Seven tips for digital storytelling
How do we tell engaging and inspiring stories with cultural heritage online? Explore our seven tips, available in 11 languages.
How do we tell engaging and inspiring stories with cultural heritage online? Explore our seven tips, available in 11 languages.
Audiences want to feel informed by digital stories, but also curious, immersed, inspired and connected by them. It is this that sets storytelling apart from other content types; and it is this that gives storytelling such a role to play in engagement and community-building across the cultural heritage sector.
These seven tips are a valuable resource for cultural heritage professionals and institutions looking to develop their capacity for successfully sharing their stories online. They were developed in 2021 by a Europeana Task Force on 'Europeana as a powerful platform for digitals storytelling' and have fed into Europeana's Digital Storytelling Festival - watch the opening gala from 2022.
These tips are available as an infographic and introductory video (below), slidedeck and video presentation, on Medium and on Europeana Pro News.
1. Be personal
Personal stories bring the past to life and help people relate to history on an emotional level.
2. Be informal but expert
People want to learn from experts, but it shouldn’t be a chore. Overly academic language can put people off, but stories should not be ‘dumbed down’. Finding the right balance is important.
3. Tell hidden stories
So much cultural history remains untold. Bringing hidden heritage to light engages audiences and creates a sense of community, identity and shared history. When creating content it helps to ask: can you find stories that haven’t been told elsewhere?
4. Illustrate your points
A key strength of the cultural heritage sector is its wealth of visual imagery. This can be used to powerful effect in storytelling. Formats don’t have to be fancy, but do consider how visuals and text work together in the stories you share.
5. Signpost your journey
The best stories take people on a clear journey. In digital storytelling — particularly on complex or experimental platforms — good signposting helps keep people on track. Having a clear sense of both the narrative and digital structure helps to keep your story compact and capture people’s attention from beginning to end.
6. Be specific
Storytelling that focuses on specific topics can still engage a broad audience. Generally speaking, it works best to proceed from details to the big picture, rather than the other way round.
7. Be evocative
Of course, cultural history stories need to be based in fact, but the facts don’t need to be dry. Don’t be afraid to use poetic, descriptive and evocative imagery and approaches — they are more likely to engage people.
The Europeana Communicators Community has supported the translation of this page, and the tips it contains, into Albanian, Catalan, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Swedish and Ukrainian. You can read these translations and download the infographic in these languages below!
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