There was a fashion article recently about the impact of social media and how pictures particularly can be used to tell stories that will affect how people view your business or brand. Instagram is like a mobile magazine that captures attention with images that have the power, if done well, to create a visceral response and emotional reaction. Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and Twitter are all methods of micro-blogging that are wildly popular because they condense a message into a portion so tiny that it can remain with the viewer.
The goal of micro-blogging is to tell a story succinctly. This has been an art form cultivated by the literary crowd for countless years. There was an effective poem by William Carlos Williams published in 1923 that is an example to this day of how to create a visual image with so little.
The Red Wheelbarrow
so much depends
upon
a red wheelbarrow
glazed with rain
water
beside the white
chickens.
That was all he wrote, and it’s been studied in schools ever since.
Tommerup’s Dairy did much the same on its Instagram page with this:
That one picture, that one brief post– Welcome to the family, little one– says more than a lengthy blog ever could about their farm, their values, and what they believe is important.
How Can Your Business Do This?
Your business does not have to do much to convey much. When you understand how to communicate with brevity you leave people to fill in the blanks in delightful ways. Just as people have wondered for decades, what is the “so much that depends” upon the wheelbarrow, so will they wonder about that little calf and it’s life to come. Pictures can tell a powerful story, but so can artfully chosen words.
You can use your Facebook, Instagram, or even Twitter to speak to you clients in ways that are engaging but also respectful of their time. When you leave a little to their imagination, they will ponder. The goal is to convey a feeling that speaks for your brand and let them fill in the blanks.
