1. Remember the importance of the title section
The title section is your first opportunity to engage your reader with your content, and a great opportunity to start telling the story, not just the headline.
Consider how you use media and text to communicate certain aspects of the story, as well as entice the reader to scroll further into the narrative.
In Shorthand Social the Title section features title and subtitle text fields, and the ability to upload an image or looping YouTube video into the background.
You will also notice your Twitter account as your byline – this also links to your author page so interested readers can see other stories you have published in Shorthand Social.
2. Consider the structure / flow carefully
Break down into key parts when planning your structure, and consider how to tell each part.
It doesn't have to be just about text – in some cases visuals can stand alone in communicating the message more powerfully than any other medium.
The key is that whatever you choose is the best way to tell it.
Also consider how each section flows into the next. You want to encourage the reader to keep scrolling, so ensure there is no feeling of interruption to the flow (unless used intentionally).
In Shorthand Social you can insert sections between each other, if you feel something is missing.
3. Consider how you can use images at their best
In Shorthand Social, images can be used in a variety of ways: full-screen in the background of optional text, full-screen width as standalone media and inline between paragraphs of text.
However used, remember the flow and optimise images according to their use.
For example, if adding a background image (to a Title or Text Over Media section), remember that it will remain full-screen across viewports, and the default crop is to the centre. So ensure any detail is central to the image, where possible.
If using inline images, remember you can change the size and consider what the different sizing may communicate.
If you need to share an image without any cropping, and on its own, you can use the Media section. The image will maintain its own aspect ratio on all viewports. There is more detail on this here.
And remember, a picture can paint a thousand words. Don't feel you have to use text to tell part of a story an image or video clip can do better.
And if you want to go that one step further, and bring some interactivity into the mix, follow these steps on how to create a reveal effect between two or more full-screen images. It's simple to do, but a very effective way of adding depth and layers to images that the reader can control.
4. Give your text equal TLC
It's not all about the visuals of course, and there is ample opportunity to give your text the right treatment to ensure it can also drive engagement, and tell your story in a compelling way.
Make sure your text doesn't get lost or unreadable when placed over an image or video. In Shorthand Social you can toggle a slider at the side of the image to darken the background media as required.
Remember you can also move text fields in Title and Text Over Media sections, and apply different formatting in most sections, including headers and pull-quotes. These are incredibly effective for added engagement, in fact, as people may scan over a story before they choose whether to invest their time in reading it.
We have lots more text-focused tips here.
5. Choose the best approach for video
In Shorthand Social you can use video in three ways: as full-screen, autoplay video in the background of (optional) text, as a full-screen width video player, or inline, between paragraphs of text.
Which type of video you use at each point will depend on the video at hand, and what you wish to communicate at that part of the narrative. Note that autoplay video is muted as default, so of course, if you require the reader to hear the sound from the start, then you should use either the Media section or inline YouTube feature, where the sound starts as soon as the reader presses play.
Similarly, if using video with sound from the start, also ensure the surrounding narrative makes sense without it, in case the reader can't listen at that moment in time!
Again, use video – just like images – with meaning. All assets in your story should contribute something to the story and experience for the reader.
6. Check any embed code
As well as embedding images and video, you can also embed code. For example, I could embed a tweet below this paragraph. Like this:
The key is to ensure the code is responsive. If you're not sure, check for stated pixel widths in the code. If you get stuck, you may find Embedresponsively.com to be a handy tool to help with some specific apps (Vimeo, Instagram and Vine, to name a few).
And again, make sure you use Story Preview to check end result for yourself too, across screen sizes.
7. Keep length in mind
There is a section limit in Shorthand Social, of 20 sections, to try and help support you from a performance perspective.
Also consider how long someone is likely to engage with your content for, and that, again, you're doing everything you can to ensure each element plays a part – and certainly avoid throwing everything into your story. Now is the time to be strict with yourself and critical of your content!
8. Check the preview, then check it again
If you want to know the latest events, what screen do you turn to first? It's safe to say that for many, it would be their mobile, so make sure when you're creating your story, that you're building for that experience too.
Yes, Shorthand Social is responsive, and so we'll crop and re-size as default. But is the default crop ideal, or do you need to re-edit the original image to get it to work across screen shapes and sizes. And does that chunk of text feel much more dense on a mobile screen, and would benefit from a pull-quote or header to offer more visual stimulation on a smaller screen?
Make sure you use the Preview feature throughout your story creation, re-sizing your browser to be sure of how it looks for all your readers.
9. Don't say it's the end...
Firstly, consider what you could offer in the way of continued engagement for your reader once they have completed the story's narrative. In Shorthand Social there is built in social sharing at the end of the story, to make it easy for readers to socialise your content.
But is there more you can do to encourage them to engage in other ways. Are you interested in hearing from others with a similar story, would you like to point them to similar stories or perhaps sign a petition. Whatever it might be, consider if you're doing all you can, and that's appropriate, to drive that journey.
10. Plan how to keep the story alive after publishing
And secondly, don't just publish your story and move onto the next without a backward glance. In Shorthand Social we auto-generate tweets for each section of your story, including snippets of text and relevant media – click Review & Publish to check what the tweets will be at any point. When you're ready to publish you can select and schedule which tweets you wish to send – see the video guide below:
Consider how you'll also share it beyond that initial promotion, both on Twitter and other channels, your own and third-party, in creative and meaningful ways that highlight key aspects of the narrative, both in text and visual form. Consider network-specific engagement – for more practical tips, see this post.
In Shorthand Social, once a story is published you can grab the embed code for a story launchpad to place in your own site/blog, to direct readers to your Shorthand story, such as the example embedded below:
And remember to track engagement with the story – in Shorthand Social you can see views and social shares, and do your own work to understand the conversation around it (which you should be involved in, by the way) to learn what may work best for your next story.
Looking for a more detailed guide to Shorthand Social’s features? Check out this run-through of the key features.
Or if you're after a more customisable, self-hosted solution, check out Shorthand Pro.
