“Hell, there are no rules here – we’re trying to accomplish something.”
Thomas A. Edison
It is a long time since John Gutenberg invented his printing press and revolutionized the way we tell stories. The development of technology since then has meant we have an unprecedented arsenal of storytelling tools. This has opened up the door for creative storytelling on an unrivalled scale.
Why would you want to become a creative storyteller?
The answer to this question is easy. Creative storytelling allows a brand to stand out from everyone else. In a crowded, noisy environment online, anything that can make your brand stand out in a good way has got be encouraged.
What exactly is creative storytelling?
Creative storytelling is where a brand uses imaginative and interesting ways to tell their stories. Examples of this are the use of multiple social media platforms to share your stories in a unique way. You can become a creative storyteller by tailoring your message to Twitter, using interesting visual media on Instagram, incorporating user generated content across multiple platforms or creating a Snapchat Geofilter.
Why your story needs to grab attention?
As I mentioned earlier your story needs to break through all the other noise around. It does this by stopping your audience in their tracks and means the audience gives their attention to your story.This means your story needs to be a new experience and the story needs to be delivered in a wrapper that they have not come across before. This kind of storytelling does not just happen; you are unlikely to stumble across a formula that works. You need to keep abreast of developing technology and social media platforms and see how you can creatively use them in your storytelling.
Think about an unusual storytelling angle that would benefit from the constraints which social media would place on it. Another area to consider in creative storytelling is a cross-functional social media platform approach that would tell parts of your story.
I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.
Thomas A. Edison
Creative storytelling is a skill that evolves and needs practice. Some ideas will fail immediately others will have a germ of an idea that will work with future stories. Reviewing your failures will develop the skills needed to elevate your storytelling.