Continuing the Follow Friday series, today’s post is from Harrison Kratz. Why should you connect with Harrison? I appreciate that he’s a real go-getter and someone who just makes things happen. But, there are lots of young, ambitious people. Harrison stands out to me because he’s not only trying to further his personal career. He’s also trying to help other people grow and improve, whether he’s actively participating in #prstudchat (a Twitter chat and Facebook group connecting students and pros), or taking Tweetdrive national. Connect with Harrison on Twitter and check out his storytelling tools below.
I remember helping my close friend, Kyle Harty, put together his resume and cover letter last year as he was looking for a new opportunity in New York City. We were trying to find the language that would express both his personality and professionalism.
I’ll never forget the line that he wrote in his cover letter: “I have a knack for brevity.” I thought that was the ultimate description of a great social media or community manager, as is Kyle. Having a knack for brevity, though, is not a term reserved for social media managers. It’s for anyone who is able to tell a story using the social and the digital tools many use casually every day.
Journalists, PR professionals, and marketers all benefit from the ability to tell a story, and here are several tools you can use to tell your story with a knack for brevity.
Storify
Storify has been a pretty popular tool for journalists for about a year now and is a phenomenal way to pull content that is shared across the web and put together a beautiful story layout. A lot of digital journalists have used this tool, but I think marketers should start using this app as a way to document their campaign results.
Storify allows you to highlight successes and tell a story out of your efforts. While results are the bottom line, the ability to present them clearly is equally as important.
You should know about Instagram by now. In case you don’t, Instagram is now the largest mobile network in the world. It’s not only is a great way to take artistic photos and share them. Plus, brands are starting to use Instagram to tell stories.
Two examples that stick out to me are NBC News and President Obama. NBC News is run by Anthony Quintano, whose personal Instagram account is also a thing of beauty. NBC is constantly taking photos of their news anchors, reporters, and travels — letting followers peak inside their daily life and newsroom. It makes the whole viewing experience that much more enjoyable.
President Obama recently joined Instagram and already has one of the largest and most active followings on the network. Obama now has the ability to visually share a behind-the-scenes look into his re-election campaign with his followers. Obama needs his followers to feel as they’re apart of his journey again and Instagram is a perfect way for him to tell his story.
The new darling of the social media world, Pinterest has exploded. While their growth will be very interesting to watch, Pinterest’s storytelling power is undeniable. By using the pinboards as actual story boards, journalists and brands are able to group together images and findings to illustrate a narrative.
Pinterest’s will always be have a casual, “here’s what I found/love” culture, but that doesn’t mean the abilities to connect and tell a story aren’t there. This platform, along with the others, is proof that pictures are a thousand words, and now we can fit 1,000 words into 140 characters.
What are some of your favorite brands and public figures to follow on these networks?
Harrison Kratz is the Community Manager for MBA@UNC, an online MBA program from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He sticks to his entrepreneurial roots as the founder of the global social good campaign, Tweet Drive. Feel free to connect with him on Twitter, @KratzPR!