Comments on: Who Are You? The Power of Personal Stories In A Social World

By: Bob Nunn

Bob Nunn — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 17:30:05 +0000

Ha! Tom great catch. Like lots of folks in this industry I’m too busy working on client’s stories to take time to refine my own. (aka The Shoemaker Syndrome) I’m actually in the middle of testing my core proposition via AdWords (a different post) before re-writing my piece. Since you’ve asked, perhaps we can connect and we can use each other as sounding boards to build our stories?

By: Tom Huntington

Tom Huntington — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 00:32:15 +0000

Just noticed your post through a re-tweet by Kikolani, and since I’m in the “throes” of re-designing my blog, which includes another attempt to write “about me”, I checked out your post. It makes total sense to me, and I’m gonna try to write “about me” in a personal story way AGAIN (I keep getting bogged down in the details, and it gets too long and boring, and then I go for the sketchy — just the “abstract” facts.

Everything you write here makes sense, but not knowing who you are, I jumped over to your blog to read “your story”. I didn’t “get” a feel for “who you are” or “your story” from your “about” page. What’s up with that?

By: Bob Nunn

Bob Nunn — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 21:42:40 +0000

In reply to Karen Runtz.

Ha! Karen that’s a whole other post! And an interesting subject. Hmmmm…. I touched on it in a post I did last week on my own blog with a quote I love about the blurring from a small business social success: “People do business with people they’re friends with. Period.” Here’s the post http://bit.ly/loyaldecl

By: Bob Nunn

Bob Nunn — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 21:37:47 +0000

In reply to Patricia@lavender oil.

Hey Jacob,
For sure it will work better for brands that already have an engaged audience e.g. Starbucks but it’s also HOW you get an engaged audience in the first place. There’s many examples now of smaller, previously obscure businesses who have seen their fame rocket thanks to us being able to get to know them via social sharing. Blendtec is one that comes to mind.

We also tend to get a little myopic on channels like Facebook when many businesses have other more robust channels like email or (gasp!) old fashioned word-of-mouth.

Make sense?

By: Karen Runtz

Karen Runtz — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 15:13:14 +0000

While any good communicator knows the value of emotional context, it’s something we can overlook at times. And it’s not necessarily true that social media practitioners are good communicators. 🙂 When I saw the title of your post via a tweet I thought the “who are you” was going to be about the blurring of the boundaries between the business and the personal. That’s how I started showing social media to a group of business people some time back. When I was growing up, our lives were neatly compartmentalized. It’s fascinating how all that has changed. And hairy too!

By: Jacob Varghese

Jacob Varghese — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 15:10:12 +0000

Hi Bob,
“And because personal stories are more memorable they are retold.”
Will this work for smaller brands which do not have an engaged audience as some of the bigger brands?

Of course, a very interesting story will be retold based on its own merit and social media channels can be a great equalizer.

However, there are a lot of elements that go into making of a very interesting story with viral potential.

Most content does not fall into that category and an engaged audience is a prerequisite for it to be shared.

Your thoughts?

Thanks for the post.

By: Patricia@lavender oil

Patricia@lavender oil — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 14:43:44 +0000

Hi Bob

That is so true that we will put our trust in those we know more than in the “faceless” we do not! That’s one of the reasons personal recommendation of a product works so well.

I know for me in m fledgling business, my customers who have tried a product and liked it will recommend to their friends, who then have come and bought from me. That has been my off-line experience.

On’line it is the people I have built trust with via my blog who will click over to my store and take a look. Also I have found that people like to read the “About Me” page when going to a new blog. I know I do. Like to know who I am talking to. Personal stories definitely do help in this day and age that’s for sure.

Patricia Perth Australia