What Makes Culture Stories Travel - ep. 250

Julie South [00:00:05]: Welcome to Veterinary Voices: Culture storytelling conversations that help veterinary clinics hire great people. I'm Julie South and this is Episode 250.

Veterinary Voices is brought to you by VetClinicJobs, the culture storytelling platform for forward-thinking vet clinics.

Julie South [00:00:30]: Over the last few weeks, we've talked about why Culture Storytelling builds trust before anyone's looking, the simple weekly routines that keep you seen, bringing your team into it without making it weird, and what happens when they start sharing from their personal profiles.

This week: what makes a Culture Story actually travel through networks instead of just sitting there and gathering dust.

Stay to the end for your action plan - what makes people hit share instead of just scrolling past.

Julie South [00:01:02]: And if you're new to Culture Storytelling, it's what makes Your Kind of People think 'That's My Kind of Clinic!'

Julie South [00:01:15]: The $5,000 video versus the blurred photo.

Now the $5,000 professionally produced video gets maybe 50 likes - say, hypothetically. The blurred photo of your team laughing at closing time gets shared 20 times.

Why?

It's because people don't share what looks impressive. They share what feels real.

Julie South [00:01:49]: That polished video? People think "Well, that looks expensive" or "very professional" or "someone spent money on that." Then they continue scrolling.

That blurred photo? Someone thinks "I want to be part of that" or "That's exactly what my team does" or "I know that feeling." And they share it.

Julie South [00:02:10]: Remember last week when we talked about the absolute magnitude of extended networks? Well, this is why shares trump likes: perfect productions get the likes, while imperfect but real gets the shares.

And it's the shares that you want every single time!

Julie South [00:02:28]: People share because it evokes emotion. In other words, it gives them the feels. Yearning, recognition, identification. Not because it looks impressive.

The Culture Stories that travel aren't the ones with the perfect lighting and the scripted dialogue. They're the ones that create the yearning, the recognition, and the identification.

Julie South [00:03:01]: There are three basic reasons that people share.

When someone shares a Culture Story, it's because they felt one of three things.

Yearning. That's the "I want to be part of that." They see something they wish that they had - a team dynamic, a moment of support, a way of working together. They share it because it represents to them what they're looking for.

Julie South [00:03:30]: And then there's recognition. "That's exactly us." Those type of moments - they see themselves in your story. They laugh out loud because they might have been there, done that. They recognize what you're sharing on some level. And they share it because it validates their experience.

Julie South [00:03:50]: And then we have the identification. "I know exactly what that feels like." Something in the story resonated so deeply that they can't not share it. They share it because someone finally said what they've been thinking.

Polished content creates admiration. Real moments create one of these three responses. And that's the difference between stories that sit there gathering digital dust and stories that travel.

Julie South [00:04:13]: Most clinics think making themselves look good makes people want to work there. Actually, it's the opposite.

"We're proud to announce Sarah completed her emergency medicine certificate. Our commitment to professional development remains strong."

Zero shares.

Julie South [00:04:30]: What about: "Sarah's been working towards her emergency cert for two years, juggling study, shifts, and life. Yesterday she passed. Today she's already using it. Watch her handle that 3am GDV call like she's been doing it for years."

That post got shared 15 times.

Same achievement. But the second one made Sarah the hero. And that's what travels.

Julie South [00:04:49]: When you make your team member the hero, people start sharing because they're rooting for Sarah, not your team's professional development.

Julie South [00:05:00]: Bottom-up beats top-down every single time.

When management posts "The team had a tough day, but pulled together beautifully" - that's top-down corporate speak. And it sits there, digital dust gathering.

Julie South [00:05:24]: But when Sarah posts "Tough day today, but my team had my back" - that's bottom-up. It's genuine, it's authentic, and it travels.

And you want the travel!

Even when you're posting from your clinic account, please write from the ground up. Tell them the story from your team member's perspective, the person's perspective - not the clinic's.

Julie South [00:05:49]: Not: "We provided support during a challenging case today."

Instead: "Jake's first solo surgery went sideways. Emma stepped in without being asked. They figured it out together. That's what Thursdays sometimes look like here."

One is an announcement. The other is a story with real people in it, in real situations.

Guess which one travels?

Julie South [00:06:12]: And real beats manipulative.

You've seen them, I'm sure. The posts designed to manipulate emotion. The vet sitting in the corridor, head in hands. The crying nurse. The exhausted team member.

They get the views, sure. Thousands of them. Because negativity sells.

Julie South [00:06:43]: But do they get you hires? Do they make someone think "I want to work there"?

No.

Yes, veterinary work is hard. We know that. Yes, there are tough days. But if all you're sharing is the hard, you're attracting sympathy. You're not attracting teammates.

Julie South [00:07:00]: The stories that travel and attract Your Kind of People show real moments - including the hard ones - but with the people in them who handle it. Not manipulation, just being real.

Julie South [00:07:16]: "3am GDV. Jake's exhausted. Emma's covering his other cases without being asked. Dog's stable by 4:30. Jake buys her coffee at 7am. That's the deal here."

That's real. That's hard. That's also what makes someone think "I want to work with people like that at that clinic."

Julie South [00:07:40]: Right now, as I'm recording this and as you are listening to this, someone in your team's network is scrolling.

They see a post from another clinic. It's polished, professional, perfectly lit. And they think "nice" and keep scrolling.

Julie South [00:07:54]: Then they see a post from your clinic. Blurred photo. Team laughing. Caption reads: "Friday 5:47pm. Last appointment ran over. Everyone stayed. No one complained. Pizza's ordered. We're good."

They think "I want to be part of that" and they share it.

That's how Culture Stories travel. Not through polish, through truth.

Julie South [00:08:16]: Here's your action plan for this week.

This week I'd like you to look back at your last five posts about your team.

Count how many made the clinic the hero versus making your team member the hero.

Count how many were top-down announcements versus bottom-up stories.

Count how many were polished versus real.

Julie South [00:08:40]: Then post one Culture Story this week that makes your team member the hero, is written from the ground up, and shows a real moment - imperfect photo and all.

Culture Storytelling - where it gets Your Kind of People thinking 'That's My Kind of Clinic!'

Watch what gets shared.

Julie South [00:08:53]: If you're looking at your last five posts and thinking "Julie, I hear what you're saying, but I've got absolutely no idea whether we're top-down or bottom-up" - or maybe you struggled even to find some kind of Culture Story post because you haven't written one, or it got buried under everything else in your clinic's feed - then let's have a chat.

Contact details will be in the show notes for you.

Julie South [00:09:20]: Because seriously, when Your Kind of People identify that you're Their Kind of Clinic, man! You'll be surprised at the difference it makes when you're hiring.

Julie South [00:09:37]: Quick recap:

The Culture Stories that travel aren't polished or manipulative - they're real.

Shares trump likes because shares reach extended networks.

They create yearning, they create recognition, or they create identification.

Make your team member the hero, not the clinic.

Write from the ground up, not top-down.

Remember that real beats perfect every single time.

Julie South [00:10:00]: And your action plan for this week is to audit your last five posts and post one that makes your team member the hero this week.

Next week in Episode 251, we'll talk about quality of life at work - what that actually means beyond salary competition.

Julie South [00:10:17]: This is Julie South signing off and inviting you to go out there and be your most fantabulous self - because you're working with Your Kind of People.

And remember: the imperfect moments that make those great people you work with the heroes are exactly what makes Culture Stories travel.