How to increase engagement on social media using stories

We live in a world awash with AI content. As it gets quicker and easier to prompt-and-publish, content that makes a genuine connection is more important than ever. Storytelling remains the most human form of communication – irresistible, impactful and emotive. So, how can we continue to tell stories through our social media channels, and what does storytelling success look like?

We’ve pulled together a few different ways you can tell stories on social media – read on for some examples of Orlo customers who continue to do it well…

Orlo customer Reading Borough Council ran a campaign called ‘Your East Reading’. Its aim was to educate the people of East Reading on how the council had a positive impact on their lives, as well as helping residents to celebrate the positive initiatives, events, spaces and places of their community. To do this, they used stories about the local area in a positive way.  

Through social media, the council asked residents to share what made their area feel like home, and then made a real effort to notice and listen to those stories. They then went on to create engaging content based on their stories about what makes East Reading so unique and special to people. This helped to build relationships with residents and highlighted how the council adds to the atmosphere of East Reading.  

Making sure they closed the loop, Reading Borough Council engaged the community even further by contacting the people who had got involved in the campaign when they published any of the content they’d helped to inspire. This made the residents really feel heard and valued, which in turn made them more likely to organically share and amplify the messaging.  

Examples of stories from the area included popular culture references. For example, Reading Stained Glass, who made the glass that was used in the Harry Potter films, and stories from residents at the Bowling Club, local mosque and from the Nepalese football tournament held in the park in the heart of East Reading.

This campaign generated 64k impressions and 1,328 engagements, which included the highest number of likes that any of their community campaigns had previously generated. The content was also actively engaged with for two months beyond the end of the campaign, demonstrating how much this campaign resonated with the audience.

Another way to tell stories is by exploring different channels and voices.

Orlo customer Govia Thameslink Railway does this brilliantly by featuring their own people alongside micro-influencers to inspire travel and bring their network to life.

 A standout example is their ‘Inside Track’ series, which showcases hidden gems along the Thameslink, Great Northern and Southern routes and highlights the nearest stations to each destination. Rather than focusing on the service itself, the content centres around discovery, local knowledge, and real experiences. That’s what makes it such a strong piece of storytelling; it taps into a sense of curiosity and wanderlust, drawing people in with engaging visuals and a genuine tone.

The beauty of the series is that it doesn’t feel like a traditional advert. Each video or post can stand alone as something enjoyable to watch or share, even without explicitly promoting train travel. But subtly, and effectively, the story always leads back to Thameslink, with a natural prompt to check the app for fares and travel options. It’s a great example of how storytelling can shift perceptions, build trust, and encourage action without ever needing a hard sell.

It’s important to understand the language that your audience might use when telling their own stories. By using their language, you’re far more likely to reach the target audience.

Leicestershire Police, also an Orlo customer, ran a campaign called ‘We Don’t Carry’ targeted at young people, which aimed to reduce knife crime. They knew that young people can be a hard to reach audience, so they worked with a partner (The Violence Reduction Network) to understand young people and their barriers. 

With the help of The Violence Reduction Network, Leicestershire Police were able to tap into the language that their target audience uses and discovered that enforcement based messaging wouldn’t break through and have the desired effect. Their research also showed that young people disengage with content that has a police badge on it, and that highlighting the risks of carrying knives was ineffective. They also learnt that they shouldn’t single people out as this may then cause young people to carry knives due to fear and a need to protect themselves. Instead, they needed to offer messages and stories of hope. 

Leicestershire Police’s campaign ‘We Don’t Carry’ used authentic language, unbranded and non-badged material, and emphasised being part of a positive collective group. As a result of tapping into their audience’s culture, Leicestershire Police ran a very successful campaign with impressive stats to back it up. 

Radio ads were broadcast to over 100k people in targeted areas of Leicestershire and had a 97% engagement rate, proving that the messaging had managed to get through and engage the target audience. There was also a positive response from police officers through shares which resulted in 150k impressions from the target audience, again showcasing the importance of using the right language when telling stories.

When telling stories through social media, keeping a close eye on performance is crucial. If you can understand which types of stories do well, it’ll be easier to find similar stories, and in turn ensure your messaging continues to be delivered in an engaging and effective way. 

With Orlo, customers can tag posts depending on the type of content or story, making it easy to report on specific campaigns, posts and messaging. Our analytics tool enables users to quickly understand what resonates with your audience, and how your stories are performing overall. You’ll then be able to optimise for future campaigns and watch your stories spread far and wide.

Orlo can also help you to find these stories through social listening. The more you know what your community talks about, the easier it will be to discover what matters to them, and how to weave your messaging into stories that will resonate. 

If you want to learn more about what makes stories so impactful, how to adapt stories for social media and how to hunt down stories and work them up for comms, come along to our webinar on Wednesday 14 May at 12pm – 1pm.

Hosted by Orlo’s Head of Marketing, Helena Hornby, with expert guests James Morton from Turn The Page, and Simon Carr, Social Storyteller, this webinar will give you inspiration and practical tips for storytelling, particularly on social media, and give you the chance to put your questions to the panel.

Click here to register for free and we’ll look forward to seeing you there!