Why You Must Become an Expert at Telling Your Story - What I learned from Nike's "Just Do It"

By Ken Merced, Social Media Practitioner (@kenmercedmedia) 

​Before I start, let me apologize for my excessive use of parenthesis in this article (sorry not sorry). I am just in that kind of mood today.

Within the last few years, I have noticed a shift in my purchasing patterns of name-brand apparel. Unintentionally or not, I have become partial to a particular brands and styles.

As a kid, my single working mother could not afford name-brand things for my brother and me. While I was in middle school, someone gave me a pair of Nikes that were a couple sizes too small. I still wore them. The first thing I purchased with my first paycheck from my first job was the first name-brand thing I had even owned brand new. I bought a pair of Nikes. As I became an adult, my interest in name-brand, specifically Nike, continued to grow.

Within the last few years, my affinity for the Nike brand had made me sort of a walking billboard (billboard: an outdated source of advertisement and marketing that I will probably write about later) for the brand.

My collection to date consists of a wallet, sweater, keychain, my favorite San Francisco Giants hoodie (which I cannot find at the moment) and multiple pair of shoes. To summarize, if it has the Nike swoosh on it, I’m all over it.

Mind you, I do not consider myself an athlete, fashionista, or baller by any means. So what is it that has me taking a second look at anything that screams “Just Do It” sitting on the shelves or hanging from a rack at the department store?

Then it hit me. . . “Just Do It.”

The “Just Do It” campaign was launched 25 years after the birth of the Nike brand. Not only has “Just Do It” become a household phrase, it has become one of the most recognized slogan in the 20th century.

You see, what Nike did was think outside the “shoe” box. Nike took their brand beyond a product on the shelves and began telling their story [TWEET THIS]. Every one of us can relate to the “Just Do It” story regardless of age, gender or physical fitness level. Our culture has connected with Nike on a much deeper level. More importantly, Nike connected their story to ours.

Are you and I capable of using our story to impact and influence people? Is our story one that would resonate with others? The answer to both of these questions is obviously, “Yes!”

Whether you are an athlete, musician, photographer, artist, cook, entrepreneur or anything else (the list is endless), we all have an unprecedented opportunity to share our story with the world. The internet has paved the roads to this world and social media is the vehicle by which our story can be told [TWEET THIS].
Whether you’re on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat or any other platform (there are too many to list), tell your story.

I promise people (like myself) will buy into your story long before they think about buying in to your product or service [TWEET THIS].
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Be you. Tell your story. Watch what happens.

Ken