from their community and animal rights activists who used to support them after they posted pictures of spray painted cows.

Here’s how she’d approach the situation:

1. Acknowledge the misstep and offer to clean the cows


2. Then offer to host a parade for the cows and host it on social media to create a shareable moment


3. They might even sponsor the cow-showing team at the local fair

Remember, what unites these actions are owning up to the mistake and turning it into a win.

Action Step: You are GOING to make a mistake.  Take a second to imagine what it could be.  How would you own up to it and turn it into a memorable moment?

Conclusion

Social media can be complicated, to say the least. 

You have to decide who to target, which platform to use, what to post, how often to post, what metrics to track… the list goes on and on.

Luckily, there’s a simple way to move forward consistently even if you’re not a social media guru — and it’s all in this course.

I don’t even use social media personally, and I came away from this course with a clear framework that will last me years into the future!

Here’s a recap of the action steps I recommend for you to implement these takeaways for yourself:

1. Define your audience’s problem and brainstorm how you can educate, inspire, and encourage them through your content.

2. Decide on ONE platform to completely focus on, then plan out your next month’s content.

3. Look for ways to directly connect with your audience.  What questions can you ask them to spark a conversation, or what answers can you offer publicly to help them overcome a problem?

4. Go back through your editorial calendar and look for opportunities to deepen engagement.  Where can you encourage people to use a unique hashtag you created?

5. You are GOING to make a mistake.  Take a second to imagine what it could be.  How would you own up to it and turn it into a memorable moment?

Now I know that you’re going to want to return to these ideas later, so enter your email below to download the infographic as a PDF. 

That way you can print it out, share it with your team, and keep it on hand for when you need it most.

And if you do have the time, I HIGHLY recommend spending a few minutes a day watching these videos and checking out Claire’s book. Visit the course page here.