I was absolutely blown away by the volume (and quality) of tweets that came from the delegates at our Silverpop Connect Dubai event yesterday. I've snapped some of them here during my session, which made up just 45 minutes in an all day programme.
Much is talked of the role of social media in the Arab Spring of 2010/2011, but my point isn't necessarily to do with that. Dubai isn't a hotbed of political unrest and upheaval anywhere near comparable to Egypt and Tunisia.
My point has to do with the power of storytelling, and the basic need of us humans to communicate. Being a relative novice in doing business in the Middle East, I'm told its a very relationship-based region. You have to get to know people and build trust. And I saw some of that at this week's event.
Trust only comes when you have a story that is believable and credible. If you have a good story, tell it in an interesting/timely/relevant manner and relate it to the issues/wants/needs/desires of your audience then you'll go a long way. Story tellers and raconteurs have known this for years, and this core human skill has been practiced around campfires, in bars and over the dinner table for centuries. Social media gives the individual the uber-megaphone to tell or share a great story, and I'm pleased to say the story we had to tell in Dubai was ripe for repeating.
As marketers, we should continually bear in mind the power of having a great story when trying to build an emotional connection with consumers or business customers. Get the story right first and the channels will do the rest.
Finally, you'll see below a snapshot of the twitter activity, curated as a Storify. Have fun & enjoy the story!