Story telling is one of the oldest activities that we do as human beings and today, perhaps more than ever, people want to hear stories and build their own stories.

Social media is a manifestation of that desire for stories. It has arguably developed from a need that people have to share stories and has certainly given people platforms to experience and create more and more stories. So what are you using social media for? Do you tell stories? Do you allow your fans to tell their stories?

We often talk about social outlets being like a meeting place. The process of creating a vibrant social media outlet is to invite people into the meeting place. This is the growth phase that we talk about with clients. Then once you have a room full of people, you can begin to talk to them and encourage them to talk with one another. This is the engagement phase.

All too often, however, we find companies think that the growth phase is the be all and end all for their social media strategy. Once they have invited people to like their Facebook page or follow them on twitter, they think they can then move directly to the selling phase, but posting messages about their products or services, their special offers and their sales.

This is the equivalent of coming in to a room full of your customers and standing in one corner shouting corporate messages through a megaphone. There may be people who have come in to your meeting place specifically looking for a bargain or a new product or service. But they are not going to stay for long once that have got what they want or they hear that there is a better offer in another room. Everyone else will slowly, but surely, move away. They will lose interest. They will stop listening and they will be very unlikely to engage. After all, what is there for them to say about the fact that you have a new product out or a discount code available?

Instead, successful brands allow people to tell their stories. Often those stories will involve your brand or your products and services, which is ideally what you are looking for your customers to do. If your customers are telling their friends about an amazing experience or result they had, thanks to what you make or do, then they are one of your most valuable assets: a brand advocate. Their voice should be encouraged and amplified. They will do your selling for you.

The good news is that now, through everything from social sites such as Facebook, twitter, Instagram and Pinterest to name just a few, to blogs, YouTube and  online forums, everyone is a publisher and anyone can help your company reach out to more potential customers and invite them in to the meeting places you have created.

The only question is, how are you going to interact with them once they have come in?