So, you recognise storytelling should feature in your organisation’s content strategy – but what works best and how can you ensure it engages your intended audience?

Modern technology allows us to create and publish videos easily and quickly, but rather than pushing out content that feels right, or simply tells a story you want to share, the key is to create content that will ignite conversations and encourage viewers to share it.

‘Inform, engage and capture’

To achieve this, you need to think about the purpose of the video and who it’s aimed at. For example, if the video is for education purposes, it needs to inform, engage, and really capture the viewer’s attention – you need it to become part of a conversation, get people talking about it. To create connections that count, experiment with new formats, such as animation, to find out what works best for your organisation’s objectives.

We worked with Liverpool Child Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) to produce a series of animations designed to raise awareness and train teachers and social workers about the support and services available locally. Scripted by mental health professionals after in-depth consultation with young people who have faced the problems depicted and then voiced by young people adds to the authentic feel, the animations are a hugely effective tool that have been used to open discussions and describe the problems young people face.

Mental health pathway animations showreel

If you’re planning to use your content on social media or in your e-mail marketing activities, creating a recurring series of content is another way to build audiences. For example, you could reveal one episode of something every week, building an audience as the campaign progresses as they anticipate the next episode.

The amount of video content online presents a challenge when we’re trying to cut through the noise and grab the attention of viewers – your potential clients or customers – so your videos should stand out on whichever platform they appear. For example, Facebook and Instagram are both platforms where people scroll through quickly. It’s estimated on average that someone viewing Facebook on a desktop spends 2.5 seconds with a piece of content – even less on a mobile device. The key is to produce animations that grab attention quickly. It’s also important they can play without sound because people scroll through their feeds, such as by using subtitles. 

Don’t forget, tracking the response to your storytelling content is the only way to ensure they are hitting the mark with your customer; how many on-site impressions does it generate combined with social views and shares? always remember to monitor results and don’t be afraid to experiment with new content ideas.