Social Media Storytelling: A New Zealand Study of the Use of Narratives to Engage with the Public
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Storytelling is one of the most common ways to communicate and is, by far, one of the most common ways of engaging with your audience. With the rise of the internet in the 21st century, the way we tell stories and share them with the public has evolved and has significantly impacted the marketing field. Additionally, social media provided a revolutionary form of interaction that changed the way people communicate and how brands communicate with their customers. This study investigates how New Zealand marketing professionals use storytelling on social media to engage with the public and improve branding. The research began with a review of the storytelling and social media literature, and this led to a qualitative analysis of interviews with digital marketing professionals, addressing the process of creating digital campaigns. The study found differences in the branding process, where companies with social media as the primary focus do not have to adapt their content from other media, resulting in a more creative engagement. New media channels (like TikTok and Instagram) also prompted different storytelling formats, including photos and videos, bringing constant challenges to content creators. The findings suggest that digital marketing agencies use this technique extensively and that the public reacts positively to it. This study contributes to understanding digital branding and provides a framework for storytelling use in content marketing.