The important role storytelling played in building an empire of empathy.
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Imagine getting 67 likes on a post today.
Imagine ten years from now, and you are receiving two hundred thousand interactions on every single post? Ok, not every community can achieve these levels, but it's worth considering how a focus on engagement could grow your business.
That's the journey Humans of New York took, and this edition of CVB weekly will share the steps he took so that you can start to build them into your daily practice.
Let's start with a little context. And remember, you can jump past the context and into the tips at the bottom of the newsletter if you like.
Humans of New York is a storytelling platform with more than 30+ million followers. New York magazine called the platform an 'Empire of Empathy'. From a bond trader to a photographer who didn't (and still doesn't, by his admission) know how to take the perfect photo.
Imagine building an empire of empathy?
Ten years & 10 thousand interviews.
Malcolm Gladwell in Outliers talks about what it takes to become an expert. Ten thousand hours of practice.
HONY's soul (yes, that soul) purpose is to connect its community to the stories of others - "a one-person philanthropy machine."
Brandon Stanton is a storyteller. That is the practice he has built up over more than ten thousand hours of conducting interviews.
In researching this week's newsletter, it was hard to track him down, yet his platform proliferates.
He often says (when you can manage to track him down) - "the more I disappear, the more influence HONY has." The only photo of him you will ever see in his blog is the one where a bird pooped on his face. 🤣
He has an immovable brand promise. One that he made to his audience and refused to break.
His promise means he refuses to monetise the platform. He only makes money from 3 books and ten speaking gigs per year. Yet his platform has raised 12 million for his various philanthropic efforts.
He knows that the platform relies on engagement.
📷 "The engagement doesn't drop when I go to Pakistan or a prison (from his original location of New York). When someone hits like on my page, it's like a contract. I agree to follow you for you to give me this. Not self-promotion or ads. They agreed to follow me so I could give them stories of people on the streets. That is all I put on my blog. And that is why my engagement is high. I have never broken that covenant." {speaking on Chase Jarvis podcast)
And he focused on engagement from the beginning to listen to what his audience wanted to see more of.
✅ From the green lady, where he gained 67 interactions per post. To now receiving an average of 200,000 interactions per post.
A simple caption that changes how he created content forever.
“I used to go through different stages. But then I found that I was happiest when I was green, so I’ve been green for 15 years.”
That statement is relatable! It helps me see something of myself in the green lady. 💗
HONY is now a social-media empire with nearly 30 million followers where community members go "to affirm, relate to, and weep for the ordinary people on display."
The stories are profoundly honest, authentic and vulnerable, as that has been his intention from day 1.
"Vulnerability is... being willing to express the truth no matter what. The truth of who you are is the essence at the core of what you feel at any given moment. It's opening up your soul and letting it flow so that others can see their soul is yours." Oprah, in discussion with Brené Brown
That's why HONY is so powerful. We can see our soul is theirs. And even if we don't recognise ourselves, we can empathise and learn through their stories.
It has inspired me to think about the next ten years. That's how long it took for him to build HONY through what he calls an obsessive daily practice.
Imagine what you could create in the next ten years if you learnt from his experience and applied it to your business or the business you work for.
Pro top
If you enjoyed this tip, check your inbox in the coming weeks as we dig into what we do next. Emails will be sent on Tuesdays at 12:15 PM because I love Tuesdays. 💕
Finding this step challenging, jump on my Instagram account and ask a question on one of my posts, and I am happy to answer.
Additional reading/ listening
Chase Jarvis interview is amazing as you dig deeper into his motivations.
Tim Ferriss interview is really lovely if you need to hear about the challenges of staying on point.
Imagine all the People is a great podcast if you want to learn more about the mechanics of what he has achieved.
What do you can do for me
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Happy Tuesday - thanks for stopping by. 🥰
