I was asked how fraternities and sororities could get better at telling their stories on social media. And I think one of the things they often don't acknowledge is that they have such a treasure trove of stories to tell.
Think about what happens in one of these organizations. There are the people who join, the friendships they build, the events they put together, the work they do with other chapters, and all the things their alumni have gone on to do. There's so much there.
But then you look at what gets posted, and it's usually updates. So-and-so made the Dean's List. An alum came back to visit. We hosted this event.
Great. Tell me about the story.
What went into doing that?
Take the student who made the Dean's List. You've told me what happened, but who is this person? How did that happen? What went into it? Why should I care about this random person you're announcing right now?
Those are the questions I want you to ask before you decide that the achievement itself is the whole post. There is a person behind that achievement, and there is something they went through to get there.
Same thing with the event. You hosted it. Okay, cool. Tell me about the behind the scenes. What went into doing that? What would I learn about the people in your organization if I could hear them talk about it?
That was the point I was making in the interview. There are so many stories in these organizations, and we're often stopping at the announcement.
Your business has people behind its updates, too
You can take those same questions into a business. Before posting that something launched, or someone joined the team, or you reached a milestone, sit down and ask what actually happened.
Who was involved? What did they have to figure out? Why did this matter to them? What would help someone outside the business understand why you're excited about it?
In my 8 Resonance Story Types, I give you different places to look for these stories. How you treat the people doing the work can give you a Values Story. The people you're trying to help can give you an Audience Story. Working with someone else can give you a Collab Story.
You can start with an update you already have. Go back to the people involved and ask them about it. Let them give you some of the detail that the announcement leaves out.
Sit down with someone and record it
People often tell me, I don't know what story to tell, or it feels weird trying to write this stuff out. My advice in that conversation was very simple. Literally sit down with someone, tell them the story, and record it.
If you're recording video, you have something you can clip up. If it's audio, you have something you can transcribe into text. Now you have your actual words to work with, and you can hear where the interesting parts of the story are.
That's also a way to begin your Confidence Document. You don't have to start by staring at a blank page. Start by explaining what happened to another person, then give those stories a place to live.
So go look at the last announcement you posted. What happened behind it that you haven't told us yet?
About this teaching
Adapted from an earlier Fraternity Foodie Podcast interview about marketing for fraternities and sororities. The questions and recording exercise come from that conversation, with an application to business added for this note. The recording date is unknown.
