Check out these tips for producing and curating original journalism using the Stories feature of the two social platforms
Have you ever noticed those little circles containing pictures at the top of your social media feeds? They are called ‘Stories’ and although they might have started on Snapchat, that hasn’t stopped them making their way onto all our beloved social apps.
For the uninitiated, Stories are image and/or video-based sequences, often containing text, that users can click or swipe through on social media. The sequence builds up a ‘story’ for the viewer.
Snapchat and Instagram Stories might not be your first port of call when it comes to journalism, however, they are growing in popularity: so, if you want to learn how to tell a news story with ten second videos, you probably need to talk to Sumaiya Omar. A social media consultant and founder of HashtagOurStories, she believes Stories are a great way of producing and curating original journalism.
Speaking at the newsrewired conference in London yesterday (19 July), Sumaiya delivered a session about making big things happen on a small budget.
She explained that what makes stories unique are the very things that make them useful for creating content. So, here are Sumaiya’s tips for using Stories, to tell stories:
The 'Stories' feature on these platforms may seem trivial to some, but Sumaiya believes they’re more powerful than they’re given credit for.
As she explained: "It doesn’t even have to be one of your own reporters pushing the record button." Indeed, the ability to curate and commission stories has the ability to enhance a platform in terms of original storytelling and real narratives.
With so many different platforms available for smaller news organisations to choose from, Omar added, Stories represent an unintimidating, low cost investment with the potential for big success. Dog filters and flower crowns aside, perhaps it may be time to reconsider how Stories could be used as a genuine journalistic tool.
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