Marketers tend to obsess over the tools behind social networking’s meteoric rise. Are blogs more effective than Facebook? How easy is Ning to use? Does Twitter appeal to young people?

What they’re forgetting, says social strategist Gaurav Mishra, is that the tools are not as important as the content. And the content that continues to engage people most consistently is a good story.

“I have come to the conclusion that social media is most powerful when it’s used for creating, collecting and sharing stories,” Mishra wrote recently. “In fact, I now believe that storytelling is the key to social media marketing success.”

Stories are central to the human condition, he says. We love to listen to stories. We’re able to learn from stories. And we enjoy sharing stories.

That’s a powerful combination, and one that social media can take advantage of — especially our inclination to share. “We share stories to build relationships, build kinship, as individuals and as groups,” says Mishra. “Sharing stories comes almost as naturally to us as remembering to breathe.”

Colleges are fortunate to have an unlimited number of stories to share — from students, faculty and alumni. By telling these stories, they make it possible for prospective students to relate to your school and see themselves as part of the community.

Social networking is really about conversations, says Mishra, and the most engaging conversations involve the exchange of stories.

Storytelling will be the topic of the next “Free on Friday” webcast offered by TargetX. Join members of the team and some of your colleagues from around the country for “Lessons in Storytelling — A TargetX Holiday Experience” — from 3:00 to 3:30 EST on Friday, December 11th.

To learn more and register, visit:
www.targetx.com/webcasts

To read Gaurav Mishra’s blog post on storytelling, click:
Three Reasons Why Storytelling is the Key to Social Media Marketing Success