Created by the folks at http://www.conducttr.com The document provides 21 practical ideas for how to extend your storyworld beyond the video channel to engage audiences with interactive experiences. All of the examples can be created with Conducttr, many without any coding.

2. Created by the team at Conducttr, the integrated storytelling, gaming and
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You can try all the examples in this document.
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3. Find a supporting character from your web series or
movie story and make them the star of the social
media. This leverages your skills as a storyteller to
create compelling content that draws the audience in.
Tell their story on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter and email.
Make sure you integrate the social media stories and
the story in the web series or movie - both in terms of
plot and with URLs.

4. Invite the audience to join a faction or a character's
inner circle and send weekly emails that are in-world
and build out the story.
Keep the email as email - don't send short stories or
use it like a blog.
It can be easier to use email as worldbuilding rather
than for plot or subplot content. Use it to stimulate
imagination.
Find the hooks inside the email to link back to the
web series or movie.

5. Drive traffic to your site with active calls-to-action on
all your print media.
Consider first capturing emails and then send to the
web series or movie.
Make the calls-to-action in-world to join a faction or
register a vote or opinion.

6. Use two channels to build a relationship with your
audience: an in-world channel from the characters
and institutions in the storyworld and an out-of-
world channel from the Producer.
In the out-of-world channel, introduce yourself and
thank the audience member for subscribing.
Use this channel sparingly or use it to inform about
new episodes if you can't do it in world

7. Personalizing communications not only creates
relevance but can create a “wow” moment when
you demonstrate how real your storyworld really is.
And don't just add someone's name! Remind them
how many points they have or thank them for voting
in the last email.
If you‘ve put the audience into storyworld factions,
tailor the email from a specific character and relate
it to the story events.

8. If you plan live events, use a drop-down in your
signup form to request a location.
Now when you come to screen or exhibit your work
you can target emails and SMS to people in local
areas.
And you can personalize communications even
further with neat localizations referring to local
landmarks or local languages.

9. Provide referral links that fans want to share: eCards,
fun or mysterious content.
Make it fun and easy for a fan to strengthen their
relationship with someone else. Imagine your
content as a social object – it’s a gift from one friend
to another. Is your content a gift they want to give?

10. SMS and phone calls add additional cost but nothing gets
attention quite like an SMS.
Sending a call-to-action in an SMS is really useful if you
plan to hold live events or screenings to activate the
audience on the day to give that final nudge to have them
come out.
The same applies for first day sales when your web series
or movie comes out on Hulu, Amazon, Netflix and such.

11. An auto-answer phone message can immediately
immerse the audience in your storyworld.
The incoming caller number creates a new entry in
your audience database and you can continue the
immersion with an auto-callback or auto-SMS reply
at a future time or date.

12. Invite your audience to imagine what it's like to live
in your storyworld and have them to share their
imaginary lives with you on social media.
Schedule regular calls-to-action either via email or
social media that inspire imagination and ask for
participation.
Allowing your audience to role play gives them a
special place in the storyworld and makes them a
stakeholder. Using this approach can generation
passionate advocates to help you tell your story and
attract larger audiences.

13. Create an inner circle to listen to opinion and
provide exclusive content and insider gossip.
Send special emails to insiders asking for feedback
and advice.
When numbers are small, send an alert to yourself
and write a personal note. As numbers increase
consider automation.

14. …if this is appropriate to your storyworld.
When you send emails, SMS or social media, invite
opinion and conversation.
As the audience responds, automatically count the
clicks and comments and award points. At certain
point values you can send your audience badges via
SMS, email, Twitter, Facebook or in an app or
website.

15. Create a companion app that provides the audience with
a personalized digital locker, casual or location-based
game or interactive story.
Use the app to allow your audience to enter codes which
reward them with content. Codes can be discovered inside
the web series or movie or on partner websites & blogs.
An app also allows the audience to manage their own
profile and easily see their points and community status.

16. Build a multi-channel media plan so you know what
content is going live and when.
Use a calendar or planner to see what content is
being posted when so that you don't have dark
periods and social media content is synchronised to
your video publishing or event schedule.

17. Only ask your audience to do one thing at a time but
asking them to make a choice is more engaging than just
clicking a button.
Choice implies agency and that’s important if you want
your audience to feel respected and appreciated.
Learn which of your audience likes to engage the most
and tailor your requests so that the least active are asked
to do very little while the most engaged are asked to do
more.

18. Watch for phrases and keywords so that when you’re
@mentioned you can (automatically) inject your
images and videos into the conversation.
Don’t just repurpose content that's posted
elsewhere but create a new shared experience with
new content.

19. If your storyworld offers a channel to reach hard-to-reach
consumers then think about what you can offer a brand
partner. If it’s a new show then it’s not going to be millions
of views but you can offer credibility, positioning and
insights.
Use an app, like the Conducttr Communicator, to create
in-world and out-of-world channels – and give the brand
an out-of-world channel to talk directly with consumers.
Consider a points system to create a shared loyalty
scheme where the most active fans get additional content
from you and real-world rewards from the sponsor.

20. Mobilize your fans to spread the word by asking
them to “flock-to-unlock”. That is, invite them to
@message a certain twitter account – with or
without a special hashtag.
Be sure that every Twitter account only gets counted
once or maybe it’s ok to allow multiple tweets per
fan.
activity is 80% complete

21. Invite the audience to search for websites and/or
real world places to find words, numbers, quotes
and phrases and have them send the answers to you
to unlock a piece of the story or compete in a game.
This familiar game doesn’t require lots of content
and has the audience creating their own enjoyment
which will create a positive sentiment and
conversation towards your storyworld.

22. The style of your web series or movie will determine
if this is possible or relevant but having screen
characters call the audience to action can be very
effective in building your contact list.
Calls to action can be direct as they are with Ruby
Skye PI “Help me solve this puzzle! I think this is a
clue” or indirect such as a close-up or overlay
showing an email or phone number.

23. Set milestones for a certain number of video views
achieved and auto-post prepared content for when
you reach that number.
This could be out-of-world or in-world and gives you
an opportunity to send something newsworthy.

24. The Zen of Audience Building
Building an audience takes time and patience but most
importantly resonance.
It’s vital that you understand who your web series or movie
speaks to. What does it say and with whom does that message
resonate?
When you have these answers then offer your creativity as a gift
to this community. The more you give, the more you will receive.
Your audience is everywhere, all the time, and so should be your
story.
Use your creativity and content to connect to your audience and
allow your audience to connect with each other.
As an independent creator you have something more valuable
than money. You have creative freedom and authenticity.
Compete on creative, not budget.
Be Remarkable.
Robert Pratten
CEO, Transmedia Storyteller Ltd, makers of Conducttr
@robpratten
http://www.conducttr.com