How to win at digital storytelling

@mattfrehner

How to win at digital mobile

storytelling@mattfrehner

What problems are we trying to solve?

• We want people to read our work.

• Our readers are everywhere now.

Their habits are diverse and changing

rapidly.

• How do we attract a reader, gain their

attention and cut through the noise?

How you tell the story

will dictate whether it gets clicked, read and shared.

Good storytelling is still what matters most

But that doesn’t mean

we can keep telling

stories the same way.

We have to be open

to new approaches.

We need a new toolkitTechnology allows us to do so much more than

just an article with an image and some links.

51 per cent of the time Canadians spend online

is via mobile devices

81 per cent of cellphonesin Canada are smartphones

Among Canadian newspaper readers, 3 in 10no longer check the news

on their computers

Going mobile means:

• Audience: match the habits of mobile

• Technology: needs to load quickly

• Design: be readable and intuitive

• Story structure: compose for a phone

Ask:When should we publish

this story to give it the maximum chance of

succeeding on mobile?

How to assignfor mobile• Mobile is urgent,

always at hand.

• How should we

cover:

- The first second?

- The first minute?

- The first hour?

Mobile is social

Most readers will never see your home page.

Learn to love technology

• We need to understand mobile technology.

• The tools you use to tell a story can help or hurt.

• Prioritizing mobile means prioritizing the

user experience.

“If you design for mobile first, you can create agreement on what matters up front.”

-- Mobile First by Luke Wroblewski

“I told all of our

product teams,

when they come in

for reviews: ‘Come

in with mobile. If

you come in and try

to show me a

desktop product, I’m

going to kick you

out.’ ”

Structuring stories for mobile

Get to the point.

Brevity is key.

Design for the scroll.

Be linear, be logical.

Write for the scanner.

Grab the reader as they drift.

The case against ‘interactive’ journalism

• Simplicity should be the default.

• Your story should work everywhere.

• Does it help the reader understand the

story?

Let’s look at some examples

Digest

bit.ly/insidebudget

Explainers

bit.ly/toxicflint

Explainers

bit.ly/a-bombs

Chart package

bit.ly/budgetcheatsheet

What you missed

bit.ly/ghomeshiverdict bit.ly/ottawaafter

Live (beyond the live blog)

Live (beyond the live blog)

Scrolling data story

bit.ly/homerunjays

Slide-based graphics

bit.ly/failurefactories

News games

bit.ly/nhsquizbit.ly/stoxgame bit.ly/problemsolvingpuzzle

The social roundup

Social graphics

Social graphics

Social video

bit.ly/meetbb8

Sometimes, all you need is one phototo reach 9 million people

But long reads can work, too.

tgam.ca/kimschoice tgam.ca/asbestos tgam.ca/baddreamtgam.ca/savingcyla tgam.ca/confined

So you have the menu.

How do you choose?

Think visual

• If I could use

only

a few words

to tell this

story, how

would I do it?

• What is my

goal?

Always ask:Does it make the

story better?

Always ask:Would you share it?

You will fail.That’s okay.Try again.

How do we knowif we are winning?

• It’s not (just) about clicks.

• Amplification: Is it being shared?

• Engagement: How much time are they

spending?

• Loyalty: Does it make them want to come

back?

What is success for you?

Let’s try it out

Exercise:

• How would you restructure this for mobile?

• What would make it more compelling?

• What other media are worth including?

• Let’s mock it up on paper.

Let’s try it out

Exercise:

• What’s a story you have coming up?

• Let’s brainstorm how you might cover it differently.

Let’s chat.