Writer, Speaker, Business Storyteller Seth Godin (#69)
Modern Business Storytelling with Seth Godin
He’s an author of about two dozen books and says: “The future of publishing is about having connections to readers and the knowledge of what those readers want.” Seth Godin pioneered the idea of permission marketing. He’s a storyteller in written and spoken formats.
You can find him at his blog, where he upends the old adage that more is better. Sometimes he writes only a relatively few words, yet gets a ton of attention. His latest book, This Is Marketing, takes a look at the modern marketplace and teaches us that you can’t be seen until you learn to see.
Seth says one way brands set themselves apart is through their story, or their brand.
“Brands aren’t logos. Brands are promises. If Nike opened a hotel … with your eyes closed you’ could figure out what it would be like. But if Hyatt came out with a brand of sneakers, no clue! Nike has a story.“ - Seth Godin on story and brand
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Writer, Speaker, Business Storyteller Seth Godin
Social media: You are the product
Social media can be powerful. It has given a lot of people a voice, especially those who didn’t have a voice before. It’s broadened horizons for storytellers around the world. However, it’s a double-edged sword. As a storyteller, you have to know going in that your audience is not your customer in the eyes of the social channels. You don’t have that ownership. We’re all just products.
The other downside to social, according to Seth, is that where once we had people creating original content and making things better, we now have social media turning us into dittoheads simply liking and sharing other people’s content. It’s time to get back to creating.
“If you use social media, you are not the customer. You are the product. It is built to manipulate you into using it more, so they can run more ads and make more money.” - Seth Godin on social media
Own your story
We all have the chance as storytellers (and business people in this season of storytelling) to make a change for the better. We can improve people’s lives. Or we can tell ourselves that we’re average, and let our story be mediocre. Seth says we have the power to own our story.
“How does Cinderella get invited to the ball? It’s not about the glass slipper. If you think you’re average business person, you are.” - Seth Godin
Connect with Seth Godin:
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