Mobile storytelling: Think simple, emotional, intriguing

If you’re a marketer thinking “mobile first” to capture the attention of smartphone and tablet users, you’ll want to apply some strategy toward mobile storytelling.

Powerful stories can go a long way toward building relationships with your audiences. The best ones are able to move beyond superficial messages to earn a response from customers, who tend to follow the brands that speak to them the most.

Research supports that concept. In one interesting case study, thrift-store objects bought and resold on eBay brought much higher prices after short, professionally written stories were attached to them, indicating people are willing to pay for engagement in stories. And one scientist found that effective storytelling can actually change brain chemistry that can in turn alter behavior.

These days, a mobile story might involve a branded game inviting users to follow a quest, a video advocating for a brand or set of values, or an app that networks with other media such as films or books. The opportunity in video is huge; Facebook, for example, already logs eight billion video views (100 million hours of video viewing) each day.

“With content now literally in the hands and at the mercy of every consumer with a mobile phone, it has arguably forced advertisers and publishers to make work better — more creative, more versatile, and more impactful — to stand out,” advises Facebook’s Rob Newlan on news site Campaignlive.co.uk. “We should embrace this change in the media landscape at full throttle.”

If you’re just getting started in the mobile storytelling realm, here are a few guidelines:

– Keep your message simple to fit short attention spans and time-starved audiences.

– Understand your audience to create messages that incite emotion or make them care. What do you want them to feel and remember? What’s the most critical part of your story, and at what point should that be presented? How can you build up to an unveiling of key element(s)? Make your story intriguing, but not too complex to follow.

– Add value. When possible, include information the viewer doesn’t already know.

– Use a mix of audio, video, photos, graphics, text or 360-degree photos or videos to ward off monotony and keep the viewer engaged. You might also incorporate lists, graphic novels, comics, timelines, maps and/or music.

– Create a character who can make your message more relatable, or better yet, use a real person with a true story. Either way, he should correspond closely to your audience profile.

– Consider gamifying your message with fun challenges and corresponding rewards, perhaps incorporating selfie missions, quizzes or puzzles.

– Graphics can be crucial when numbers are involved, but must get to the point fast, be easy for the reader to grasp, and download quickly and easily.

– Ensure ad placements don’t break up your text or otherwise interfere with your messaging.

– Don’t clutter up your main message with extraneous features and information that might annoy the reader, but do make extra info available through a mere click or call.

Custom Toll Free can help you create a story that leads to more conversions. Contact us at 1-800-Customize.