Cultivating Compelling Long-form Content
@designAVA #storytelling
STYLES OFSTORYTELLING
Presented by Lisa Drobek, Sr. UX Designer, Forum One @ldrobek
of what theysee
80%of what they
read
20%hear
10%
PEOPLE RETAIN:
of what they
65% OF PEOPLE AREVISUAL LEARNERS
VISUAL CONTENT:Visual content is forty times more likely to be shared on social media.
Content with visuals get ninety-four more total views.
Ninety percent of information sent to the brain is visual.
Visuals are processed more six hundred thousand times faster than text.
94%CONTENT WITH VISUALS GET
MORE TOTAL VIEWS
40xVISUALS CONTENT IS
MORE LIKELY TO BESHARED ON SOCIAL MEDIA
600,000xVISUALS ARE PROCESSED
FASTER THAN TEXT
VISUAL CONTENT:
90% OF INFORMATION SENTTO THE BRAIN IS VISUAL
Let’s Talk About
STORYTELLING ONLINE ASLONG-FORM CONTENTSimilar to its predecessor in print
● Interactive Reports
● Investigative Reports
● In-depth Reports
The First
Value
Source: Shutterstock
● Thought leadership
● Increased audience engagement
STYLES OF STORYTELLING
Classic StorytellingMoral statement behind message
Public NarrativePersuasive, drives action
Creative NonfictionVivid descriptions of factual information
CLASSIC STORYTELLINGMoral Statement behind Message
MessageMoral
statement is central theme
ConflictDriving
force of a good story
CharactersHero,
supporters, and adversary
PlotThe flow and how events
progress
4 Elements of Storytelling
8 Shapes of Stories
Source: Designed by Maya Eilam, www.mayaeilam.com with input from A Man without a Country and Palm Sunday by Kurt Vonnegut
Shapes of Stories by Kurt Vonnegut
Snow Fall
Man in a Hole
From Bad to Worse
World Concern
Man in a Hole
New Testament
PUBLIC NARRATIVEPersuasive, drives action
Story of Now
Strategy & action
Story of UsShared values,
shared experience
Story of SelfCall of
leadership
Story of ...
Story of Self Story of Us Story of Now
CREATIVE NONFICTIONVivid descriptions of factual material
Creative Nonfiction
NarrativeWritten with literary style
and technique
Factually Accurate
Rooted in facts
8 Purposes
InstructResponds to the question,
“How?”
Profile/ Characteriz
eDepth in writing,
3-5 pages
NarrateThe beginning,
middle, and end
Argue/PersuadePersuade an audience to change their
opinion
ExplainDescribe an
object, process, phenomenon,
or event
ImmerseDetails draw a
reader in to the scene
DemystifyMake a topic
understandable to others
Ruminate/Engage
Engage quickly and leave
contemplating
8 Purposes
The Opportunity Agenda
Argue/Persuade
Nudges people to read the full report.
Communicating Data for Impact
Narrate
Demystify
Immerse
Nudges people to read the full report.
Pew ResearchCenter
Demystify
Explain
Nudges people to read the full publication.
STORYTELLING ONLINE ASLONG-FORM CONTENTMore than just text and images
● Long-form is a great platform for telling stories.
Benefits of Storytelling
“Do.. or do not... there is no try.”
SEO Benefits
● Higher rank in Google (SEO)
● Higher rank for long-tail keywords
● Attracts backlinks and sharing on social media 50x
LONG-FORM CONTENT WITH VIDEO
MORE LIKELY TO SHOWON THE FIRST PAGE OF GOOGLE
THE AVERAGE WEB PAGE THAT RANKSON THE FIRST PAGE OF GOOGLE HAS OVER
2,000 WORDS
12%INFOGRAPHICS CANIMPROVE TRAFFIC BY
TAKE AWAYS3 Styles of Storytelling 1. Classic Storytelling
2. Public Narrative
3. Creative Nonfiction
Which is best for reaching your audience?
TAKE AWAYSLong-form Content
● Long-form is a great platform for storytelling.
● The more senses that are engaged, the more memorable the experience will be to your audience.
