Digital marketing is an necessary tool for today’s companies. But how can you be sure what you’re putting out there engages with your audience?

Well, that’s where good old-fashioned storytelling comes in to play. Since you were tiny you have been revealed to stories. Back then you would have heard them at bedtime, sat cross-legged at school or on programmes such as Jackanory (yes, we’re showing our age).

Today, it is more likely to be on YouTube, Facebook, a Twitter feed or some other online outlet.

But before we get caught up in that, you must decide what format and design your digital marketing is going to take.

Arrangement

There is no right or wrong format for your story. It will reliant on your industry, audience and marketplace.

For affordable companies, written articles, case studies and white papers are most suitable, whereas for the fashion industry, car companies, jewellers and photographers (visual industries) will lean towards video.

The trick to a successful campaign it to identify the format that will resonate with and talk to your audience.

Design

The structure of your article or video is important if you want to keep your audience engaged.

If your digital marketing is to take the form of an article, it’s important you make it as engaging as possible to retain the reader’s interest right up to the last full stop.

Of course, with busy lives, lots of things can get in the way preventing them from reaching the end, which is where structure comes into play. Using the inverted chart form – placing the most important details at the beginning of your article – means that, even if aborted, the reader still gets the important information they need.

If you opt for video, don’t be fooled into thinking that the only way to convey your story is through narration.

Some of the most appealing videos don’t use narration at all. They convey their story through amazing visuals and emotional sound tracks, just like last year’s VW Polo ‘dad’ advert.

But to make the biggest impact, your digital marketing must be backed up with social sharing. Getting your content out on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube will help boost its exposure and inspire people to share it with their friends, widening its impact.

The upside of this is that it will also help your SEO (search engine optimisation).

Why?

Well, Google takes these social signals into account when identifying page rank and search result listings. The more shares you get, the better your piece of marketing will do.

So, when it comes to digital promotion format and framework, storytelling will not only help you engage with your audience, it will also help your SEO.