5 Key Points to Digital Storytelling

Storytelling… Digital storytelling… Is there actually a difference?

Well the answer is a little more complicated than yes or no.

Yes, there is a big difference in medium used to create and express the story. Digital stories have movement, images, action, videos and text. Generally, traditional storytelling is either verbal or written, with few images unless we are discussing a children’s book.

So what are these 5 key points?

Check out this infographic, which in theory, tells you a story about what you should have included in your digital story:

Did any of that make sense? Did it relate back to traditional storytelling for you? That’s good! It should have! Many of the important parts of digital storytelling come from traditional storytelling, such as the importance of a beginning, middle and end to your story. Planning, conflict, they are all important in any type of storytelling. But this is where we divert off course…

Digital storytelling… the difference

If I was sharing this infographic on a website or social media post, you would see the pencil moving across the notebook as well as the cat stretching to reach the butterfly. Why? Because movement is important to catch your audience’s attention.

As the Infographic Design Team mentions in their article 10 Trends and Principles of Visual Storytelling That Every Designer Must Follow, digital storytelling is all about visual storytelling. Posts on Twitter and Facebook with images or videos have more likes and shares than plain text posts. Attention spans are dwindling, and story telling needs to change with them!

To conclude…

Make sure your stories are compelling online by making them visual.

And when you can, end your blog post with a GIF of a kitten. Because what is the internet good for, if not for kitten GIFs.