How can you structure a digital story for maximum engagement?

1 Know your purpose

Before you start crafting your digital story, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve with it. What is the main message you want to convey? What is the value proposition for your audience? What is the desired action or outcome you want them to take? Having a clear purpose will help you define your audience, your tone, your format, and your structure.

2 Choose your format

Depending on your purpose, your audience, and your content, you can choose from different formats to tell your digital story. For example, you can use text, images, audio, video, infographics, animations, interactive elements, or a combination of them. Each format has its own advantages and disadvantages, so you need to consider what works best for your story and your medium. For instance, if you want to convey complex data or concepts, you might use an infographic or a video. If you want to create an emotional connection or a personal touch, you might use audio or images.

3 Hook your audience

Once you've chosen your format, you need to hook your audience from the start. You only have a few seconds to grab their attention and convince them to keep reading, watching, or listening. To do that, you need to use a compelling headline, a catchy introduction, a surprising fact, a provocative question, a relatable anecdote, or a clear benefit. You also need to make sure your hook aligns with your purpose and your audience's expectations.

5 Add your elements

To enhance your narrative, you need to add your elements. These are the visual, audio, or interactive elements that support your story and make it more appealing, memorable, or persuasive. For example, you can use images, videos, audio clips, charts, graphs, maps, quotes, testimonials, links, buttons, polls, quizzes, or games. However, you need to be careful not to overload your story with too many elements that might distract or confuse your audience. You also need to make sure your elements are relevant, high-quality, and accessible.

6 Call your audience to action

Finally, you need to call your audience to action. This is the last part of your digital story, where you invite your audience to do something with your story. This could be sharing it, commenting on it, subscribing to it, buying it, donating to it, or anything else that aligns with your purpose. To make your call to action effective, you need to make it clear, simple, urgent, and visible. You also need to provide a value proposition, a benefit, or an incentive for your audience to take action.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?