As an academic working to build a brand, navigating online spaces, especially social media, can be challenging. Creating content that engages, tells a story, and adds value to the reader is no easy task. Using the simple 3-Act structure in your social media content will help you do all these things, and in this article, I’ll show you how.
People Want a Story
Good storytelling is critical to any successful social media marketing strategy. Delivering a story encourages viewers to follow along through multiple TikToks, shorts, or tweets, driving up views, comments, and follows. But why?
A story allows you to connect emotionally with your target audience. Think about the last movie you stopped watching or the last book you put down before reaching the end. Why did you stop? Maybe you didn’t enjoy the main character. Or perhaps you thought it was a horror movie, but instead it was a comedy. Regardless of why you stopped, the journey wasn’t worth it for you, so you chose to move on.
If the journey isn’t worth it for your viewers, then they’ll quit your content just like a bad movie. That’s where the 3-Act strategy comes in. This strategy does three things:
- It gives your audience an idea of who you are and what your content or brand is about.
- It emotionally compels your audience to do something, like follow, like, comment or…
- Follow a journey. Engaging content will encourage your audience to consume one video after another, following a story you’ve carefully constructed for that exact purpose.
The 3-Act strategy follows a hero’s journey, which is your journey. It is broken into, you guessed it, 3 acts, just like a play. Let’s start by looking at act 1.
Act 1
Act one is all about character building. In this act, your primary goal is to show your audience who you are and what you do.
Go Behind the Scenes
For many creators, this means giving viewers a behind-the-scenes (BTS) look into your daily life. “A Day in the Life” and “Get Ready with me” are two trends you might recognize. Most influencers, celebrities, and even businesses will participate in these trends because it allows them to show their followers what goes on behind the scenes.
As an academic with an established and growing brand, I might take pictures for Instagram showing what my office space looks like. Or, I might capture a day in the life for a YouTube channel, sharing what my day-to-day looks like. A content creator named Kathy Kellog did this for her YouTube channel in 2022, giving her viewers a BTS look at the life of a fifth-grade educator. And with 12,000 subscribers and over 17,000 views, it’s clear her strategy is working.
Go Long and Take a Linear Snapshot of Your Life Before and After
If you’d like to take a more linear approach and share a longer storyline, you could also consider sharing what your life was like before your business, brand, or product and what it’s like now.
For example, 15 years prior, I was fresh out of a Ph.D. program and frustrated that my work was sitting behind an academic paywall. Academe told me no one would care about my comics dissertation. But over time, and with a lot of hard work, I’ve built and successfully monetized the Power Your Research brand. Content with the linear approach would take the viewer, or reader, through that story, showcasing how my skills and brand have changed my life for the better.
Don’t Be Afraid to Share Your Fears
The first act of any great story often shows a hero’s refusal. Think about your favorite superhero. Many times, their story begins with the many reasons they don’t want to be the hero. It’s in these moments that we learn about their fears. So in this act, you might talk about some of your fears. This will help you emotionally connect with your audience. The fears I had 10 years ago are the fears my audience currently has.
So spend your first week creating content around who you are, the backstory, how life was before you created your product or service, and how you were hesitant to take the leap. Then, you can move onto act 2.
Act 2
In the second week of the 3-act structure, the hero picks up some allies, makes some enemies, and is tested. This is an opportunity for you to take the emotional connection you’ve started building in act 1 to the next level.
When you market yourself, your products, or your services, it’s essential to understand the psychographics of your audience. Psychographics is a tool used in marketing to understand consumer behavior with respect to values and attitudes. It helps marketers segment their audience based on what they think, feel, and how they respond to certain experiences. It differs from demographics in that it looks at your audience’s mental attributes rather than their physical characteristics, such as age, gender, or race.
Using psychographics can be a powerful way to emotionally connect with your target audience because it allows you to tailor your messaging beyond just basic demographic information. For example, if you are targeting people who are looking for meaningful experiences in life, you could craft messages that tap into that need by highlighting the emotional benefits of your product or service.
Let’s look at an example. I know my audience is professors, and I market to tenured professors. I also know that associate professors with tenure are the most unhappy people in higher education. So in week two, or the second act, I might talk about how I was tested when I was an associate professor with tenure. I would reflect on where my brand was and how I felt at the time.
I could also create content around some of the friends (allies) I found. Or, I might talk about the importance of having allies who support you when you’re doing something higher education deems ‘not intellectual enough.’ Which brings me to enemies.
Enemies do not have to be any one person or even a group of people. Enemies can be institutions, systems, or even your own internal thoughts. Your enemy might be a limiting belief you have. If you share these on social media, in your act two/week two, you give your audience a chance to relate to your journey.
And then, finally, share a crisis you’ve experienced. Our favorite heroes are always tested. They often struggle through a crisis and come out stronger than before. Sharing your own crisis will give your audience yet another chance to connect with you over your shared experiences.
Act 3
The third week of the 3-act strategy is all about being the hero…with proof.
This is where you share the solution you can offer, be it a product, service, mindset, skillset, or something else. Try posting 2 to 3 times daily about how your offering can help your audience, and I promise, people will engage with you.
For example, I can talk with such confidence about my Power Your Research program because it’s the same journey I went on, and it has truly changed my life. I am the product of the very offer I serve people.
But in addition to sharing what it is you offer, you need proof.
In the case of social media, I recommend social proof. Social proof can be anything from star ratings to reviews and testimonials. When people are uncertain about a product or service, they tend to seek reassurance from other consumers who’ve already bought what you’re selling. By leveraging social proof, you can build trust in your offering and increase the likelihood that your viewers will convert to followers, community members, or customers.
Bringing your hero moment and social proof to your content will conclude the 3-act strategy.
The 3-act strategy is an incredibly powerful tool for creating engaging content on social media. Using it allows you to share a story, evoke emotion, and connect with your audience.
The most impactful content comes from stories and experiences that are grounded in reality, so be true to yourself and don’t be afraid to be vulnerable. A compelling narrative crafted with the power of the 3-act structure will have your audience engaging with you and wanting more.
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