Today people first scan to identify the story they want to read or engage with. And these entry points become very crucial to catch people’s attention – By Staff Writer
In the age of Information and Communication Technology-driven Global-Local (GloCal) village, you (netizens – people equipped with smart devices with Internet access round the clock) might have smart-devices enabled power in your hand (mobiles, computer, laptops, etc.) to connect with global audience. You may have a very good story (in the form of audio, video, text, graphics and more) to share with the rest of the people. But how do you make sure that people come to your story to read, to watch, to listen or to look at?
A story is as good as it reaches to as many people as possible. Besides, how many recommendations the story has received as a good read and how many people have forwarded the story as suggested read next to their contacts and to the like-minded people.
Remember, no matter how good a story is and how much value it can be. However, its value cannot be realised unless people read it in the first place. And, therefore, it is of paramount importance to understand how a reader comes to a story or how a reader has its first contact or entry to a story.
As often understood, it’s the headline. To a very large extent it’s true. But, besides the headline, there are various other important aspects which are as important key entry points to a story as the headline itself. And they are Sub-head, Reporter, Graphics, Captions, Social Media Posts Inserts, Infographics and Slug/s.
Let us see how each of these entry points play a pivotal role to make a story a good read.
Headline: One of the very first entry points to any story. As often it is understood that a good headline is one which not only tells the main theme or essence of the story but also engages the audience. A headline might indicate the mainstay of the story but it may not always give the entire story. The headline may bring the audience or the reader to the story but the other subsequent elements will take the reader further into the story. The headline may excite the reader to go further with the story as the headline is not the end, it’s just the beginning. And that’s why maximum time and energy is devoted to writing a headline which is easy to understand, engage, evoke right emotions and an engaging connection with the reader/audience.
Sub-head: The next entry point to a story is the sub-head, which outlines the most striking or important aspect of the story and runs in a line of two. The information put in the sub-head is carefully chosen to further the interest of the reader in the story. Sub-head is often put in a smaller font than the headline and bigger font size than the body matter.
Reporter/Correspondent: The Sub-head is followed by the name of the reporter or correspondent in case of news stories and writer or author in case of blogs, etc. The identity of the reporter or the author/writer goes a long way as the credibility of the information matters. These are long-established reporters, writers, and authors having expertise in their respective domains and accordingly, people come to their stories. Besides, the trust factor is also associated with them as per their domain expertise. It takes years for writers, authors and reporters to establish their rapport and likewise readers take time before trusting them. And once the bridge is established, it becomes a key entry point to a story. And, therefore, it cannot be ignored.
Graphics, Infographics & Creatives: Next comes the graphics or creatives utilised to supplement, complement or give a visual treat to the story for the ease of understating. In the case of the data-driven, statistical information and likewise, visual elements in the form of infographics, charts, diagrams, etc. help readers to understand easily. A good photograph related to the story is like a visual treat to the reader which engages the reader in more ways than one. And, therefore, the use and application of the graphics and creatives go a very long way in establishing meaningful engagement with the reader.
Captions: The captions are primarily used to identify elements present in graphics and creatives as it allows the storyteller to highlight certain key aspects through it. Not only that, but it also allows readers to see what other interesting information has been put in the caption. However, the information put in the caption is often what you can find in the body story. And the caption works as the standalone filter for the reader about some interesting facts from the story.
Social Media Posts Inserts: The social media insertions allow another entry point to a story as it authenticates the direct connection with the story but also corroborates the facts narrated in the story. These social media insertions also filter out information for the reader which makes the reader’s life easier by filtering out the relevant information. At times, insertion helps a reader to go to relevant locations to find more information as they may be looking for it.
Pull Quotes: This is another important entry point to a story as it allows a reader to read what is so interesting that it has been put out in big and bold font with a prominent visual presentation. Most of the time it’s the key statement given by important people discussed in the story. At times some scientific facts, satire, key observations, and judgment, among others are used as pull quotes as their placement and eye-catching visual representation easily gravitate a reader to the story.
Today, all the writers, reporters, authors, freelancers, bloggers, and social media influencers, among others are competing to get the readers’/audiences’ attention to their work. And, therefore, it becomes very essential to figure out how to grab the attention of their target audience/reader. And the various aspects discussed above go a long way in bringing target audiences as today people first scan to identify the story they want to read or engage with. And these entry points become very crucial to catch people’s attention when they are scanning through any given story. And it primarily begins with the headline of the story.
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