{"id":672432,"date":"2024-05-24T15:45:09","date_gmt":"2024-05-24T22:45:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=arcuser&p=672432"},"modified":"2024-05-24T15:45:09","modified_gmt":"2024-05-24T22:45:09","slug":"effective-strategies-for-engaging-with-your-audience","status":"publish","type":"arcuser","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/effective-strategies-for-engaging-with-your-audience","title":{"rendered":"Effective Strategies for Engaging with Your Audience"},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","castos_file_data":"","podmotor_file_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[325892,472961,25022],"tags":[178472],"arcuser_issues":[489062],"class_list":["post-672432","arcuser","type-arcuser","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-arcgis-story-maps","category-civic-engagement","category-hands-on","tag-best-practices","arcuser_issues-spring-2024"],"acf":{"short_description":"Maximize the impact of your message by using these strategies when building and deploying your ArcGIS StoryMaps story.","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":672452,"file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"blockquote","content":"Maximize the impact of your message by using these strategies when building and deploying your ArcGIS StoryMaps story."},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"
\r\n\r\nHow do I plan my story?\r\nHow much content is too much?\r\nAnd what\u2019s the best way to share my story with the world?\r\n\r\nWe\u2019ve all been there.\r\n\r\nA blank piece of paper\u2014a flashing cursor on an empty screen\u2014intimidates even the most seasoned writers. Here are five strategies to help you build a story that engages readers and keeps them reading. As a bonus, resources are included to help you dig a little deeper into each topic.\r\n
    \r\n \t
  1. Plan your story with audiences and goals in mind.<\/li>\r\n \t
  2. Use high-quality, accessible content.<\/li>\r\n \t
  3. Make it easy to share and find your stories.<\/li>\r\n \t
  4. Create a communications strategy.<\/li>\r\n \t
  5. Leverage analytics for insights and optimization.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n \r\n\r\n1. Plan your story with key messages, audiences, and goals in mind.<\/strong>\r\n\r\nBefore starting your story, consider your target audience and goals. By planning, you can incorporate elements that resonate with your audience and achieve measurable goals. From narrative structure to eye-catching visuals to overall tone, there are plenty of things to consider when crafting your story.\r\n\r\nThe ArcGIS StoryMap story, Justice deferred : Executive Order 9066 and the geography of Japanese-American imprisonment during WWII<\/em><\/a> was originally written for an advanced audience. The vocabulary was changed to make it accessible to secondary students and it was published as Unjustly imprisoned<\/a>. <\/em>\u00a0The visuals and even the style of writing were considered because of the change in audience.\r\n\r\nIt can be tempting to put off thinking about how you\u2019ll promote your finished piece until after you\u2019ve hit the Publish button. Don\u2019t give in to that temptation! Considering when and where you\u2019ll distribute your story before you start assembling it can help you incorporate elements that will make it more effective based on how you plan to get the word out.\r\n\r\n<\/div>"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":672572,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":672562,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"2. Manage media like a pro.<\/strong>\r\n\r\nCompelling visuals like eye-catching images, graphics, and maps enhance your narrative. One way to highlight your story\u2019s important messages is with attention-grabbing tidbits made easy with the ArcGIS StoryMaps builder. For example, you can use the quote block to make critical facts and statistics stand out. These screenshot-ready images speak to your message directly without needing any extra content. As a bonus, these custom quotes often make for sharable social content. The easier you make it for your readers to promote your story in style, the more likely that they\u2019ll spread the word\r\n\r\nMake sure those visual elements are properly attributed and accessible to all readers. Provide alternative text for images and captions for videos, which ensures that your entire audience can access your content.\r\n\r\nDownload this PDF<\/a> for valuable tips and guidelines for using images and graphics in your stories.\r\n\r\n3. Make it easy to share your stories and continue reading.<\/strong>\r\n\r\nTo increase the reach of your stories, it\u2019s a good idea to ensure that they\u2019re easy to find online and that readers can easily share them with their own communities. Here are a few things you can do to prepare your stories to go viral.\r\n\r\nFirst, ensure that your story will look good when it\u2019s shared on social media. Most social media platforms will automatically replace links to stories with large cards containing the story\u2019s titles, subtitles, and cover images. You\u2019ll see a preview of this card when you publish (or republish) a story in ArcGIS StoryMaps, but you can easily overwrite the card\u2019s title, subtitle, and thumbnail.\r\n\r\nFor example, if your story\u2019s subtitle appears truncated in the card, or the original cover image isn\u2019t a suitable thumbnail, you can change those in the story card menu right before publishing your story. Note that updating these card details won\u2019t affect the actual title, subtitle, or cover image of your stories.\r\n\r\nSecond, consider providing some additional, relevant stories for readers to discover at the end of your story. After all, if they\u2019ve made it that far, they\u2019re probably eager to see more of your work. The embed card in ArcGIS StoryMaps is well-suited for this purpose because it provides an attractive visual hyperlink to the story. Just add an embed block, paste the URL of your story, and then switch the embed block to use the card view. Note that you can edit the contents of this card to better suit your purposes, just like the social media card mentioned previously.\r\n\r\nThird, if you\u2019re sharing and promoting multiple related stories, consider placing them in a collection. This is a great way to ensure that readers will see your stories in context and have access to all related stories. For example, if you publish three related stories\u2014perhaps as chapters in a longer narrative\u2014and a colleague promotes the second chapter only, readers will see the first and third parts of that story as well, right within the collection.\r\n\r\nFinally, ensure that your story\u2014and all its contents\u2014is shared publicly before you promote it. This step is easy to overlook, but essential for a successful launch! When you publish your story publicly for the first time, the ArcGIS StoryMaps builder should warn you about any unshared content in your story. Regardless, it\u2019s always a good idea to open your story in a signed-out, incognito browser window to simulate a public reader\u2019s first encounter with your story."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":672602,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"4. Create a communications strategy.<\/strong>\r\n\r\nYou\u2019ve come full circle. Your storytelling journey began with questions:\r\n