Forcefield Analysis

Disney- Pixar’s Film The Incredibles features a family with superpowers who are forced to live as civilians until an evil supervillain forces them out of hiding and into a battle to defeat a robot (which operates with AI/ machine learning capabilities) and save their city. My favorite character in the movie is Violet Parr, the oldest daughter in the family who is equipt with the power to turn invisible and generate an almost impenetrable force field. Violet tends to be self-conscious and unsure of her of herself as well as her power, often allowing her fear to undermine her abilities and complicate situations, despite the fact she is more than capable.

 

When instructed to create a force field analysis about our action research project, I felt just like Violet. I felt generally capable, but I was also uncertain and questioned the validity of my topic. With some refinement, I have been able to further narrow my action research focus and create an in-depth analysis of possible forces both in support and in contrast of my ideas.

Transmedia is growing more popular by the minute as Millennials and Gen-Z populations further engage in a technology based society. With so much content and stimulus, it is becoming more and more difficult for companies in any realm to have a lasting impact on these consumers. It is my belief that a hybrid model of storytelling and transmedia can generate content that will prove to be symbiotic for both those creating Influential Content (Influencers) and those engaging in and consuming content (Followers). For my action research, I am going to look at the power of storytelling within the Disney Fan community and measure the impact storytelling has on the Influencers success. This will answer the question, “How can social media Influencers better utilize storytelling to engage Followers?”

Before we can begin to answer this question, I believe it’s important to evaluate if Storytelling as a marketing tactic is even a good idea for these types of Influencers. I used the evaluation as the basis for my analysis and reviewed the pros and cons of storytelling in transmedia environments.

Some of the major benefits are going to be a decrease in resources expenditures (time, money, etc.). By having a general story to tell Influencers will not waste time on frivolous content that will ultimately be scrapped and provide no real benefit beyond increased view-counts on social media networks. By creating a “story” Influencers build trust with existing followers, increase their personability, and be more relatable to subscribers on a basic level. With increased self-awareness and the growth of quality relationships being built around an Influencer’s story,  we will see increased emotional intelligence, more clearly defined vision and ultimately more successful partnerships that in turn will perpetuate the story. With such consistent momentum, the established audience will feel included and connected, resulting in general audience sustainability and long-term engagement. With a consistent story, audiences will be able to relate to the Influencer’s personal brand and cross-promote their story exponentially increasing the overall impact, something that does not always occur with scattered topics and miscellaneous updates which often fall flat quickly, giving way to what we consider to be “Momentarily Viral Content” at best.

This idea does not come without some drawbacks though. Influencer privacy, safety, and legality play a large part in being part of any community. Putting content online, especially a personal story in which your “brand” will be based can lead to some scary situations if not carefully executing. Learning about best business practices and trying to balance a genuine story while also maintaining a sense of privacy can be tricky. For example, some of the Influencers I will be working with note increased anxiety when visiting Disneyland as the often are ambushed by “fans” or followers who will essentially stalk them around the park! Knowing how to mitigate the issues of safety will be critical. Another possible pitfall is rapidly changing technology. While social media and Vlogging have essentially become increasingly popular, not everyone is on board and there could be a new platform released that renders these types of Influencers invalid. Keeping up to date with advancement and ensuring the story being told transcends the technological changes could prove to be problematic.

The next few issues are forces working against anyone in Transmedia regardless of if the Influencer is utilizing a strong storytelling method or not. In a situation where Influencers are appealing to emotions and relationships with Followers as opposed to “selling” a product it could be more difficult to assess the success rates. AI and “Bot followers” can skew data and analysis especially when monetary profits from content platforms like “Youtube” are low. Anytime an Influencer makes a change they run the risk of losing followers or seeing a decline in engagement. Moving to a more systematic and well thought-out storytelling method will likely do the same amount of damage initially, however, this will subside over the long term as explored the in the “Pro’s” Section. Last, is the possibility of stale, contrived or irrelevant content. Influencers are combating a multitude of forces including large conglomerate companies to have their voices heard. The main story and needs to resonate with followers and not feel artificial in order to be successful.

Overall, the value of Storytelling is significantly more impactful than a general person posting random content in the hopes of achieving social media fame. To be a true Influence, it’s best to move into a story-based modality and create a personal brand that can be shared across platforms and ultimately be sustained for a long period of time.