Adding Live Storytelling to Your Editorial Calendar

Last week, we talked about overcoming your fears of live storytelling. This week, we will talk about how to use your newfound confidence as a live storyteller and how to plan. While live storytelling may seem spontaneous, like all other great content and great stories, there should be an element of planning involved.

Live storytelling events are your causes for engaging live with your audience. These are events that you plan and schedule in advance before going live. Photo credit: Gursimrat Ganda

Remind Me…What is Live Storytelling?

Live storytelling is engaging with an audience using narrative LIVE. There is no pause button or no do-overs. The story is told as if you are face-to-face via Facebook Live, Instagram Stories, Snapchat, or some other social media or web platform that allows you to stream live coverage. You could also be face-to-face such as at a conference or other event where you can engage your audience.

Statistically, more and more audiences are watching live feeds, which means that it’s necessary for you to learn to do it and to do it well.

What are Live Storytelling Events?

Building on that, live storytelling events are events that you plan and schedule to reach your audience. Typically, before actually going live, you want to build your audience. Let them know that you’re going to go live by scheduling live events, posting advanced notifications and more.

This is a lot to prepare for, which is why you need a live storytelling events calendar in your new life as a live storyteller.

Your live storytelling events calendar can help you plan all of the details for going live before going live…including promoting upcoming events. Photo credit: STIL

How Do You Add Live Storytelling to Your Editorial Calendar?

There are many things you want to put on your editorial calendar when it come to live storytelling…aside from the actual event. Here’s what we recommend for the greatest live storytelling events calendar of all time:

• Details about the main event (obviously). Main event details should include:

  • The place where you will go live

  • The platform you will use for your live story

  • How long the live feed will last

  • The time the live story will start

  • What you will need for the story

  • The type of event

• Announcement posts building up to the event with key information like:

  • When the posts need to be published

  • How many posts

  • The written content for the posts

  • Any visual content for the posts (always recommended)

  • The information that the announcements should contain (where the live story will take place as well as the time and date and what the live story will cover)

What Kinds of Events are Live Storytelling Useful for?

So, we’ve talked about an events calendar and how to plan your content, but what kinds of “events” can live stories be used for? The answer is all of them. Here are some examples:

• Giving the audience a behind-the-scenes look at your brand

• Promoting an actual upcoming event or sale

• Sharing your audience’s or your employees’ stories

• Covering an ongoing event

• Educating your audience about a product, a topic, etc.

There are truly no limits to how you can use live storytelling. Look at the ways you might have blogged about a topic a year or so ago, and translate that to live storytelling.

Note that different platforms have different structures. For example, Facebook Live allows for longer stories while telling stories in micro-moments tends to work better for Instagram Stories. As the culture of live storytelling evolves, so will the options, features, and norms, which you can leverage for reaching your audience and for growing your brand.

Do you need help building your editorial calendar or with a live storytelling strategy, so you can grow your business and expand your audience? If so, click here to contact us, The Storyteller Agency, and let us help you build an amazing live storytelling events calendar.