BUILD YOUR AUDIENCE WITH BITE-SIZED STORYTELLING

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WHY STORIES?

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T R A N S A C T I O N A L E X P E R I E N C E

WHY STORIES?D E E P E N E S T A B L I S H E D R E L A T I O N S H I P S

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WHY STORIES?B R I D G E S D I F F E R I N G W O R L D V I E W S

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Dynamic changes of brain states necessary to synthesize information to guide behavior.

NEURAL PROCESSES

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)

to map brain activity.

MEASURING ACTIVITY

Temporary brain alignment between

speaker and listener.

NEURAL COUPLING

THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON STORIESB I O L O G I C A L R E S P O N S E T O E N G A G E M E N T

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6URI HASSONPRINCETON NEUROSCIENCE INSTITUTE

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“TO OUR SURPRISE, WE SAW THAT ALL THESE COMPLEX PATTERNS WITHIN THE LISTENERS ACTUALLY CAME FROM THE SPEAKER BRAIN. SO PRODUCTION AND COMPREHENSION RELY ON VERY SIMILAR PROCESSES…”

#INBOUND19J A W S ( 1 9 7 5 )

CORE CONCEPTSL E T ’ S T O S S A R O U N D S O M E

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#shortformcontent = Snackable stories

BREAK IT DOWNW H E R E T O B E G I N ?

1Parse your story and your message into smaller manageable pieces.

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Placing your story in a greater context – one that supports a

grander message.

MESSAGING ARC

STRATEGIES FOR BREAKING DOWN YOUR STORY

B I T E - S I Z E D C O N T E N T

Narrative keyframes on the timeline of your story: driven

by rhythm and flow.

STORY BEATS

Pre-credit scene of network programming. (“Don’t turn

that channel!”)

INITIAL HOOK

Problem solving by way of structured programming

computer science.

PROGRAMMING 101

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Six part HBO miniseries examining reclusive millionaire Robert Durst and his connection to a number of unsolved murders/disappearances, including his wife

“How ‘The Jinx’ Narratively Manipulated Its Viewers” - Buzz Feed

THE JINX:S N A P S H O T F R O M H B O ( 2 0 1 5 )

THE LIFE AND DEATHS OF ROBERT DURST

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JAMES PAUL GEE

“NARRATIVE IS ANY SERIES OF ACTIONS OR HAPPENINGS UNFOLDING IN TIME:

‘THE KING DIED. THEN THE QUEEN DIED’.

STORIES ARE NARRATIVES WITH PLOTS… IT EXPLAINS CAUSES AND EFFECTS AND WHY THINGS HAPPENED:

‘THE KING DIED. IN HER GRIEF, THE QUEEN KILLED HERSELF’.”

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THE NETFLIX EFFECTW H A T ’ S M Y Q U E U E ?

THE HULU EFFECTTHE ITUNES EFFECTTHE RAVI JAIN EFFECT

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CREATE A PILOTW I L L T H I S R E A L L Y W O R K ?

2Develop prototype to determine what works – and more importantly, what doesn’t.

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Real-world audience feedback.

USER-TEST

BENEFITS TO CREATING PILOT EPISODE

O N E S M A L L S T E P

Value of the actual vs the hypothetical.

PROOF OF CONCEPT

Assessment of personnel and equipment needs.

RESOURCES ALLOCATION

Quantify pre-production, production and post.

PRODUCTION TIME

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THE BOSTON COLLEGE MINUTE

S N A P S H O T F R O M B O S T O N C O L L E G E ( 2 0 0 9 )

My first creative concept developed for Boston College: 60 second mini-documentaries. Immersive cinema verite style with no lower thirds or talking heads. Became the signature product of BC’s Office of Marketing Communications.

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“DEMO OR DIE!”

INFAMOUS MIT MEDIA LAB CREDO

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#INBOUND19B O S T O N C O L L E G E M I N U T E ( 2 0 1 0 )

RIDE THE LONG TAILC A N T H I S B E S U S T A I N E D ?

3Maximize the space and time in between content updates.

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Assess to see if any course correcting is necessary.

METRICS ANALYSIS

HARNESSING THE GAP BETWEEN RELEASE TIMES

N O S U C H T H I N G A S D O W N T I M E

Paid promotion: physical and digital.

ADVERTISING

Leverage enthusiasm of audience, fans and influencers.

WORD OF MOUTH

Usual promotional channels: print, digital, social.

TRADITIONAL PROMOTION

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THREE ABREAST!S N A P S H O T F R O M R A V I J A I N ( 2 0 0 2 )

Conceived of in the year 2000 (5 BYT) as part of my graduate work at the Massachusetts College of Art & Design. Original shot form video series with interactive element via “The Comedy Extender.”

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#INBOUND19T H R E E A B R E A S T ! ( 2 0 0 2 )

BUILDING BUZZ TO BUILD AN AUDIENCE

W E A R I N G A L L H A T S F O R 3 A B

Long form feature story appeared in print and online to

promote launch.

1BOSTON GLOBE STORY On launch day a prominent local

blogger had written about it and shared link to the site (and story.)

2BLOG POST

Between episodes, secured live television interview with

local morning news program.

3TELEVISION INTERVIEW Enthusiastic viewer suggested a

newsletter to manage communications with audience.

4NEWSLETTER

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LEVERAGE METRICS I S A N Y B O D Y O U T T H E R E ?

4Mine rich data to ascertain scope and nature of your audience – and to guide future content deployment.

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Read, respond, analyze and treasure these.

COMMENTS

QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE MEASUREMENTS

R E A D I N G T H E D I G I T A L T E A L E A V E S

Amplification of your channel via “buzz-worthiness.”

SHARES

Active engagement vs. passive viewing.

CLICKS

Bread and butter metric of media content.

VIEWS

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Transforming interested to invested or committed.

CONVERSIONS

DRIVETIMES N A P S H O T F R O M R A V I J A I N ( 2 0 0 5 )

With a distinct creative itch, turned my process on its head for this of-the-moment project. “Talk show in a car” lived on a blog platform, leveraged media host and relied on audience contributions.

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#INBOUND19D R I V E T I M E W E B B Y A W A R D S M O N T A G E ( 2 0 0 7 )

VALUE OF DIRECT AUDIENCE RESPONSE

C U L T I V A T E I N T O R E L A T I O N S H I P S

That someone is taking the time “to put pen to paper” is an affirmation

of the worth of your content.

1VALIDATION In a crowd-sourced peanut gallery,

there will always be some good ideas (and some not so good ones.)

2SUGGESTIONS

The content-creating skills of your audience should be embraced and welcomed.

3CONTRIBUTIONS

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Duration is key component to time-based media.

WATCH TIME

Information about from where your audience is viewing.

DEMOGRAPHICS

How your audience is accessing your content.

DEVICES

EVOLUTION OF RICH MEDIA METRICSY O U T U B E O F F E R S M O R E T H A N J U S T V I E W S

AUDIENCE RETENTIONHow long is your audience keeping with your video

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MAKE IT PERSONALW H A T ’ S M Y P O I N T O F V I E W ?

5Know yourself to know your audience.

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PEOPLE CULTURE

PHILOSOPHYPRODUCTMISSION

LOCATION

INDUSTRY

PERSONALITY

KEY ATTRIBUTES OF ANY INSTITUTION

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STORY BALANCED WITH DELIVERY

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NOT JUST VIDEO…

MEET THE LABBERSS N A P S H O T F R O M M I T ( 2 0 1 6 )

Audio series established in 2016 by producer Margaret Evans. Agile storytelling with interview and accompanying audio.

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#INBOUND19M E E T T H E L A B B E R S : C I N D Y H S I N - L I U K A O ( 2 0 1 7 )

PLATFORM IT W H E R E C A N M Y C O N T E N T F L O W ?

6Foster liquid content for agile content deployment.

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NAVIGATING THE DIGITAL ECOSYSTEMA D A P T I N G M E D I A F O R M A X I M U M R E A C H

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FRESH TAKES / TAKE TWO

S N A P S H O T F R O M B O S T O N C O L L E G E ( 2 0 1 7 / 2 0 1 9 )

Micro-series (30 seconds on average) to highlight direct, honest reflections of the freshman experience. Sequel series revisited subjects to highlight sophomore experience.

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#INBOUND19F R E S H T A K E S I N S T A G R A M S T O R Y ( 2 0 1 7 )

FARMERS INSURANCE HULU SERIES

S N A P S H O T F R O M F A R M E R S I N S U R A N C E ( 2 0 1 9 )

Three part narrative ad story developed for Hulu. “Twists and cliffhangers” in this “show within a show.”

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DURATION

Adjust length to accommodate platform or environment.

ASPECT RATIO

Super wide? Square? Round?!! The more you can anticipate the viewing parameters, the better you can plan as part of your production work flow.

AUDIO

Some platforms may require different audio mixes. Music could play a larger role vs spoken audio.

ON SCREEN TEXT

Social media and public spaces may benefit from graphic text treatments over spoken narration.

VARIABLES IN THE LIQUID CONTENT EQUATION

I N T E G R A T I N G C O N T E N T A C R O S S P L A T F O R M S

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#INBOUND19T H R E E A B R E A S T A N I M A T E D G I F S ( 2 0 1 9 )

“AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION, LIVE ON STAGE AT

#INBOUND19”

#BALLRETURN

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JUGGLING ACT

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BREAK IT DOWN CREATE A PILOT RIDE THE LONG TAIL

LEVERAGE METRICS MAKE IT PERSONAL PLATFORM IT

TEAM EFFORTIt’s difficult to cultivate original content as a one-person operation. Communication, collaboration and cooperation are all key strategic elements to successfully deploy original short form content.

CONCEPT IT

Articulate your vision IN WRITING and brainstorm with team members so you are not going in blind.

PILOT IT

Commit to produce one initial episode to test proof of concept and assess resource allocation.

PROMOTE IT

Coordinate marketing and promotional outreach to align with strategic messaging goals.

RINSE AND REPEAT

Couple metrics analysis with adjustments that foster fresh editorial voices.

CLOSING THOUGHTS TO PUT IN YOUR POCKET AND TAKE WITH YOU

L O W R I S K , H I G H R E W A R D A P P R O A C H

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46

THANK YOU!

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ADDITIONAL CLIP ART COURTESY OF FLATICON

K E E P I N T O U C H

Semi-snark, semi-professional with some music and food asides.

TWITTER | @RAVIDJAIN

Industry talk sometimes inspired by my MBA studies.

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Q/A

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BUILD YOUR AUDIENCE WITH BITE-SIZED STORYTELLING

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