About Lesson
How to create stories
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– Once upon a time, look, I can’t help myself. This is how I think all great stories should begin. So, once upon a time, there was a little yellow ghost that wanted to get noticed. It came up with a cool way for people to share fun, mini vignettes about their lives. And it wrapped them with all sorts of shiny glitter and lots of ribbons and bows. One day, a giant saw this bright, colorful package, ripped it open and shouted, “This is mine! All mine!” You probably know the rest. The big giant did take the Stories idea, and now, Stories are one of the most popular features on Instagram and Facebook. But the little ghost, Snapchat, should get full credit for creating the format. Stories are short episodic narratives that combine images, video, text, filters, emoji, gifs, doodles, polls, and hashtags in a unique and personal way. They’re ideal for capturing an event, announcement, special occasion, or day-in-the-life of your brand. They usually disappear in 24 hours and they’re produced in real-time, so you don’t need high production values. Now, it may sound obvious, but the first thing you want to do is come up with an idea or framework for your story, something that ties it together, even if that’s in the loosest possible way. Consider what you’re trying to convey, excitement, humor, empathy. What will make your Story stand out? And what will your call to action be? The Stories format is episodic, but you can add a focus or plot that keeps users tuned in. And be sure to test different combinations of visuals to see what works best with your customers. Once you have an idea, develop a rough storyboard to visualize the scenes and how they will flow. You can do that digitally or prepare a storyboard the old fashioned way by sketching it out on a piece of paper, like panels in a cartoon. And be sure to conceive your storyboard vertically so your finished product is easy to watch when your audience is on their phone. Most of us aren’t improv artists who can come up with a witty line at the drop of a hat. That’s why you should work on your script beforehand. And when I say script, I don’t mean a full-fledged screenplay. Again, comic books are a good model, especially the way they use short bursts of descriptive text to create an emotion. But no matter how scripted your Stories might be, you’ll want to adapt or add moments on the fly. And don’t be so over planned that every frame of your Story looks the same. Mix it up. Show and tell visually and in a mobile-first type of way. Let’s look at what a storyboard for Topsy Turvy might be. Say they’re going to show a behind the scenes day in the life. Well, we could start with a selfie video of Audry Topsy telling us what we’ll be watching. A location tag or geofilter highlighting her neighborhood could be a nice touch. The second frame could also be a video, this time of her team getting ready. Here, you might want to add some fun lenses to capture the spirit of the team. Frame three could focus on cupcakes complete with some doodles, gifs, or emoji to set the stage for the finished product. You get the idea. Stories are all about quick bursts of creativity that give your customers an authentic glimpse into your brand’s personality.
