The art of storytelling permeates every culture across the globe. Skillfully crafted narratives have the power to inspire action, transforming the way we convey our stories over time. From ancient cave paintings to oral traditions and songs, the methods of preserving and sharing stories have evolved significantly. Today, the internet has emerged as the latest frontier for storytelling, offering a potent tool for communication.
Online storytelling is a compelling method to captivate and engage website visitors. Let’s explore the most prevalent methods of web-based storytelling and examine some exemplary cases to maximize the potential of this practice.
Our storytelling video, available for viewing, complements this discussion.
While contemporary web technologies enable diverse content presentation, text remains a predominant means of storytelling online. Textual content is highly effective, particularly when other formats are impractical. Written narratives, such as blog posts, essays, articles, and e-books, are typically easier to produce than video or audio content.
However, studies show that users typically read only 20-28% of the text on a webpage. Eye-tracking usability studies further reveal that we tend to scan rather than read web pages thoroughly. Consequently, while text is a popular content type, it may not be the most engaging. Packaging content within a compelling story can motivate readers to engage with the text and maintain their interest.
Incorporate a captivating narrative about your product, company, team, vision, customers, or experiences to capture your audience’s attention. Make your story personal, entertaining, and thought-provoking, offering more than just dry facts.
Campaign Monitor and Goruck exemplify effective storytelling through text. Campaign Monitor’s “Our Story” page provides an engaging and informal account of the company’s history and vision, complete with photos and a personal quote. Goruck, on the other hand, uses their blog to share stories about their product development, fostering a deeper connection with readers.
Visual storytelling is equally powerful. Our brains process visuals 60,000 times faster than text, making them an efficient means of conveying a story. Web images, background images, and infographics are all valuable tools for enhancing your narrative.
Testflight and Airbnb utilize visuals to create an immersive experience. Testflight’s blueprint-style sketches give a personal touch to their content, while Airbnb’s background images evoke the desired emotional response and invite users to explore destinations around the world.
Animation adds an extra layer of engagement to storytelling. Parallax scrolling is a popular technique that creates depth and allows for multiple storylines. Google’s “The Story of Send” and Peugeot’s “The Hybrid Graphic Novel” are excellent examples of animated storytelling.
Video is another potent storytelling medium. Wistia and Droplet leverage video to convey their narratives in an engaging and memorable manner. The Dumb Ways To Die campaign demonstrates the power of auditory storytelling, turning a serious topic into an engaging and entertaining narrative.
Social media is a dynamic platform for storytelling, allowing companies to connect with their audience and foster a sense of community. Starbucks and Red Bull excel at using social media to share their stories, engaging their followers and encouraging them to become part of the narrative.
The internet is the ultimate storytelling platform, offering a diverse array of content formats to share our stories with the world. By leveraging the power of storytelling across various mediums, we can captivate, engage, and inspire our audience.
