Transmedia is the new storytelling
The new hypeword has been with us for a couple of years, and still it sounds new. Transmedia storytelling or marketing: what is it anyway? Marketing blogger Chester Elijah Branch has created his own trace on the web on this understanding.
"Transmedia basically means to transport a story-world or message into a customer’s everyday life through the use of multiple mediaplatforms", he is writing on an LinkedIn post here. Also interesting to read if you want to wash up your memories about marketing class.
But there are more schools on Transmedia, with interesting insights. We have been advocating here that creating stories across media always means that you tell and do different things on different platforms. This post starts with that lesson so we favorite it here. It is from the International Journalists Network IJNet. It's already a bit older (2012) but picks some nice samples that are still valuable to anyone who wants to learn. And we are not a news organisation, but a knowledge platform at Triggertales, which allows us to ignore some dates if it concerns valuable content.
The five tips froms IJNet:
1. Keep you content unique
Rather than repeating the information on different platforms, use different parts of a story to match a platform’s strength and maximize user experience.
2. Provide a seamless point of entry.
Because audience engagement is central to this form of storytelling,make sure whichever platform you’re using gets readers to interact in a very simple way.
3. Partner up.
It’s not feasible to expect one journalist to do it all, according to IJNet. Partnerships are important. If you are into brand marketing try do to the same: joining efforts with other brands, or communities, strenghtens impact.
4. Keep it cost-effective.
The best virals were produced on low, low budgets. Throwing in money like old fashioned rand campaigning wont' help you in the new digital world.
5. The story is number one.
So easy to forget. Getting caught up in the bells and whistles and ignoring storytelling basics could harm your project. The story comes first, always.
IJNet featured a nice example of a succesfull Transmedia platform, still active: Half the Sky Movement, an initiative to join forces in the fight againts womens opression wordlwide. It's a true transmedia combination of web, books, games (on cheap handsets that sell in developping countries) and so on.