Storytelling is part of our make-up as humans. It is one of the only common things in every culture. We learn to tell stories at infancy and continue to crave them throughout our lives at every stage, every engagement and every relationship.
Stories have a unique ability to capture our attention, and they shape our thinking and influence our behavior. Without stories to help explain our experiences, we would find ourselves wandering aimlessly trying to make sense of it all.
When brands and organizations leverage stories on their websites, commercials and social media, we encounter digital storytelling — a powerful tool in brands’ and marketers’ arsenals.
What is Digital Storytelling?
When websites, social media platforms, narration in podcasts or even text in a video use text as well as images, this is called digital storytelling. This allows messages to be persuaded to the brain and the heart all at one time through technology.
There are a few ways or forms of storytelling that are used digitally such as though timelines, audio, videos and images. These different forms are the ways that brands or organizations are able to use technology to tell a story.
With the use of technology becoming more and more common starting at a younger age each year, it is very typical for students to digest information and learn in a more efficient and meaningful way through digital stories.
Digital Stories
A digital story is about two to four minutes long. We as students or knowledgeable beings watch digital stories everyday without realizing it.
Some examples of digital stories include:
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Movies
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Websites
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E-books
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Apps
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Animated GIFs
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PDFs
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Audio-only files
Who is using Digital Storytelling?
It is not uncommon for brands that you know such as Spotify, Apple and Nike use Digital Storytelling. Very similar to advertising, using storytelling in a brand's marketing campaign allows for the viewers to have more of a chance of remembering what they watched.
Nike released a digital story in July 2023 based on Shiho Shimoyamada, an athlete from Japan who was the first to “come out as a sexual minority.” The campaign is from the series What Are You Working On on Nike’s YouTube.
What makes this video a great example of a digital story is the memorable and inspiring story attached with it. The hopes of this movement and success is to inspire athletes around the world to be themselves and be able to feel like they are not expected to be anything other than what they want to be.
Another example of digital storytelling is seen through Apple. On the Apple website, as you browse through products, Apple does an excellent job of clearly describing what products look like and how customers can successfully use them.
Apple’s very modern use of digital graphics makes a story with their products which is seamless and highlights ways people use the products through their stories to better market their product.
A more personal example of digital storytelling is seen through Spotify’s new feature called Wrapped. This is a feature that combines one's most listened songs and playlists into one playlist, creating a story of what has been heard throughout the year. Wrapped has not been released for 2023 but a user is able to listen to their recent and favorite songs throughout the year of 2022 with this story Spotify has told!
Digital Storytelling at WVU
Through the Reed College of Media, the WVU Marketing Communications program offers a course called Digital Storytelling (IMC 534).
This course is required as a M.S. Digital Marketing Communications major. The topics discussed in this course are:
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People Need Stories
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Growing the Story
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Why Brands Need Stories
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Eliciting Emotion and Refining the Pitch
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Concepting and Scripting
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Expanding the Story
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The Next Chapter
Another course that WVU offers, Digital Video Production (IMC 543), is required in Digital and Social Media Specialization (M.S. IMC) and Digital and Social Media Graduate Certificate. The course topics include
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The History of Filmmaking and Elements of Effective Marketing Videos
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Responsible Content Creation, the Needs Analysis and the Video Production Creative Brief
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The Basics of Videotaping and an Introduction to Storyboarding
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It’s a Wrap. Future Video Trends
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Introduction to Video Editing
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Shooting Video, B-roll and Recording Interviews using the Scripted Storyboard
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Adding Text and Graphics to the Premiere Timeline
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Understanding YouTube & Applying Color Correction and Grading
The purpose of students taking these courses as a digital marketing major or any digital emphasis is to learn how to create digital stories when marketing or creating content such as an advertisement.
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Request More InformationMeet the Author
Shelby Genovese
Social Media Student Worker
Shelby is a social media student worker in marketing on the Marketing Communications Online Programs through the Reed College of Media at West Virginia University. She is a Sophomore at WVU as well as a member of the WVU Dance Team. Her dogs and sports are things she could always talk about! Coming from a small town, Shelby loves traveling to big cities. She is able to express herself through her writing and find more of her work here!
Marcom Today
Marketing Communications Today is a collection of resources for marketing communications professionals filled with industry research, marketing trends, and career information about integrated marketing and data-driven communications. Learn industry insights through the Marketing Communications Today blog, podcast, as well as Integrate Online.
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