Don’t Sell a Long Story Short

Is there still a place for long-form content in a world awash in soundbites, Tweets, and fast-shrinking attention spans?
 
Short answer: Yes. 
 
Long-form answer: Not very often. But certain projects lend themselves to embracing a narrative approach that effectively conveys the depth and detail of the story you’re trying to tell. 
 
Such was the case with a recent project we completed – an in-depth report that chronicled the Two Georgias Initiative, a grassroots rural health equity program in which Healthcare Georgia Foundation provided funding, support, and resources to 11 counties to improve health and wellness and healthcare access to local citizens.
 
It didn’t take long for us to realize the Two Georgias Initiative was a remarkably bold, inspiring, and complex project. The story of the Initiative – which endured through the COVID-19 pandemic -- demanded and deserved to be told in a way that went beyond just reporting facts, information, and quotes. 
 
Here are some key takeaways from the process that can help guide your long-form, narrative storytelling:
 
Frame it as a story: We were intentional in conveying right on the cover page that we weren’t presenting a dry, data-dense report. To emphasize that, we positioned the report as a “story of impact.” We also used the term “chapter” to identify each section of the report to further emphasize we were taking a storytelling approach.
 
Tell the stories within the story: Weaving in some well-placed descriptive anecdotes can add life and context to your piece. It can be useful to think of the overarching narrative as the expressway, and some key anecdotes as interesting side roads you can take your reader down. 
 
Use sidebars strategically: Telling a linear narrative story can be liberating. But it also creates some barriers. Sometimes an important element doesn’t fit the flow, and it can be a challenge to include all the relevant facts and figures. Sidebars can do a lot of heavy lifting for presenting essential information, data or vignettes that don’t fit the flow of the broader narrative. 
 
Let voices be heard: Long-form content provides room to liberally quote a wide range of people to add authenticity and their unique insights to the piece.  
 
Tell — and show: Strong narratives are even stronger when they are married with images and photography that helps add life and context to the story being told. Turn Two creative director Gerry Frank and I worked collaboratively throughout the process to help ensure the overall design and the images available throughout the process to assure we married images with content to tell the most compelling story possible. 
 
There’s no doubt that the shorter is better mantra is the right approach for the bulk of your content. Yet when the opportunity to go long presents itself -- make the most of it. 

There’s no doubt that the shorter-is-better mantra is the right approach for the bulk of your content. Yet when the opportunity to go long presents itself, be sure to make the most of it.