Author: reade10

During my Digital Storytelling course (and honestly, the entirety of my Social Media Marketing Certificate), I have learned so much about how to optimize my storytelling for social media, captivate my audiences, and drive engagements.

I’ve identified four tips that I believe are essential to know when creating digital content and telling stories as a brand. They are tips that I have gathered over the course of this program that I find to be the most helpful, especially for a beginner whos just getting into digital storytelling and doesn’t quite know where to begin.

Check out this video for a brief overview of all four tips:

Here are the tips in more detail:

1. Use video.

To put it simply, people are more likely to watch an entire video than sit through reading an entire article from beginning to end. In the age of social media, people will scroll away from a post with barely any hesitation if it takes too long to read, or doesn’t captivate them immediately within the first few moments. Video allows the author to tell a story in a shorter period of time, while also using immersive imagery and trigger genuine human emotions in a shorter amount of time. Using video also drives up engagements!

2. Master transmedia storytelling.

Using multiple social media platforms amplifies your voice and presence. It allows more people to view your content, no matter which platform you are using. Whether you’re using Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Snapchat, LinkedIn, or any other platform, each one has unique features to leverage, and varying audiences which exposes your stories to new groups.

3. Pay attention to story structure.

This diagram speaks for itself! Back to basics— a good story has a clear beginning, middle, and end, and uses this chart as a guideline.

4. Align your story with audience values.

In order to do this, you need to identify your target demographic and curate content that resonates with them. Before you begin your digital storytelling journey, understand that the first step to captivating your audience is to determine the following: What does your target audience love? Hate? What makes them sad? What inspires empathy in them? What do they do/buy/want/feel?

You’re ready to start storytelling!

What makes a good story?

Even more importantly, in this internet-dominated world we live in, what makes a good online story?

Aside from the basics, like having structure (like a clear beginning, middle and end), writing in a captivating way, and selecting what story to tell: What are the essential principles of storytelling?

The answer lies in your audience. To connect with them, you are going to have to put yourself in their shoes, leave lasting impressions, and intrigue them with compelling visuals like GIFs, memes and images.