Reesa Teesa: The Importance of Storytelling in Marketing
The way you tell a story can change your life – especially online. This chance at virality is best exemplified by the recent case of Reesa Teesa, whose real name is Tareasa Johnson, when she posted a 50-part video series detailing the dramatic saga of her lying ex-husband to TikTok. What started out as an angry reaction to a relationship gone wrong quickly turned into a mini-series explaining the little details of the entire story, which captured the attention of millions of TikTok users worldwide.
The first video of the series has almost 40 million views, and Teesa herself has created a passionate movement and community of wronged lovers everywhere. In an increasingly digital world where content can reach and resonate with people everywhere, there’s a lot we can learn when examining Teesa’s case using a marketing lens. We’ll go over how storytelling impacts your content strategy, the importance of authenticity, and creating engaging content (even when you don’t have a budget for it). Let’s dive in.
Don’t just market to an audience. Tell a story.
Teesa isn’t a marketing whiz or audience engagement expert – but she is a really (really) great storyteller. With a powerful mix of emotion, passion, and drama, Teesa’s narrative of an ugly relationship, and the real-time processing of the end of that relationship, feels like we’re listening to and catching up with an old friend. While excessively dramatic and at times movie-like, Teesa’s story is relatable to many of those who have dealt with lying exes and the impact that a toxic relationship can have on your life. It’s a common story told in an extremely unique way and from a different lens, which helps explain Teesa’s quick rise to TikTok fame.
While her story spans many videos and many hours, the series itself shows us the power of building a relationship with your audience and revealing how difficult things can help us find solace in community. With each new video and new part of her story, Teesa earns the trust and loyalty of her audience who consistently come back for the next chapter. It’s an art of storytelling that succeeds in not just telling a series of dramatic events, but doing so in a way that builds an intimate and emotional connection with the viewer.
Every brand, person, and mission has a story behind it, and the way that you tell that story to your audience matters. It might not be filled with all the dramatic twists and turns of Teesa’s ex, but your unique storytelling can still be a gamechanger for your overall marketing strategy by finding and resonating with a wider audience, increasing your online engagement, and growing your brand’s community with a relatable narrative. Authentic storytelling can also help you build loyal, genuine relationships with your audience and build a network of support.
The importance of being yourself
While polished, edited content might’ve appealed to earlier generations of online users, the digital audience of today shows us that being raw, real, and yourself is infinitely more appreciated than a perfectly-curated, and unrealistic, version of you. We see that in Teesa’s case, where she films her videos mostly in sweats, with no makeup, and no filters.
In a world where many social media images are highly edited and comparison is inevitable, it’s refreshing to see people putting themselves out there without the need to appear perfect. We are increasingly seeing that this type of content is increasingly resonating with online users, especially with the rise of the “get ready with me” trend where content creators use the process of getting ready as not just a way to interact with their audience, but also show the process behind the glam and remind us that, at the end of the day, we’re all human.
Teesa’s videos struck a chord with their story, but also with the authentic, raw, emotional way she creates her content and discusses her situation. As marketers, we can apply the same framework and authenticity to our own brand’s content and create videos that aren’t overly-edited or filtered – the sharp digital audience of today will take note.
Creating engaging content without a budget
You no longer need fancy camera equipment or an expensive video editing tool to produce content that can go viral, resonate with your audience, and ultimately bring you profit. In Teesa’s case, all she needed was her phone, the TikTok app, and her story to create a captivating narrative that became a viral sensation.
As marketing professionals, it’s easy to get dazzled by the newest tech, latest editing tools, or trending filters, but it’s important to remember that the most important thing is your story. If you don’t have a unique perspective or engaging way of telling your narrative, no amount of editing or filters will boost your connection to and relationship with your audience.
The lesson? Anyone anywhere can spur a cultural movement with just a phone and a story.
Conclusion
Reesa Teesa’s 50-part TikTok series is a modern phenomenon and an example of just what can be possible in our digital world. Her raw, emotional journey, as told through her videos, resonated with wronged lovers everywhere and created an online community filled with support and empathy. As marketers, we can learn a lot from Teesa’s example: focus on telling your story, be yourself, and create authentic, real content without a filter. This new digital world has opportunities for everyone with a recording device – make your mark in it with your own story.
