Reflection – Storytelling

Diana Vazquez

Challenge & Selection

Storytelling in my field is a tool often used to connect with people all around the world who often  share an idealization of a dream or a story itself. Everyone has a dream, many people dream about  opening their own business themselves.

I have came across a lot of small business who were opened to the public with the main goal of  connecting with people and share their story (aside the obvious side of making a business). I find  these kind of processes very noticeable among the new trend of opening Little cafés or food  service places, people frequently visit these places no just because of the producto (food and  drinks), but because of the differential experience each of these business can give them.

Application

Nowadays people use social media to reach out to a broader public. It’s a very effective tool to  continue the path of storytelling itself. For example, i like to “hunt” for new places to visit every  time on social media, watching their Instagram feed can tell me so much more about the place  before i even get the opportunity to visit it, but it also makes my curiosity grow.

There’s a little patisserie that opened 3 months ago in the city, the owner used to make bread and  cakes for other cafés, quite famous around “the scene”, but she never got to open her own  business until recently. Al lof this was discovered by a simple approach and conversation, so I  wondered, how many people could feel motivated by her story and will her story make her own  brand seem more approachable and not just a single new business in town?

Insight

Using social media as a tool for storytelling can tell me so much not only about the place or their  producto, but their story itself. Has anyone tried to interview these entrepeneurs about the  challenges and dreams they had in order to get to that place were they finally were able to open  their business to public? How many of these stories can be relatable to the public itself? It makes  the whole experience more personal and engaging before you even have to visit the place, and we  know, not everyone has the time to have a 1 to 1 talk with the owner the first time they visit their  business.

Approach

Considering using an Instagram account to share the stories about these small business to the  people of a certain city or district. To chose this type of communication tool can make the content  available to a wider public and they don’t necessarily have to access a different website to get the  story. Owners can also share their story to their peers and the abundant circle of growing the  storytelling account can fuel the engagement.

This way, the next time a new costumer visits the place, they will have a familiar feeling lingering,  as if it’s visiting a new friend.

