In my last blog, I shared with you the importance of creativity in business by citing an example of a successful contest we recently posted on our social media channels. There's a lot to be said for creative ideas. And, there's also a lot to be said for creative writing. Although, neither has come natural to me.
For many years, I wanted to be a journalist - and I followed that path through high school and college. Reporting the news is objective and fact-driven, which was my strength. And, as a blogger, this background has served me well. I find it difficult to switch from this style of writing to the creative. Fortunately, I seldom had to pivot. Until now...
I've always advocated that we keep social media messages brief as our attention spans are getting shorter with the flood of information we get. However, as part of our research for pre-launch of Asian-based clothing brand, E.ST, we found that sometimes people want more. In fact, a recent article suggested that we include long captions on Instagram because people love stories. Another source cited a study which concluded that Facebook posts with 80+ more words on Facebook garnered 2X as much engagement. I found that surprising, but when combined with the emotion-evoking capability of a great story, it makes sense. We love visual content, but we also love a great read - the juicer the better.
So, I set out to tell a story. And not just any story... a story from the perspective a fictitious rebellious, yet heroic millennial Asian man who serves as the voice of the company brand. Yes, I had my work cut out for me. I hit a wall a few times when I first started to write this content. I quickly discovered that the secret to writing creatively, particularly for this brand, was not to over think it. I would simply look at the image to accompany the post and let my mind wander. I had to avoid all distractions and just pretend. It was actually a little exhilarating.
Both my client and I are very happy with what we've developed and we're excited to test this even more in the coming weeks. For now, I thought I would share a couple stories with you. I hope they provide a little inspiration when you need to stretch those creative muscles.
