Don’t make content, tell a story.

2016 was an unforgettable year. I was working a job that allowed me to travel all over the country, documenting a movement to raise millions of dollars for non profits. For me, a job couldn’t get more fulfilling that that. All of the stories, the community and the momentum being made has an impact on me. I saw the potential of what can happen when you truly connect with people and how real change can be created. This was the kind of impact I wanted to have on the world. I wanted to help bring people together in any way I could, so I started doing what came natural to me; writing.

I started creating content for Instagram and writing articles on medium. I figured the more content I put out, the more followers i’ll get and the more people I can help. I started finding inspiring quotes to post on Instagram, adding all the hashtags I could think of. I was posting every morning and writing articles almost every night. And after a month of doing this, I got a grand total of 30 followers. I tried again for another month, 26 followers. And the month after that, even less. I felt so discouraged. I was originally excited about what I was doing, I was inspired, but it wasn’t translating into results. How could I help people and create change if I couldn’t get anyone to follow me, if they didn’t even care to like or comment? I wanted to dedicate my life to creating a world of more connected people who felt fulfilled by the work they do. I saw other social media accounts that had thousands of followers, I new what I could do if I had similar influence, but at this point, I couldn’t see how I could ever make this happen. My content wasn’t connecting and it wasn’t engaging. Worse yet, I had run out of ideas.

Around this time I was traveling with my boss who was the leader of this movement to raise millions of dollars for non profits across the country. We were waiting for our plane at a restaurant near our gate, and I shared with him my frustration, my defeat. I told him about my instagram that wasn’t working, and I showed him an article I was working on. He looked over it briefly and quickly spotted what was wrong with it, what was wrong with everything I was doing. He told me, “Don’t write an article, tell a story.”

I asked him to elaborate, he mentioned how everything he was doing, everything he was teaching his clients and non profits how to do was not how to make content, but how to tell and share stories. Why? Because stories have the power to change people, to make them think and feel. Words have power, and when you use words the right way, you can wield that power for enormous good. Because words, when put into structured sentences, then into convincing paragraphs, with points and sub points that naturally lead to the idea you are trying to convey, form convincing stories that can actually move people. He gave me a new approach, a new job to focus on. From now on, stop making content and start noticing the stories that are happening around me every day. Take action and tell the story of what I did. He gave me a simple yet powerful storytelling structure to use, and from there, I was on my way. I felt like I had a new super power, a new weapon I could use in the fight to make this world a more united place. My eyes were now open, I was paying attention to my surroundings like I never had before. And as it turn out, it wouldn’t take long to find an opportunity.

On one of my days off I was at at Starbucks, and while I was working I saw this older gentleman sitting near me who looked like he was waiting for someone who wasn’t showing up. He was visibly sad, and I felt bad for him, I wanted to talk with him, but I was nervous. Going up to people was hard for me, and what if I was wrong? What if he was fine? But I had to put those feelings aside, if he needed someone, I wanted to be that someone. So I went up and talked to him, we had a great conversation, and he ended up much happier.

When I went to sit back down, I said to my self, “that’s what he was telling me about. That was a story!” I sat down and within 5 minutes wrote the whole story down and sent it to my boss. His feedback was great! He gave me a couple small notes about how to refine it even more, but at this point, I was feeling much stronger in this new skill. I felt even better when I posted it on my personal facebook page. I don’t post much on my facebook, but when I do, I might get a few likes and maybe a comment or two. But this time, posting the story right into the body of the post, I got over 40 likes and 16 comments within the first hour! My first attempt at this new story structure gave me immediate results and much higher engagement. But more importantly, I was able to actually inspire people! “Making a difference one person at a time … Shows your character” one person said. “You made his day! You’re amazing Keep it up!!” said another. This was the first time something I posted had a real impact. And I was seeing for my self that story really does have real power.

Later that year, at a retreat my boss takes his clients on, he surprised me by showing my story to everyone and using it as an example. I was shocked that he would do that and was able to receive even more encouragement. After the session was over, people were coming up to me with questions about their stories, asking for advice and if they could share my story in their blogs and facebook pages. All of this from just one story.

The power of story literally changed my life. Nothing can change things, create real impact and cause people to feel and think like a story can. That’s why we watch tv, listen to music and follow people on social media, we are drawn to stories by instinct. Then, we share those stories with others when we feel they impacted us.

After my time was done working this job, with more similar experiences under my belt and my background in video marketing, I felt confident that I could help others achieve similar results, and since then, I have.

I am so grateful for what I learned that day, and I can’t wait to share that same experience with more people. If there is anything I can do to help your stories more impactful, connect with your audience and create a real movement, please feel free to contact me at stories@jonathanmreed.com and sign up to get first access to my upcoming content.

-Jonathan