How to Incorporate

Multimedia into Your

Storytelling
What is multimedia storytelling, and why use it?
Multimedia storytelling is the art of conveying a narrative through multiple
forms of media, such as text, audio and video. This approach provides new
opportunities for telling stories, but also raises new challenges. Different forms
of media have different strengths—and they must be used intentionally. When
done well, multimedia stories are able to leverage those strengths to convey
emotion and build empathy in ways that single-medium stories cannot.

Multimedia stories are also interactive in a way that single-medium stories

aren’t. By incorporating various types of media, you are creating a story that
your readers can explore. This interactivity is an important feature that allows
you to engage your audience and seek their input and feedback. Inserting
clickable quizzes, comment boxes, and graphics provides an exciting way to
get the audience to participate in the story experience.

Additionally, multimedia storytelling is versatile. Multimedia stories can take

many forms, and you can adapt the model endlessly to find what form works
best for your story and your organization. This versatility can also help build
capacity in your organization. For example, creating short video clips to
include in a multimedia story can help prepare your team for producing longer
video stories in the future.

How to create a multimedia story

Identify a story. Consider the different specific stories your organization can
tell, and select one that is well-suited to multimedia. The best multimedia
stories are multifaceted. They include action, exposition, strong characters
and powerful emotions, all of which can be conveyed through different forms
of media. In order to have a successful multimedia story, it needs to have
several elements that come together to play an important role.

Create a storyboard. Building the storyboard of a multimedia story requires

nonlinear thinking. Instead of identifying the “beginning,” “middle,” and “end” of
your story, break it down further into constituent parts such as who, what,
when, where, why and how. Who are the main characters in your story? What
is the event or situation? What is the context? Understanding these
constituent parts will help you to decide what media are necessary to your
story.

Choose your media. Each medium has specific strengths, and depending on
the skills and knowledge held by your team, you may find yourself leaning on
some media more than others. When creating your storyboard, identify which
medium can be used for which constituent part of your story.
▪ Video. Great for conveying action and emotion, but limited ability to
show processes or explain complexity.
▪ Photos. Great for conveying emotion and the scale of landscapes.
Remember to “put people in the picture,” and select photographs that
feature people’s faces.
▪ Audio. Works well in combination with other media, such as photos or
video. Short clips have greater impact. Brings the voices of
characters into the story.
▪ Text. Can be used to describe background, complex processes and
big ideas, complementary with other media.
▪ Graphics. Can take you where cameras can’t go. Great way to
illustrate processes that explain how something works.

Construct your narrative. Once you have identified the constituent pieces of
your story, you can begin to arrange them into a narrative. You can use the
Social Impact Story Map from Storytelling for Good, or an alternative story
map such as the Voyage & Return. As part of this process, it will be helpful to
sketch the visual layout of your story, to make sure that you are using your
multimedia evenly throughout.

Create a media bank. Just as it is important to create and maintain an archive

of your stories, so too is it important to archive your multimedia content. If your
organization is holding a major event or conducting work in your community,
be sure to take pictures, make recordings, and save them. Once these events
have taken place, you won’t be able to go back and gather content—so gather
material while you can. You might not have discovered a purpose for the
content yet, but it will be a vital resource for your future storytelling work.
What is Multimedia Journalism?
Journalists are storytellers. They observe the world and share what they see.

Multimedia journalists are storytellers who work across many dimensions. They
embrace the traditional tenets of journalism: objectivity, accuracy, credible sourcing and
strong writing. But they tell their stories through some combination of text, images,
sound, video and graphics.

Journalism has been around for centuries, but multimedia journalism is a relatively
new—and still developing—career path. It grew out of a mushrooming of digital
platforms and social media channels, and a shift in people’s preference for how they
consume the news. Increasingly affordable and accessible technology has only added
momentum to the trend.

All these factors put a premium on conceptualizing, producing and packaging content.

Mastering Multimedia Journalism

On one hand, multimedia journalism provides almost infinite ways to tell a story. On the
other hand, journalists also have so many more choices to make about how, when and
where to tell that story.

You could use animation, embed tweets, add music or create an interactive graphic.
Even deciding on a platform can complicate things—the options range from websites to
podcasts, TV, social networks, radio, newspapers and magazines. More than likely
you’ll need to adapt the content to a combination of those.

So how do you choose the appropriate platform? Consider:

• What elements do you need to include to grab and hold the audience’s attention?
• What media will be the most accurate and accessible?
• What is the ideal length of your story? How much is too much?

These can be tricky questions, with no clear answer.

Fortunately, as the field grows, experts are emerging. More colleges and universities
are incorporating multimedia studies into their journalism programs or channeling those
concepts into a separate major. Elmhurst University launched a multimedia journalism
major in the fall of 2019.

Students should expect to engage with the multiple formats used today to report the
news. Courses for aspiring multimedia journalists include journalism stalwarts such as
media writing and news reporting but also digital storytelling and web design.
What Does a Multimedia Journalist Do?

You’ll dive into video editing, art software, web design, film production and audio
engineering.

That’s because the demands on multimedia journalists are many: In addition to

exercising solid news judgment and working under sometimes rigid time constraints,
they have to flex their creative muscles and carefully determine what the end product
should look and sound like.

“The journalist today needs to have more than reporting and editing skills,” says Ron
Wiginton, professor of journalism and English at Elmhurst University. “From blogs to
video production, the media landscape demands that journalists be prepared to present
stories in print and cyberspace.”

That means that when you’re in the newsroom or out covering a story, you’ll need to
assess not just what makes for a must-read story but also a compelling video or audio
presentation. So it pays to know the basics of recording, editing and producing—the
techniques taught in a multimedia journalism program.

Why is Multimedia Journalism Important?

Though journalism as a whole has been shedding jobs for more than a decade,
multimedia journalism has emerged as a beacon of hope for the future. New outlets,
such as podcast networks, streaming services and web startups, mean new job
opportunities and new audiences.

“With the amount of digital content being produced each year, and with no sign of it
slowing down, the demand for individuals with these skills will only continue to
increase,” says Kristyn Jo Benedyk, digital media program director at Elmhurst
University.

Opportunities for growth are everywhere. There are always more skills to be mastered.
You will work with similarly creative, driven folks. You will meet and learn about people
from all walks of life. You’ll feel the rush of chasing down a story and sharing it with the
public.
Social Media Storytelling: The Complete
Guide for Your Brand

Once upon a time, there was a social media marketer who shared links to great content,
added relevant hashtags, and ensured posts were published at the optimal times.

However, despite all he was doing right, this marketer’s posts generated little engagement.

After months of trying and failing to build and captivate an audience, the marketer
ultimately decided to abandon this line of work and instead pursue a career as a mime.

He struggled at first, but he dedicated himself to his craft, and ultimately realized that what
his performances lacked was the same thing his social posts needed: storytelling.

While he’d mastered movement and expression just like he’d perfected the basics of social
media, his audience wasn’t engaged because he wasn’t giving them a narrative to invest
in.

The truth is that stories aren’t just entertainment; they serve a much deeper purpose. And
our brains can’t help but be drawn to them, regardless of whether they’re actual events or
a completely fabricated tale about a marketer-turned-mime.
In fact, “breakthroughs in neuroscience reveal that our brain is hardwired to respond to
story,” Lisa Cron writes in her book Wired for Story. “The pleasure we derive from a tale
well told is nature’s way of seducing us into paying attention to it.”

So if you want to capture your audience’s attention on LinkedIn or Instagram, you need to
understand both the art and the science of social media storytelling for your brand.

Why is Social Media Storytelling Important?

When I use the word “storytelling,” I don’t just mean a story in the traditional sense: a work
of literature with a protagonist (like a marketing-minded mime) navigating a series of
challenges until they ultimately solve the story problem.

Storytelling is at the heart of all great marketing, but instead of the character, you’re telling
the story of your brand.

Social media storytelling involves using channels like LinkedIn, Twitter, TikTok, and
Instagram to share the narrative of your brand, its people, and its products in a way that
engages, entertains, or informs your audience.

The primary goal of social media storytelling isn’t to make sales, but instead to make
connections.

Luckily, making connections and telling stories is exactly what our brains are primed to do.

From an evolutionary perspective, stories are quite literally lifesaving. They originated as a
way to bring people together to share essential information.

As Cron explains, simply being told, “Don’t eat those berries” isn’t nearly as effective or
memorable as hearing, “Don’t eat those berries unless you wanna croak like the
Neanderthal next door; here’s what happened…”

Our brains crave stories because they allow us to consciously navigate information, seek
meaning, and pull out what’s most important. Or, as neuroscientist Antonio Damasio puts
it, storytelling is our brains’ solution to making something “stick.”

Social Media Storytelling Tips

Let these strategies and expert examples guide your brand’s social media storytelling.

1. Know your brand.

Before you can effectively engage in social media storytelling, you first need to understand
your brand, what it has to offer, how it differs from competitors, and what your audience
thinks of it.
“You have to really think about your unique value proposition,” Malik says. “Why do you
have this product and service? How is it surprising, delighting, or enhancing the quality of
someone’s life? Really hone in on that and why it’s so important.”

Armed with this information, you’ll know what you need to communicate about your brand
and highlight about your products or services in your social posts.

2. Understand your audience.

In addition to knowing your brand, you also need to have a deep understanding of your
audience that consumes your social media content.

If you don’t already have detailed customer personas, now’s the time to create them.

Here at EveryoneSocial, we target a variety of different personas (our pal Harvey is just
one of them), and we keep them — and their needs and pain points — front of mind when
we create content for them.

In addition to what you already know about your ideal customers, you can also use
individual platform analytics for Instagram, LinkedIn, and other social networks where your
brand has a presence to learn more about the people engaging with your content.

Once you know who your audience is, you’ll be able to identify ways to capture their
attention through social media storytelling.
3. Use a variety of storytelling formats.
Different social media platforms lend themselves to certain types of storytelling. Instagram
and TikTok, for example, rely on visuals, while LinkedIn and Facebook are better fits for
longer text-based posts.

Your brand no doubt has a presence on various social channels, so experiment with ways
to tell its story through text, video, GIFs, and more.

Here at EveryoneSocial, we know we have great blog content (there’s a reason why you
read this far!), but no matter how awesome our content is, we understand that not
everyone is going to click a blog link we post on social media.

That’s why we give our followers a variety of ways to consume our content through social
media storytelling.

For example, we may create tweet threads that highlight the main concepts of a blog.
Or our CEO will film a short video for LinkedIn to share his take on an important topic.
Keep in mind that you want to consistently communicate your brand message; however,
you don’t want to post the exact same thing on every social media outlet.

As noted above, some storytelling mediums just work better on certain platforms. Plus,
you want to give your audience a reason to follow you across various channels. If you post
the exact same thing on Facebook as you do on LinkedIn, why would a user follow you on
both?

4. Share memorable moments.

Studies show that memories connected to emotions are stronger, so take advantage of
this.

Identify those moments that are particularly memorable for your brand and share those
stories on social media.

“Stickiness makes your brand story memorable. Experiences that are shocking,
heartwarming, relatable, or unusual help people not only remember your story, but also
prompts them to share it with other people,” says documentary filmmaker Jia Wertz.

Look at the evolution of your brand and find moments that will tap into people’s emotions.

Why? Because people don’t make decisions based on data alone. Research shows
that emotions are a necessary component, which is why storytelling should be an integral
part of communicating your brand.

If you need ideas of what to share, dig into the inspiration behind your brand, the story of
your first customer, a challenge the company faced, a time the CEO failed and what they
learned from that experience, how and why your organization supports a particular cause,
and more.
Not sure where to start? Interview leadership or survey employees for ideas.

Related: How does social media affect the brain? Find out — and see what it means for your
business.

5. Focus on points of change.

Our brains are hardwired to detect change, so make a post about a moment of change or
set up your post to immediately capture a user’s attention by teasing the change to come
like Patagonia does below.
“Good and powerful storytelling whether it’s for a book, article, a website or on social, must
begin with a moment of unexpected change,” says Carolyn Rush Crouse, strategy director
of branding agency Red Antler.

“I learned that from the brilliant Will Storr in his book, The Science of Storytelling. He cites
beautiful examples, like E.B White’s Charlotte’s Web, which begins, ‘Where is papa going
with that ax.’ We are left wanting more. In any situation where you’re given the privilege of
telling or sharing your story, bring people in as quickly as you can.”
6. Understand the psychology of sharing.
Have you ever asked yourself why you chose to share a certain post to your Instagram
Stories or why you felt compelled to retweet someone?

Odds are, it’s because that content tapped into one of the five reasons we share,
according to a study by The New York Times Customer Insight Group:

• To bring value and entertainment to others

• To define ourselves to others
• To grow and nourish our relationships
• To fulfill ourselves
• To get the word out about causes or brands

When you craft a social media post, ask yourself if the content could accomplish one or
more of these. If not, rethink your strategy.

7. Humanize your brand.

Yes, you’re engaging in social media storytelling on behalf of a brand, but people are
interested in stories about people and making connections with them, so keep this in mind.

“With every social media post, consider a way to humanize what you’re sharing,” says
Desiree Tizon, EveryoneSocial’s senior social media manager.
“Instead of a stock photo, do you have an image of an employee to use instead?,” she
says. “Rather than sharing a link to a job post, can a hiring manager share a video of what
they’re looking for in the role? Each employee at your company has a story to tell,
sometimes they just need a bit of encouragement to participate.”

8. Feature customers and employees.

On that same note, it’s important to give employees and customers the opportunity to
advocate for your brand. After all, they’re part of your story.

Do this by featuring customer stories, such as in the example below, highlighting

employees, and even resharing content from users and employees on your social media
channels.
User-generated content and employee-generated content are essential to social media
storytelling.

After all, 92% of consumers trust online content from friends, colleagues, and family above
all other forms of brand messages. Plus, 79% of people say this kind of content highly
influences their purchasing decisions.

There’s no shortage of ways to share customer stories. You can create heartwarming
video content like UPS does to showcase its customers.
Or you can follow Glossier’s example and make sharing customer-created content a key
part of your social media storytelling.

The beauty brand relies on customer-submitted imagery and aims to make “every single
woman an influencer,” according to Glossier Founder Emily Weiss.

And give your audience what they want by featuring employee stories and showcasing the
value your product brings to not only customers but employees themselves.