Andrew Vetsch
ENG 256-01
Dr. Licastro
One of the biggest challenges facing a website is not only engaging the viewer, but also keeping the viewer interested so that it becomes easier to sell a product. One of the tactics advertisers use as they create a convincing advertisement is multimodal. Multimodal text is defined as the strategic use of ‘two or more communication modes’ to make meaning, for example image, gesture, music, spoken language, and written language’ (1). Multimodal text is defined by different aspects. One of those aspects is visual storytelling. Visual storytelling, for those who don’t know, is when an artist tells a story without spoken dialogue, it’s told through visual imagery such as the setting, and the characters’ emotions, rather than what they speak.
To attract more viewers for the Asylee Women Enterprise, me and Deandra Coleman have decided to create a Q&A slide-show to increase a viewer’s knowledge on the refugee issue. There will be a photo along with a question at the top. When the viewer clicks on the right arrow, the answer will be on the bottom-right of the photo. The questions could be seen as a test on the viewer’s knowledge, rather than ask personal questions such as where viewers see themselves five years from now. The questions and answers are based on studies found by the International Organization for Migration, or IOM, and the UN Refugee Agency, or the UNHCR. All numbers are estimate. The questions are aimed at visitors of the Asylee Women Enterprise website to make the website more interactive by making the viewer more knowledgeable on the refugee issue. By making the visitors of the website more knowledgeable, they feel the need to help the organization’s cause.
The first question will give the viewer an idea how many refugees the organization is looking to help:
How many migrants and refugees reached Europe via the Mediterranean route in 2015?
The answer is approximately 1 million. According to the UNHCR, in the year 2015, around 1 million migrants have crossed the sea from Turkey to Greece. About 150,000 reached Italy from Northern Africa.
The second question will aims to give the viewer how devastating this issue has turned out for some:
According to IOM and UNHCR, this is the number of dead-missing people who tried to cross the Mediterranean. About 20% were children.
The answer: Approximately 4,000
The third question will be the most mathematical, giving viewers an idea of the issue, percentage wise.
According to UNHCR Global Trends 2014, 232 out of every 1000 inhabitants are refugees of this country:
The answer is Lebanon.
The fourth question will on how big an issue this is:
On average, how many people in the world flee their homes due to violence, conflict and persecution?
The answer is 1 million.
The fifth question will be a follow up the last question:
How many people in the world flee their homes due to violence, conflict and persecution per minute?
The answer is 24.
The sixth question aims to delve into what is a refugee to the person taking the quiz,
Who counts as a refugee?
The answer is a person who fled natural disaster or persecution.
The seventh question, much like the previous, aims to delve into what an immigrant is for the person taking the quiz
Who counts as an asylum seeker?
The answer is a person who has left their home country and seeks safety in a foreign country.
The eighth question, much like the last two, aims to delve into what an immigrant is for the person taking the quiz.
Who counts as an immigrant?
The answer is a person who moves to a foreign country.
The ninth question will focus on refugees that returned to their country of origin:
In 2015, how many refugees returned to their countries of origin?
The answer is 200,000.
The tenth question will focus on how many refugees the United States are hosting.
In 2015, UNHCR submitted 134,000 refugees for resettlement. How many did the United States accept?
The answer is 66,500. The correct answer will also state that that’s 49 percent of the refugees.
The ninth question will follow-up with how many refugees the United States is hosting
The answer is 2.5 million.
The tenth, and final, question will focus on how the refugee issue impacts children accompanying the refugees:
According to UNHCR, how many children were unaccompanied or separated:
The answer is 100,000.
These questions aim to increase the viewer’s knowledge on the refugee issue, which potentially increases chances of getting customers since they now know that the refugee issue is not something that has an easy answer, and that this is a big deal. The Q&A hopes to draw in customers by increasing their knowledge on the refugee issue.
Making an interactive Q&A is a great way to engage and convert customers. By delivering interactive, relevant content instead of simply asking website visitors to fill out a form, brands and organizations forge stronger relationships with their ideas and customers and deliver something of value before asking for information in return.
WORKS CITED
- “Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2015.” UNHCR: The UN Refugee Agency. UNHCR, 20 June 2016. Web. <http://www.unhcr.org/576408cd7.pdf>.