As introduced in the posts and Whitepapers on destination marketing 3.0, the new consumer behavior becomes more active and community based, trusting their relatives, friends or other consumers rather than advertisements, and so they consider social media contents as the most trustable source of information because they are controlled by other consumers.
This new reality shifts the marketing paradigm giving all the power to the consumers and turning communication flows into a conversation among consumers in which the Brand Managers are listeners rather than speakers. Actually, the role of the Marketing departments shifts its focus to provoking and facilitating conversations among consumers. These conversations are about brand related stories created by consumers or reputable influencers. Their authorship –and not the brand manager’s- is what makes them truly credible and therefore far more engaging than the traditional branded advertisements.
Moreover, as it is further explained in upcoming posts, stories make the audience take an active role in the communication experience, becoming active participants by having the chance to make their own and also becoming storytellers. But the great power of stories is their capacity to create emotional connections between the brand and the audience. Such emotional connections and the active role played by the audience members are the key factor to generate effective engagement and ultimately bring good marketing results to the brand.
What kind of experiences do you think are more likely to inspire compelling stories?
