How can you maximize storytelling in a collaborative or interactive format?

As a content creator on LinkedIn, we all know stories resonate. I have found variety is the spice of life, and that goes for storytelling too! Luckily, LinkedIn offers a buffet of formats to choose from. Here are a few popular options, each with its own strengths: 1/ Live Videos. This is perfect for real-time interaction and building a sense of community. 2/ LinkedIn Polls: Craft a compelling question related to your story and let your audience participate by voting. 3/ Multi-Post Series: Break your story down into digestible chunks across multiple posts. The best format depends on your story and goals. Consider the level of interaction you want, the complexity of the topic, and your audience's preferences.

Empower User-Generated Content: Your expertise as a digital marketer has taught you the power of user-generated content. You encourage your audience to contribute to the narrative by participating in storytelling contests or sharing their experiences through photo submissions. As a content writer, you skillfully weave their stories into your content, making your audience feel heard and valued. This co-creation approach not only enhances authenticity but also fosters a sense of community and trust around your brand.

When working with a team, my best example is to create a collaborative mood board. Miro works best for me. The first concern is to define the limitations you work under and what is an is not acceptable to add at this stage. By having a clear definition of the rules and limitations, you can be sure that most collaborators know what they are pitching into the story and how everyone can provide effective feedback.

To maximize storytelling in a collaborative or interactive format is also about defining our goals. Here are some possibilities: 1/ Collaborate with influencers or complementary businesses to reach a wider audience and amplify your message. 2/ Partner with someone who offers a service that complements yours. You can co-create a story about a successful client case that showcases your combined expertise. 3/ Spark discussions by posing thought-provoking questions and involving your audience in brainstorming solutions. 4/ Co-create content with a respected figure in your industry. This can position you as a valuable resource and demonstrate your knowledge.

Establish a shared vision before diving into the storytelling process. Aligning the story’s goals, themes, and tone ensures that all contributors are on the same page. This cohesion helps maintain a consistent narrative flow, even as different voices contribute.

These goals are good to have, but ultimately too limiting. I have way too many examples where a story will begin with "make people do X" and fail. The most effective way to achieve this instead is to know your creative pillars, your constraints, your team and format that you convey the story with, then work to create the best possible outline on these conditions. By having a well-defined story that you are 100% behind, you can hope to tell the best story possible.

Possible golas to consider: Engagement: You want to deeply immerse your audience, fostering a sense of investment and ownership in the narrative. Education: You aim to teach your audience about a particular topic, issue, or skill through the interactive story experience. Empathy: You seek to build understanding and compassion by offering different perspectives and experiences for your audience. Entertainment: Your primary goal is to provide a fun, memorable, and enjoyable narrative experience. Advocacy: You want to use the collaborative story to raise awareness, change attitudes, or inspire action around a particular cause or message. Innovation: You aim to push boundaries and explore new possibilities for narrative experiences.

To maximize storytelling in an interactive format, we also need to plan our "structure". 1/ Clearly define roles by deciding who will take the lead on each component of the story. 2/ Set expectations by discussing communication styles and collaboration timelines with your partners beforehand. This ensures everyone's on the same page. 3/ Create engagement "triggers" by planning questions, prompts, or activities throughout your story to encourage your audience to participate. It could be asking for their opinions, sharing personal experiences related to the topic, or inviting them to contribute additional ideas.

In a collaborative and interactive format, firstly, get everyone involved. Have a main idea or topic to guide the story. Ask everyone to share ideas, characters, or twists. Use questions to keep things interesting. Make sure everyone feels welcome to join in. Try different things like writing, drawing, or acting. Keep the story making sense by remembering what happened before. Let the story change as people add to it. Most importantly, have fun and be creative together. That way, everyone can enjoy making the story together.

Engaging Narratives: As a content writer and digital marketer, you understand the importance of crafting engaging narratives to captivate your audience. Just like you carefully choose the right words to tell a brand's story, you create interactive and immersive content that invites your audience to be an active part of the storytelling process. By incorporating quizzes, interactive polls, and choose-your-own-adventure scenarios into your campaigns, you spark curiosity and encourage your audience to shape the story's outcome, fostering a deeper connection with your brand.

When you have your pillars limitations and formats down to pat, you can then begin to plan accordingly: what I have found works is to begin with a list of media or sources similar to what I want to achieve and what elements we keep. This helps an entire teem get the direction you're going for. With the high-level understanding covered, you can then go as absolutely granular as you like, again while largely staying within scope and budget.

What is the overarching narrative arc, with key events, turning points, and possible endings? Plot the paths your story can take. What are the key choice points, and how will they affect the narrative? Who are the main characters, and how will they grow? What is the central idea or takeaway? How can you weave this theme throughout the various narrative paths and possibilities? How will you keep the story moving forward? Consider how to balance action, dialogue, reflection, and cliffhangers encouraging continued participation. How exactly will multiple authors or participants contribute to the story? Will there be turn-taking, voting, or open contributions? How will you maintain consistency in characters, world-building, and tone?

The final piece of the puzzle to maximize storytelling in an interactive format is to write content that resonates with your audience in mind. 1/ Focus on weaving a narrative, even within a collaborative setting. Use a clear beginning, middle, and end to keep your audience invested. 2/ Each collaborator should bring their own voice and perspective to the table. This creates a richer and more engaging experience. 3/ Write in an engaging and conversational tone. Imagine you're talking directly to your audience and encourage them to join the conversation. 4/ End your story with a clear call to action. Invite viewers to comment, share, or participate in a follow-up activity.

Use a core structure to construct your storytelling. I would propose my unique storytelling model - the sprout model. Be sure to know the impact you want to make, the people that you are telling the story to, set starting context and direction, move into the main event and what in particular it is you are addressing, then bring clarity, conclusion and a lasting impression to the end point ... not forgetting to nurture the story with creativity, energy and perspective.

Especially when collaborating on content, I find it helpful to develop multiple written drafts in order to receive and incorporate feedback. This ensures all voices are heard in your work.

I cannot stress multiple iterations enough. However, writing the actual content should NEVER come without a properly made outline. Writing by seat of your pants can only take you so far, regardless of how talented you are.

Establish a consistent voice that aligns with your themes and target audience. Bring your characters to life through compelling dialogue, actions, and inner thoughts. Create a rich, immersive story world with vivid descriptions, backstory, and environmental storytelling. If your story involves audience decision-making, ensure their choices feel meaningful. Each decision should have clear, logical consequences shaping the narrative. Balance action, dialogue, and reflection to keep your story moving. Use cliffhangers, plot twists, and open-ended prompts. Be open to the contributions of your co-creators, from other writers to the audience by improvising and adapting based on incoming inputs for the best possible story.

Before sharing widely, test your story with a small, representative segment of your target audience. Look for clarity, engagement, and the effectiveness of the interactive elements. This feedback is invaluable for refining your story to better meet your goals and resonate with your audience.

I call this the dance, being open to gaining a response from your audience and in turn responding to it - it is vitally important. Feedback, and being continuously open to it, is crucial for improved storytelling. It can come in any form, dependant on your storytelling scenario. Be open to the engagement metrics, comments, and reviews. It may give you the chance to change your story there and then, or improve upon the next one.

Absolutely no medium is a "first draft" one. Do not fall for the propaganda. This falls under the iterative structure mentioned before and should not be a separate point. No story is created in a vacuum and readers and editors need to be on standby with clear direction to make sure your story is the best possible it can be. I have done it with every game and comic book I have worked on and it actually works.

Leveraging analytics, like average read time and click-through rate, can help you optimize your story, even after it has been published.

Choose the right channels to share your story, considering where your audience is most active and receptive. Promote your story to ensure it reaches your intended audience and encourage sharing to increase its impact. Monitor engagement and participation closely to gauge success and gather insights for future stories.

This might be the "final" step, but it's crucial to determine where your story will live after it's complete BEFORE it's created. Strategizing different distribution methods can dictate everything from who you collaborate with, what medium(s) you use to tell the story, how it can be repurposed, the story's goals, it subject matter, and its structure. Many storytellers miss this crucial step early on.

Another point to think about is this: what is happening to your audience/guests/consumers before and after your story. How do they hear about it? Ideally, you have already started your storytelling from the moment you begin communicating about, before the story even starts. And when you're creating an interactive or collaborative story experience, the participants should feel excited about what they have just experienced. Ask yourself if there is a way for them to communicate and share what they have experienced with each other, and with others, after your story has ended.

Highlight Individual Contributions. Recognize and celebrate the contributions of each participant. Highlighting individual efforts not only boosts morale but also reinforces the value of collaboration. It shows that every voice matters and that the story is a collective achievement.

Accessibility and inclusion: How can you ensure your story is accessible to a wide range of audiences, regardless of abilities, devices, or backgrounds? Consider factors like text readability, color contrast, closed captioning, and multiple language options. Monetization and sustainability: If you're hoping to make your story into a sustainable project or business, consider monetization from the start. Will you charge for access, offer in-story purchases, seek sponsorships, or explore other revenue models? Learning and iteration: Embrace continuous learning and improvement. Seek feedback, analyze your data, and be open to adapting your approach. Every project is an opportunity to experiment, take risks, and push boundaries of the form.