Presentation given during the Hill Country Trail Region social media workshop held on October 29 in Fredericksburg, TX

1. Digital Storytelling
for DMOs

3. Get these slides here::
http://sarahtpage.com/HillCountryWorkshop/

4. Me Sheila Scarborough,
Tourism Currents

5. Stories Are Familiar

7. Everyone loves
a good story

11. Why
storytelling?

12. SCIENCE

13. Why Storytelling?
Information is processed
more efficiently
Cuts through the clutter; helps
people retain messages
Evokes an emotional (hopefully
positive!) response
It isn’t “sales-y” (because....ewww)

14. Source: HubSpot
We use stories to
make sense out of
our world
Source: HubSpot

15. Source: HubSpot
Our brains use stories as a way to
organize our memories (Source: HubSpot)

16. Technology
is the GREAT
EQUALIZER
for modern
storytelling
Source: 8 Million Stories

17. A Good Story Has ….
Relatable characters
Beginning, middle, and end
Conflict
Source: http://www.postplanner.com/digital-storytelling-techniques-secret-sauce-social-media

18. “A story is a character in pursuit of
a goal in the face of an obstacle
or challenge.”
- Dev Basu, Powered by Search

19. “How the
character resolves
the challenge is
what keeps us
interested.”
Dev Basu, Powered by Search

20. Great stories
are also
CONCISE

22. Great stories must be relevant to your VISITORS

23. What Makes a Great Story?
Authentic
Human
Evoke emotion
Interest your customer or visitor
Involve everyday life
Great stories must be …
Source: 8 Million Stories

24. What Kinds of Stories
Can We Tell?
1. Educational stories
2. Trending news stories
3. Stories about your visitors
4. Classic stories, lessons, and quotes
5. Personal stories
Source: http://blog.wiredadvisor.com/how-to-use-storytelling-as-a-
marketing-strategy

25. Educational Stories

33. Trending News Stories

38. Stories About Your
Visitors

46. Classic Stories,
Lessons, and Quotes

48. 1/14/15

51. Personal Stories

52. 1/14/15

54. Blogging

55. Anatomy of a Good Blog Post
 Determine your buckets
(topics)
• Events
• Attractions
• Date nights
• Family friendly
• Live music
• Sports
• Food
• Local faves
• Breakfast places
• Local “bests”
• Wine
• Neighborhoods
• Nightlife
• Check search terms for
your destination in Google
Analytics
Before You Start:
Source: Sheila Scarborough; Tourism Currents

56. Basic editorial calendar
• Topic category
• Title
• Details (including graphics)
• Key words
• Who is this for? (persona)
• What’s the point (CTA)
Source: Sheila Scarborough; Tourism Currents
Anatomy of a Good Blog Post

58. Building a Blog Post
Source: Sheila Scarborough; Tourism Currents
1. Headlines
• Who Else Wants …?
• The Secret of …?
• Little Known Ways to …
• Gid Rid of … Once and For All
• Here’s a Quick Way to [Solve a problem]
• Now You Can Have [Something desirable] [Great
circumstance/result]
• [Do something] Like [World-Class Example] (Speak Spanish
Like a Rock Star)
• What Everyone Ought To Know About …

59. Building a Blog Post
Source: Sheila Scarborough; Tourism Currents
2. Content
• Text
• Photos
• Links
• Keywords
• Hashtags
• Video

60. Building a Blog Post
Source: Sheila Scarborough; Tourism Currents
3. Where to find photos
• Flickr Creative Commons
• Flickr Commons (Historical photos)
4. Writing for the web – It’s not what you say,
but HOW you say it
• Bolding, bullets, white space
5. SEO
• Give them the info they seek in the words they are
using to search for it

61. Possible Post Format
Source: Sheila Scarborough; Tourism Currents
1. Great Local Breakfast Places in XYZ
2. Strong opener, often a quote
3. The list, using bullets, headers, etc.
• Mom’s Café (farm-to-fork)
• Selena’s Taqueria (breakfast tacos)
• Fred’s Downtown Diner (old school)
4. Closing words, call to action

63. Possible Post Format
Your Turn:
Take 15 minutes to sketch out a breakfast post
outline for your blog.

64. Storyboarding

65. Storyboarding helps us think
Walk through a scenario and see what
happens
Test concepts
Experiment at little to no cost
Why Storyboarding?
Source: johnnyholland.org

66. Storyboarding helps others
understand
Simply express thoughts and ideas
Puts the “heart” of the issue back into
communications
Links facts and ideas with the
audience’s emotions and experiences
Why Storyboarding?
Source: johnnyholland.org

67. Try text boxes and arrows first
Steps for Drawing a Storyboard
Source: johnnyholland.org

68. Add emotions
Steps for Drawing a Storyboard
Source: johnnyholland.org

69. Add in the camera
Storyteller commentary
Speech and though
bubbles
Character(s) and scene
Steps for Drawing a Storyboard
Source: johnnyholland.org

70. Via Jenny Resendez with Bags, Inc.

71. 1. Think about an attraction or event
in your destination (What do you
want a target visitor to know or
experience?)
2. Draw a storyboard for a 30 second
video (Hint: Think Pictionary)
3. Present to the group
Storyboarding – Your Turn

72. Photo Credits
 Miss Magill reads a story. NYPL work
w/schools, 1912. Flickr Commons
 Storyteller Annie Tomlin, White
Springs FL, 1956, Flickr Commons
 Campfire: Sean Munson Flickr
Creative Commons
 Boy reading: John Moran Flickr CC
 Grandma reading: Sarah Altendorf
Flickr CC
 McCall's Magazine 1939, George
Eastman House on Flickr Commons
 Making sense of it all: Juan Andres
Martinez Flickr CC
• Book chaos: Sharon Drummond at
Flickr CC
• Fritzi Scheff demonstrating Magnavox
for Fifth Liberty Loan in New York City
1895 (courtesy Powerhouse Museum
on Flickr Commons)
• Star Wars action figures: Paul Mayne
on Flickr CC
• Rebel Scum: Stefan on Flickr CC
• Gumby & storm troopers: JD Hancock
at Flickr CC
• Photo of Sam Rayburn courtesy of
Sam Rayburn Historic Site Facebook
Page

73. Can I Help?
Call
Me!

74. Thank You!
Questions?

75. Follow Me
Linkedin.com/in/sarahpa
ge
Facebook.com/SarahTPageConsult
@pagetx
Sarah Page, Principal
Sarah T. Page Consulting, LLC
http://sarahtpage.com
sarah@sarahtpage.com
512.914.8873
Instagram.com/stpconsultin
g
Pinterest.com/sarahtpage