Recently, my daughter had a eureka moment when she realised that by copying her project from Google Docs into a website template, it would invoke a completely different response or level of engagement from her audience. Same copy, different outcome. Excited by her breakthrough, she’s now an advocate of delivering her work by all sorts of varied means.
From this initial discovery, she’s also realised that sometimes a straight copy-and-paste just isn’t enough. Sometimes additional crafting is needed depending on where her story is being told. Now she’s graduated to adding pictures, quotes, videos and (of course) glitter to engage her audience.
This revelation isn’t new, but it is a reminder that we should continually look to craft our content to maintain its effectiveness – regardless of channel. But do we?
Too often the focus becomes central to one channel. One output. All the thinking, crafting and love get poured into a single delivery. Then, with what’s left, we make it work for the other channels. The risk is that the story can be diluted. Lose its shine. Or worse, its effectiveness.
As storytellers, this is on us.
So, whether you're a client, a strategist, marketer, creative or copywriter; if you’re planning, creating or delivering a multi-channel story, then (please) pause. Think about how you craft your content. Think about its effectiveness for every one of the channels you’ve identified. Explore and understand all the opportunities; be aware of the challenges and limitations. In short, work towards telling the clearest story you can – for every channel.