Creating Digital Stories

Creating A Story

With over 77% of the population using social media, it's a very important communication tool and a great platform for sharing stories and testimony.
The first youtube clip on this page talks about the following story telling principles...

• Beginning – What was life like before you knew Christ? Or before a moment when Christ entered your life at that point?
• Middle – What was your turning point? What was your reaction to it?
• End – What's your life like now? How do you live now?

It can be written in this way

There was a time in my life when .......

But then one day ......
So I began to .....
And since then ......

When writing a story there needs to be a clear plan and you can't create a digital story without first writing a story.

It needs to be easy to understand, it needs to captivate and connect with your audience and it needs a purpose. This about why you are telling the story, what would you like to achieve?

Creating a Digital Story

Once you have your story, then you can start creating a digital version. The second youtube clip on this page explains how to film videos at home, it looks at what technology is required, presentation skills, and also how to improve the quality of what we produce.

Where to Share Your Digital Story

The Methodist Church encourages the use of social media tools as a way of extending our engagement with people inside and outside the church through sharing stories, joining in conversations, sharing, learning and encouraging, reaching out to those who cannot physically attend church and forming relationships locally and globally.

• Facebook is the worlds most popular social media channel. It's used by billions of people each day to keep in contact with friends, family, and to catch up on the latest news. It doesn't limit the number of words on a post so you can write an in-depth story to share via a more.... button which is automatically added. It allows for people to like, share and comment on posts. You can also Go Live and stream content.
• Instagram is a visual storyteller, it's a collection of images and videos which appear in a grid and the aim is to have the most appealing grid as possible. You can create a larger picture using smaller images in the grid. Instagram Stories also allow you to publish a series of images or videos which will only be available for 24 hours. It also has the options of adding filters and effects to your images.
• Twitter is a great channel for reaching large audiences or businesses. Using hashtags is a great way to spread your story and it also allows you to search for other themes people are talking about.
• YouTube is a collection of videos. You can create one off video's or a series under a playlist to gather like for like films together. Youtube allows you to create videos larger than other social media channels. You can also invite people to subscribe to your channel and they will receive an alert when you post a new video. It also allows you to go live and stream.

There are also other platforms to consider such as Tiktok as well as several others.

If you'd like to find out more please contact District Communications Officer Sam Roberts at comms@sheffieldmethodist.org