Al Tompkins from Poynter provided tips for storytelling at the Ag Media Summit in Tampa on Sunday. He said we should be more interested in stickiness, how much time visitors are spending on our sites rather than visits or page views. We want those sticky pages to keep people engaged (not clickers).
He said we should make our sites interactive...the web is all about interactivity and engagement. One way to do this is to leverage our digital assets. We don't have to do this all at once...sometimes we can build a site over a period of time...this way you will keep people coming back. See this article on the bridge collapse site from the Minneapolis Star Tribune. We should consider using data that no one else has...what is our biggest digital asset? How can we make it more available and searchable online?
Al also said we need to be storytellers. You remember what you feel longer than what you know...so add the human touch to your stories...conflict, resolution, etc.
If you use a chat site, make sure the threads are active and live...with new content added daily.
You can use more photos and audio on your site...SoundSlides (inexpensive and easy)...just drag photos and add an audio track. Washington Post is doing this...all new digital cameras have panerama software. Why not use this feature when at an event and add an audio file? And the new flip cameras are easy to use and cheap...great way to add video content as well.
People don't have as much loyalty anymore and won't automatically go to your site. The principle motivators to get people to our site include: $, family, safety, health and community (of interest). If these motivators are present, you will get people to your site. The sixth motivator is innate curiosity.
Note that the NY Times has all dynamic text. Click on any word and the definition appears. Amazing, isn't it? In summary, these tips:
Interactive sites are key. Keep your site visitors engaged.
Make a front page promise.
Aggregate and generate. For example, take others people content and put it on your web site. USA Today aggregates sports news. WISC.TV Madison links to all their competitors. However, be careful how much you aggregate so you don't violate copyright laws.
Go raw. Let online users experience news on their own terms. Why not post your unedited interview with a faculty member? If the video you post is useful, you will get viewers. And people do pay attention to quality. Crappy photos, audio and video will not work. Quality matters but people love good raw video. Don't be afraid to let viewers see the raw view.
Leverage our digital assets. What do we have that others are not doing?
Consider microsites, for example "topics" on our websites. for example, see NY Times has content divided into US, World, Technology, etc. Stories show up depending on people's interests. Consider twitter feeds, can update your blog from wherever you are from your phone.
Involve the public. But it better be meaningful. Why don't we have the public/K-state staff send us video to post? As an FYI: new cameras allow magazine quality photos to be captured from video. Right now our biggest problem is space and transmitting these high quality images. Also, be aware of fakes. (Fake tornado footage printed in newspapers).
Tap into Local Passions. What do we have at K-State Research and Extension? Think 4-H, Master Gardeners, Walk Kansas, strong Ag passion.
Map it. Use free mapping software to make our sites/stories more interesting.
