Image Credit: Mike Finklestein via Flickr/CreativeCommons

Every brand has a story to tell. Finding that story is the tough part. Tougher still is crafting that story into something compelling.

As communicators, storytelling is at the core of what we do. We uncover, craft and find the right audiences for stories that convey — directly or indirectly — the messages we want customers to hear. In years past, telling our stories was simple: we pitched reporters, produced print ads and talked with prospects at trade shows. Today, we have untold numbers of channels with which we can potentially get our stories told — or lost.

This response by Hanson Hosein, the director of the University of Washington’s Master of Communication in Digital Media, on the topic of information overload drives the storytelling point home:

“It is not just about social media to me, it is also about really effective storytelling. If you are a good storyteller, you are always going to break through.”

Good stories don’t require 200 page manuscripts. They don’t require two hour-long screen adaptations. For some, all it takes is 140 characters typed on a keyboard. Or a blog post. Or, gasp!, an actual conversation. Good stories hook people, they reel them in with colorful characters, keep them engaged with conflict and resolution, and let them walk away with a sense that their time wasn’t wasted.

Hollywood writers don’t hold eminent domain on storytelling. Companies have stories too (more than they probably know). Can you find your Oscar-worthy company story? Have you built your syndicated run of episodic stories?

Try as I might, I couldn’t resist clicking on the link last week that seemed to be showing up everywhere I turned. It felt like every other tweet on Twitter included a link to B.L. Ochman’s post debunking the six myths of social media. I tried to avoid it because it felt, to me, like yet another post aimed at stirring up debate in the social media echo chamber.

I was correct in it being a hornets’ nest for the Twitterati. Where I was wrong was thinking that I should try to avoid it. B.L. wrote a great post that sparked more than 95 comments on BusinessWeek.com. One of those comments was mine (once you’re sucked into the conversation it’s hard to escape):

Mike Maney, Feb 19, 2009 3:58 PM GMT
“While maybe not perfect (on the pricing), B.L.’s take on the involvement required to do social media right is spot-on. It’s not only tough to do well, but it takes time as well. The issue I have is that social media is (and should be) just one component of a larger communications strategy. And that’s where the discussion of campaign pricing and involvement falls down. Companies should be looking at pricing/commitment in the context of their overall programs rather than silo’ed campaigns.”

There’d be no shame in thinking the basis of this post was about debunking social media’s six myths. However, there’s a bigger lesson to be learned from B.L.’s post. My comment above — a 20-second, brain-to-keyboard thoughtburst — is this morning the featured comment in the “In Your Face” column now running on the front page of BusinessWeek.com. What started as a quick dash of commentary turned into visibility for the 0to5 brand. Was visibility what I was trying for? Not consciously. I was simply adding what I thought might be good fuel for the conversation.

Do you use your expertise and experience to advance conversations happening within your sphere of influence? If not, what’s holding you back?

Welcome to the Zer0 to 5ive blog. While many of our team members have been actively blogging on their own for years, this is our first foray as a group with the goal of sharing ideas, sparking discussions and examining the changing face of marketing and communications.

We all know that our communications landscape is changing. In just a few short years, we have seen the rise of new channels and the demise of long-standing media outlets. We’ve seen marketing and communications evolve to a new level of complexity and overlap. But we have also seen “old” tactics resurrected. At the same time we are tweeting, we are sending bulky direct mail. At the same time we are blogging, we are engaging customers and prospects through newsletters and seminars. It has all come down to the simple foundations of brand building — message and audience. What has changed is the myriad of channels we can now use to package and present ourselves. For each client and brand, the mix of channels change — that is the excitement and the challenge.

So, thanks for tuning into this channel — we encourage you to jump in and join the discussion!