Seven things we learned at October’s #AskFutureNet

Couldn't make our call in October? Find out what you missed

What makes award-winning comms? That was the question we answered during October's #AskFutureNet call. We were joined by Sequel Group's Nigel Wood, Head of Digital Design, Jason Dowty, Editor, and Becky Leonard, Communications and Content Manager and FutureNet committee member, who answered questions about their IoIC National Award-winning projects.  

First up were Nigel and Jason, who were on hand to talk about The Reporter Quarterly - an innovative digital news channel that won two awards at this year's presentation for Best News Channel (Digital) and Best Design (Digital).

But what's the secret to digital publication success? Jason shared four top tips for IC pros:

1. Get the foundations right – a publication can look or read great, but if it's not planned strategically, it will miss the mark
2. Know your audience – deliver what they want, bringing content to life
3. Make design and writing work hand in hand – aim for style and substance
4. Keep listening – good measurement is vital, so ask questions that will help you improve and act on feedback.

Next up was Becky to talk about #DigitalDiaries – a series of case studies produced for NHS Digital and UCLPartners – and winner of this year's IoIC Award for digital writing.

She spoke about the power of storytelling, throwing in a few handy hints for creating an engaging narrative:

5. Find the heart of the story by going back – talk about their inspiration, motivations, reasons as they often show the human roots of a story
6. Don't be afraid to ask 'what does that mean' or 'what are you talking about' – there's no such thing as a stupid question when you're trying to ensure clarity
7. Keep it conversational – that doesn't have to mean 'chatty'. You can have a serious conversation, an informal conversation, a comical conversation… but that word conversation is important. Your writing should flow as easily as talking to someone. 

Get dialled in

#AskFutureNet is a dedicated call for FutureNet members, giving you an opportunity to talk through challenges, solve problems, share ideas and get some IC inspiration in a judgement free zone with friends and peers.

Follow @IoICNews for more information about our next #AskFutureNet call.