The Storykit blog

Storykit has been one of the market's leading tools for easily scalable, professional video production for almost three years now. Today, over 300 companies and organisations produce their videos with Storykit.

Since last autumn, it is a legal requirement for all videos in the public sector in the EU to have subtitles and audio description. To facilitate this process, Storykit is now introducing automated voice-over.

– We understand that this functionality will make life easier for our users – especially our hundreds of users in the public sector – but making videos accessible to so many as possible should essentially be a priority for all organisations, said Peder Bonnier.

AI functionality

Automated voice-over is an extension of the AI functionality launched by Storykit last autumn, which enables users to produce video at an impressive speed.
– Our vision is to help companies and organisations to tell all their stories with video, and thanks to our AI, we have already solved many common issues. And now we solved another, said Peder Bonnier.

Initially, the voice-over function will be available in Swedish, English, and German, but more languages are coming soon. Fredrik Strömberg, VP Product at Storykit, said:
– It's a smart process in which we take the liberty to lengthen your video slightly if the text is long and requires more time. The voice can also be mixed with background music or other background sounds and be downloaded if required.

Video dominating social channels

With the use of automated voice-over, this task can be performed by anyone.– 
– There are certainly many occasions when a voice-over doesn't suffice as a complete audio description. But regarding the type of video content that is currently dominating our social channels – mainly scripted videos created for viewers that watch without sound – this function is going to be very helpful, said Fredrik Strömberg.

Not long ago, when customers felt the need to express disappointment or negative feedback to a company – they would call or send an email. Today, a brand’s Facebook or Instagram page is the go-to. And when customers turn to social media to vent, hundreds or even thousands might be watching. Social media is thus not only a place for customers to interact with brands they love – it’s a (sometimes unintentional) platform for customer service. Social media is obviously also a fantastic scene to get closer to your target audience.

As a social media communicator, I need to consider and balance both (at times reluctant) aspects. Here’s what I’ve learned: 

How to handle negative comments on social media

1. The kill them with kindness approach works

Often, most human beings just want to be acknowledged. You don't have to take on every discussion, sometimes just telling someone their opinion matter, is enough. No matter the subject.

2. Prejudices are sometimes helpful

The word prejudices here should obviously be taken with a pinch of salt. But when communicating with an audience, I make sure my tone of voice is appropriate with the assumptions I receive by viewing someone’s profile. Their age, experience of social media, the product we sell, etc. Make sure to meet them halfway, in a sense. 

3. Being witty will get you a long way

Being humorous without being sarcastic online can be a bit tricky. The best way to find your tone of voice is by experimenting. Referring to people by their names and adding emojis or GIFs to your comments are easy ways to connect with your audience. Look for every opportunity to come across as personable, warm, and friendly.

4. When aware of an error or mistake – be humble

It’s easy to take on a defensive approach when realizing there’s been a mistake. But on social media, evading an error only leads to a dead end. Instead, thank the customer for acknowledging and noticing the issue. A win-win as the customer comes forward as attentive – and yourself as humble.

5. Honor the service in customer service

The way to make your social platform an enjoyable place for your customers is by asking questions and replying as many comments as possible. The goal is to truly encourage a two-way conversation, rather than controlling an interaction in which only your messages comes across.

To make a video on social media you need a good script – but what is a good script? And how do you write one? Storykit asked a pro to share her best tips.

Want to learn more about scriptwriting? Download our e-book packed with tips and tricks here.

You can always improve your scriptwriting skills – especially by listening to other writers. Storykit talked to Anna Kleinwichs Magnusson, a copywriter who founded Stockholms Skrivbyrå (“writer’s agency”). In the podcast Storykit Talks she describes how she works with video scripts and shares some key insights. Here are her 10 best tips to write better scripts for social video:

1. Think before you write. What do you want to say – and to whom? How should you tell your story to this person? This way you can narrow the video. If you want to sum up as much information as possible – make several different videos instead. The tighter the angle – the better the video.
2. Make a disposition. Even if you’re just making a 15 second video with 4 lines of text. Make a list of what you want to include in the video and make sure it follows a dramaturgy – that it has a beginning, a middle and an ending. Then you can start with the copy.
3. Be very specific when you choose your words. If you can talk to a niche audience in their language, it’s likelier that you will get your message across. Avoid sweeping, abstract expressions, like “Full Service Agency”. Be precise.
4. Boil the copy down to micro copy. Just like when you’re boiling jam – you start with a pot full of berries. But the more you boil it down, the better the result. Rephrase until you find exactly what you want to say with as few words as possible.
5. Don’t forget punctuation. Finishing your sentences has a good feeling to it – to both readers and writers.
6. Always ask someone else to check your copy. Sometimes a word that seems normal to you might be awkward to others. One example might be “bursting” – for some it’s an energetic word, others feel uncomfortable reading it.
7. Try to be as positive as you can. If your video script has negative expressions, try to twist them around and make the statement in a positive sense.
8. Don’t be too formal. A good jargon is better than written standard in videos. Write as if you’re telling the story to your friend or your mum – without getting chatty.
9. If you get stuck: Ask yourself how you would make the video as bad as possible. A video that no one understands or want to watch. That way you might see clearly what needs to be done to make it good.
10. Tempo is key. Don’t write long sentences that won’t fit in one screen. And try to switch in even shorter sentences. Sometimes a sentence of 2-3 words can be more effective than 10 exclamation points.

If you know Swedish you can listen to the entire interview with Anna Kleinwichs Magnusson on our podcast Storykit Talks, you can find it on Apple, Google,  Spotify, or loads of other Podcast platforms.

Or, you can watch it on Youtube here:

The need for information in a crisis is basically endless. Video is certainly the best medium for delivering that information to your audience. The big question is how you can do that without making any mistakes. Let us help!

We are in the midst of a completely unique situation. As COVID-19 is spreading all over the world, the need for information is growing rapidly. We want to know what to do about our children’s swimming practices, what we can do with the tickets for the concert we were supposed to go to next week, if the local store has changed its opening hours – yes, we have questions regarding pretty much everything. 

Communicating with social video is the best thing companies can do right now. We know that video drives engagement and that people really do pay attention to, understand and remember information that has been communicated with video. We also know that social media is where we can reach our target groups, simply because that’s where they spend their time.

So, what do we need to consider when we create videos under these unprecedented circumstances? We have made a list of six fundamental issues to keep in mind.

6 things to consider when communicating with video in a crisis

1) Identify your target group and its needs

To know who you are talking to and why is fundamental when it comes to all types of communication. But if you are to inform people about something – especially concerning a situation that people are anxious about and when there is a lot of misinformation going around – you have to be absolutely certain about this. It’s a big difference between sharing new opening hours with your customers and reaching out to as many people as possible with hand-washing instructions.

Questions to ask yourself:

• Who are we talking to?
• What do they need to know?

2) Know your role

In general, companies usually have a lot of flexibility in regard to what subjects they can get involved with and talk about; even if it doesn’t concern their core activities, as long as it’s of interest to the audience. But in times of crisis, there must be firm boundaries in place. This is the time to only talk about subjects that are within one’s expertise. Otherwise, it might cause confusion, error and it could even harm people. Let the experts be the experts. 

Questions to ask yourself:

• What is our role in this situation? Is it truly our place to calm people down? Or caution them? (The answer is usually “No, our role is to inform them, and only about our business.”)
• Are we experts in this field? (If you are not, then leave it to the experts.)
• Is this subject really about us and our business?
•  Why are we doing this?

3) Take your video seriously

Video is usually a pretty playful format. But not now. On the contrary, it’s more important than ever to be as clear and concise as possible and to do the necessary research. If you have one minute; make sure that you take advantage of every single second. And avoid being too emotional. Although the video format is great for establishing a personal connection with your viewer, it’s hard to remain informative when emotions take hold of us.

Things to consider:

• Do the work: do careful research and express yourself efficiently.
• It’s ok to have a personal approach but remember to put your feelings aside when making an informative video. 

4) Be extremely clear

In this situation, you can be excessively clear in your videos. You can be clear about what you do know and also about what you don’t know. And make sure to include your sources and make your references clearer and more accessible than ever before. Consider adding a note like “this is official information” or “the advice comes from the Public Health Authority”.

Things to consider:

• Don’t spread any rumors. If you have to share information that you are not 100% sure about, make it very clear (write something like “we are posting updates on an ongoing basis”).
• Proper references are more important than ever.

Your audience's reaction can variate. Here's how to handle any negative comments.

5) Create new material and delete outdated posts

When the information is constantly changing, your communication must do so too. This is the time to create new videos continuously and – which is an unusual recommendation in the realm of social media – make sure to delete old videos. Of course, it hurts when you have to remove a video with 100,000 views, but you really must make sure that you are not holding on to videos that provide false, outdated information.

Things to consider:

• Create new videos as soon as the situation/information changes.
• Use time markers, like “this decision was made on Sunday afternoon” or “the current information suggests”. Why not use time markers at the beginning of the video for clarity?
•  Remove old videos!

6) Sharing is caring

In a crisis, you can ask people to share your video content – more explicitly than you normally would. People are much more inclined to share information that they consider important for others. It’s also very important to share others’ information, especially information outside of your expertise that would be useful for your audience.

Things to consider:

• Have the courage to ask people to share, both in the video and in your post
• Tell others if you have done great things and share it
• If you see others do great things: share, or ask if you may use parts of it
• When you want to provide information outside of your expertise: share!

With social media, you can reach the world with your content. But should you? Storykit explores the benefits and challenges of localizing your content on social media.

Do you want to know more about localizing video with Storykit? Let us know!

There are two trends in social media marketing right now. On the one hand, we are moving towards a more global market. On the other, we try to get as close to the recipient as possible.

Sarah Larsson Bernhardt
Head of Social på SKF

Sarah Larsson Bernhardt is Global Head of Social at SKF, one of Sweden’s largest brands in terms of global expansion. You can find the brand in 130 markets around the world. So making localized content is important.

– Although we are a global company based in Sweden, Swedes are very good at English and we exist in markets where English is spoken – it’s not always the case. If we are on social media, and social media is about the relationship between brand and consumer, then we have to communicate in local languages to be credible, she says.

Is the language the only thing you should think about?

– Language is the obvious part, but the choice of visuals and cultural aspects are also important. There can be different ways of telling things to make it feel natural, Sarah says, and continues:

– In Sweden, we may want to celebrate “The national cinnamon bun-day” in our social media feed. But in Indonesia, there might be other things they want to create content around. Another example is Christmas cards that are snowy in Sweden, but sunny in Brazil.

All about the resources

Traditional tabloid journalism has always been as local as possible, there is a reason why you mostly write about things happening in your hometown. Why isn’t this standard for marketing departments?

– It’s all about resources. Lack of time and competence challenges in the local offices often leads to you doing everything from the head office with English as the company language. But if you have the opportunity to localize, always take it. You get much closer to the audience, says Sarah Larsson Bernhardt.

So how do you localize content?

SKF has solved the challenge of lead times for translations and proofreading, by using Storykit as their tool for video creation. The head office makes a master copy, ensuring that text lengths and graphic profiles are consistent. Local offices then translate the script, change pictures and replace quoted people with a local representative.

– There is an internal pride in making a lot of videos – it engages our followers.

For anyone who does not use Storykit to localize a large amount of video, Sarah Larsson Bernhardt has one golden tip:

– Look at what is most important for you to communicate – at least customize that material.

You can hear the entire interview with Sarah Larsson Bernhardt in the Storykit Talks podcast (it’s in Swedish). Don’t miss her podcast Social by Default, which Sarah co-leads with Deeped Niclas Strandh (also in Swedish).

Or, you can watch the whole episode here:

One second. That's how much time you need to catch someone's attention before your reader has scrolled by. Here is everything you need to know to communicate with your customers on Instagram – successfully.

Instagram users are fast scrollers. Compared to Facebook, where the text comes first, Instagram works the opposite way: the focus is on the visual. That’s why you need to treat your social media channels differently. What works on one platform might not work everywhere.  

But how does advertising on Instagram set itself apart from other platforms? What are the do’s and dont’s? We asked social media expert Cecilia Lyche Simonsson, CMO at Be Better Online:

– Don’t be afraid to experiment, and try things out when it comes to social media. It’s always better to do than don’t.  

But Instagram is not just a news feed – there are numerous functions to market yourself. Here are some tips for the different features to try on Instagram.

How to use the different Instagram features

Instagram Stories 

The story-function is superior on Instagram. Loosen up your tie and use Instagram Stories for a generous and more personal approach.  

– We’re not talking about non-personal, non-social media. Dare to show a glimpse of the person behind the company, give a little more of yourself.  

Tips to master Instagram Stories for business

• Make sure you use the right format (9:16). Cover the screen and maximise your impression. 
• Post often – that will make you pop up in the story feed.  
• Be up to date – talk about what’s happening right now. 
• Recommend posts you’ve made in the news feed. Everyone hasn’t seen them.  
• Build a story. Make the viewer curious about what’s happening in the next story and encourage them to move forward. 
• Experiment! Since the story only has a 24-hour lifespan, there is a lot of room for trying out new ideas.  

Instagram Feed

When it comes to the feed, Cecila Lyche Simonsson recommends a variation between images and video to increase curiosity.  

– Video is great to increase engagement early in the buyer's journey. When you post images, the gallery function is very attractive and it encourages the viewer to interact with your content. We want to know more and will swipe to see what's on the next image.  

IGTV 

IGTV has been a feature on Instagram since 2018. Here you can post longer videos, compared to the news feed, where you are limited to 60 seconds. 

– There are divided opinions on IGTV in the industry. Some are very positive, while others mean that the users aren’t there yet: The audience doesn’t go to Instagram to watch long videos, says Cecilia Lyche Simonsson.  

Here are her best tips for IGTV: 

• Aim your content on IGTV to your loyal followers.  
• Even if the limit is one hour – avoid making the video too long. Even 10 minutes is too much.

3 common mistakes on Instagram 

All companies can thrive off Instagram marketing. You can push sales, build your brand image or attract new employers.  Many companies also audit Instagram – use it as a search engine for research. But a good presence requires an effort.  

To succeed, make sure you have time and money for advertising. When you’ve decided to use Instagram in your marketing there are some things you need to avoid.  

Here are Cecilia’s best advise to avoid common mistakes:  

1. You have multiple purposes with your post 

Are you expecting too much from one single post? If you want people to watch a video, while asking them a question and wanting them to click and convert – you can count on being disappointed.  

– Define your purpose. For example: “This post is to build loyalty with my existing followers”, and then you target it to a specific audience, says Lyche Simonsson.  

2. You're not being specific

Social media is like a chat room where everyone is typing at the same time and you need to catch their attention. That won’t happen if you’re talking in general terms when you’re aiming towards your target audience. You need to adjust your tone of voice so that your audience identifies with you.  

– If I say a sentence and put your name first, you will listen, says Lyche Simonsson.  

3. You’re targeting the wrong audience 

Avoid selecting target audiences by demographics, like age, gender and area code. Use data and target users based on their behaviour. Create target audiences from your existing customers, people who have shown interest in your products and/or have visited your website, says Cecilia Lyche Simonsson.  

Checklist for sponsored content on Instagram: 

• Define your purpose. Limit yourself to one purpose per post. What do you want the viewer to do? 
• Let the purpose guide your choice of channels and format – not the opposite.  
• Create your video/image and copy – adjusted to your target audience, and keep your focus on your purpose. 
• Before you publish – ask yourself if your post will add value to the audience. Don't assume that your audience is interested in the same things as you are.  
• Use the platform’s tools, like a pixel on your webpage, or look-alike-audiences, to optimize your targeting with data. 
• If it’s possible – do A/B-testing, where you can try out different images or target audiences.  
• Hitting “Publish” doesn’t mean that you’re done! Now the real work begins; optimizing your ad to increase effectiveness over time.