Everyone has a story. And blogging and social media are great ways to share yours. But as you do so, remember it’s not all about you.

This is the main lesson I took away from Y’all Connect Presented by Alabama Power, a digital conference for corporate storytelling held in Birmingham, Ala., last week.

In his opening keynote communications expert Ike Pigott told attendees that we must remember the role we play in the stories of our readers.

“Figure out what your place in their story is,” he said.

Speaker, author, and brand strategist Erika Napoletano of the popular blog Redhead Writing is known for being raw and real and encouraged Y’all Connect attendees to do the same.

“Your willingness to tell your story is the most powerful thing you have,” Napoletano said.

But the stories you tell, she added, should honor you and your readers. Invite your readers into your story. Find ways to interact with your readers and give them opportunities to help you tell your story and chances to share their own.

One of the best ways to show your social media followers that you don’t think it’s all about you is to, well, make sure your social media shares aren’t all about you! WordPress designer and front-end developer Mitch Canter, who also spoke at Y’all Connect, reminded us that social media marketing expert Chris Brogan has a rule that for every 10 things he shares via social media, only one will be of self-promotion.

Canter recommends that we think of ourselves as content curators. For example, if you’re a niche blogger don’t send out dozens of tweets and Facebook status updates each day promoting your blog posts. Instead share interesting, entertaining, and compelling articles and information related to your niche.

Soon you’ll evolve from content curator to content leader.

 What’s your social media strategy?

For more Y’all Connect reflections check out the See Jane Write Birmingham blog for the post, What Writers and Bloggers Can Learn from Taylor Swift. 

The Deep South may be the last place you’d expect to find some of the nation’s greatest social media gurus. But Wade Kwon is determined to change that.

Kwon is a well-known blogger, journalist, and communications consultant based in Birmingham, Ala., and is the director of the upcoming blogging and social media conference Y’all Connect.

Y’all Connect is all about digital and corporate storytelling and will be held July 23 in Birmingham.

“Birmingham is too talented and too rich of an environment to keep quiet any longer,” Kwon says.

The conference will feature speakers like Mack Collier, an Alabama-based social media strategist, trainer and speaker and author of the book Think Like a Rock Star: How to Create Social Media and Marketing Strategies That Turn Customers Into Fans. Collier will help business owners figure out how they can use blogging and social media to tell the stories of their companies and teach bloggers how they can build a strong fan base and vibrant community around their work.

Meteorologist and Twitter superstar James Spann of Birmingham’s ABC 33/40 will also be speaking on how to tell your story across multiple platforms and to wide demographics.

The conference will be flying in some speakers, too, including Erika Napoletano of Redhead Writing, who will be speaking on the power of storytelling and giving tips to entrepreneurs who feel their businesses are stuck in a rut.

You can view the complete conference schedule here.

Though the focus of Y’all Connect is corporate storytelling, a new mode of reaching potential customers through blogging and social media, Kwon stresses that Y’all Connect will be beneficial to bloggers and writers too, especially those looking to help businesses with their online presence.

“Someone has to do the storytelling,” Kwon says. “Bloggers and writers are best equipped to tell the story in digital form, whether through prose, photos, videos or other clever means. I believe the smart companies will hire more digital natives to help them reach their audiences.”

If anyone knows the power of social media, it’s Wade Kwon. The Poynter Institute selected him as one of 35 Influential People in Social Media. And in 2011, Kwon co-founded the Alabama Social Media Association, a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating people in social media. He currently serves as chair for the board of directors.

But why has social media become such a powerful tool in the world of business?

The answer is simple, Kwon says: “It’s free, That is a price tag that is hard to beat, especially when considering how much other forms of marketing could and do cost.”

Y’all Connect blogging and social media conference is set for Tuesday, July 23 and will be held at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex in downtown Birmingham, Ala. Tickets for “Y’all Connect” can be bought on the website for $129. The price covers a full day of seminars, food, access to the pre- and post-parties. See Jane Write Magazine readers can receive a $30 discount by using the code SJW89.