The Storykit blog

It’s been several thousand years since the philosopher Aristotle stated that a story should consist of three parts: a beginning, a middle, and an end. Since Aristotle, a lot has changed concerning how we define stories and how we tell our stories. Today there are a plethora of other classic storytelling structures that can help you along the way.

But, you might be thinking, isn't it cheating to start from an existing structure? Or do I not compromise my creativity if I use a template? Naturally, the answer to both of these questions is no.

Storytelling structures and templates not only save time, evoke creativity, and lets you add what's important, and remove the stuff that's not. 

Let's list some storytelling techniques that work just as well for a lecture as for a video or a Facebook post.

1. Three acts, or "Tell it like Steve Jobs"

As most of you probably know, Steve Jobs, the founder of Pixar and Apple, was one of the most successful commercial storytellers of his time. Looking at the lectures he gave in connection with Apple's product release are still true crash courses in storytelling. He also applied one of the most classic storytelling structures, borrowed directly from Hollywood.

He divided his stories into three acts: “Setup”, “Confrontation”, and “Resolution”

1. Setup: Here we’re introduced to the existing world and why there’s a problem with the status quo. We also meet some kind of hero.

2. Confrontation: in act two, challenges arise and an event forces our hero to solve a number of problems or to overcome an obstacle to reach his goal.

3. Resolution: in the last act, the hero finally defeats the antagonist or solves the problem, which ultimately makes the world a better place.

Example:

2. Steve Jobs according Dave Gerhardt 

The marketer Dave Gerhardt at Drift sat down and studied lots of lectures by Steve Jobs, and he then created his own version of Jobs' narrative structure, which might feel clearer to some:

1. Tell a story: start with a story or a hook to engage the audience. This can be something personal, like “this morning, when my daughter spilled milk, I realized that...”.

2. Pose a problem: clarify the problem. If you’re a marketer, you should keep this short and simple by focusing on one single problem.

3. State the solution: the obvious order is to state the solution to the problem.

4. Proof: proving that you’re telling the truth is important at this stage. You might use the voice of a customer or use some other method to get the audience to trust your solution.

5. CTA: what is the viewer supposed to do with this information? What does it lead to? Be clear.

Example:

3. Simon Sinek's The Golden Circle 

If you haven’t seen Simon Sinek's TED Talk “How Great Leaders Inspire Action” then it's really time for you to do so. With his framework, you can quickly tell a story that goes deep:

1. Why: Think like Sinek “start with why”. Why are you there? What do you want the audience to feel?

2. How: How do you fulfill your why?

3. What: What do you do to fulfill your why (it’s here you mention your products and services).

Example:

4. BAB, or Before – After – Bridge

This is a classic copywriter trick that’s easy to use in any type of storytelling:

1. Before: describe your current world and its problems.

2. After: describe what your world would look like if the problem was solved.

3. Bridge: this is how you get there.

Example:

5. PAS, or Problem – Agitate – Solve

This is another excellent trick borrowed directly from the copywriter world to quickly paint a picture in your story:

1. Problem: identify the problem

2. Agitate: amplify the problem until you make it uncomfortable.

3. Solve: solve the problem.

Example:

6. Star – Chain – Hook

This model is great simply because it’s so easy to remember. Imagine a star, a chain, and a hook—and you’re set.

1. Star: open with something that catches your viewer’s attention, something positive.

2. Chain: the chain is a series of compelling facts, advantages, sources, or evidence proving that your introductory “star” is trustworthy.

3. Hook: the hook is your powerful Call To Action. What should the viewer do next?

Another way of looking at this structure is that the Star catches the audience's attention, the Chain creates their need for the solution and the hook shows what they should do to get their hands on the solution.

Example:

If you truly want to understand how well your storytelling on social media is working, there is an outstanding tool for this: Audience Retention.

(You can find retention graphs on many social platforms, but in this e-book we will be focusing on Facebook Audience Retention, since it’s one of the easiest to use and understand.)

What is audience retention? 

Audience retention (sometimes referred to as “viewer retention”) measures the proportion of viewers of a video who watches the video through to the end. At Storykit we believe that retention is the single most important metric for every video producer who wants to tell stories in social.  There are, of course, loads of metrics that can be important for  you to know if your work is having any effect. But retention is is the only metric that will tell you anything about the actual quality  of your video. It’s also a truth-teller regarding what your viewers genuinely think about your video. So if you haven’t paid any attention to your retention graphs, it’s about time.

Understanding the retention graph

To understand how to interpret retention, we have to examine the full retention graph. What we should do is to divide the graph into three separate parts with fundamentally different “meaning”. A drop in retention at the start or towards the end of a video simply does not mean the same thing as a drop in retention right in the middle.

A typical retention curve from the Facebook newsfeed looks something like this:

In this fictional video 5% of the initial audience stays until the video is finished. Not great, right? But is it really so terrible? And more interesting yet — what could have been done to improve it? To determine, we have to break this retention curve down further.

1. The targeting drop

Independent on how great your f ilm is, a lot of people will drop out during the first 10 % of playtime because of targeting — the video is simply not relevant for them. This is primarily due to the nature of distribution which — in the case of the Facebook newsfeed — relies on ”auto-play”. The viewer has not chosen to see this film — it has simply appeared in their feed.

There are ways of reducing the targeting drop, but we don’t think you should worry about this too much. There is natural selection of audience in this drop that can be productive for the rest of your f ilm. One could even argue that if there is no targeting drop, the video has been underdistributed, because everyone it reaches want to actually watch it.

2. The outro drop

Let’s be honest: People do not stay to watch your great-looking outro. The story is finished, so they move on. If you have your most important information in the outro, you should probably rethink your script. If not — you should not worry about this drop too much. But this is also why you shouldn’t focus on how many viewers you still have left at 95%  of the video.

You will be losing viewers in the beginning and the end of your video. Don’t worry too much about it.

3. The zone of productivity

Between the “Targeting drop” and “The Outro drop” is “The Zone of Productivity”. This is the part of the video that you should really evaluate. These are viewers that have chosen to watch your film, who have decided to consume it, and who have not yet watched it to its actual finish (before the “Outro drop”).

This part of the curve, obviously, should be as flat as possible. In this hypothetical film, we loose 1/3 of the viewers in the area of productivity. Maybe not great, but way better than 95%. But most importantly: we now have a real foundation for analyzing our video. It is obvious that we are loosing viewers at two specific points in the video:

In this example we have identified two parts of our video and our script that we need to examine closer to create a perfect video. Luckily, in Facebook it is extremely easy to scroll the retention graph and get a clear idea of where in your video the audience is dropping off.

Use these insights to create even better video, the next time!

Storykit already enables thousands of users on hundreds of organisations to make videos in minutes. 

– Our vision has always been to help companies and organisations to tell their stories with video. But, as the journey takes us further, we see that every organisation holds loads of individuals experienced and comfortable in writing, but doesn’t know how to make video. Those are the ones that suddenly do wonders once they start using the tool, says Peder Bonnier, CEO of Storykit.

The expansion is taking place both in the Swedish market and a number of new European markets.

– We are growing at warp speed, our growth rate is approximately 100%, and we’re getting close to an ARR of  SEK 50 million. Our team has doubled this year, and we continuously recruit new talents to more or less every department, says Peder Bonnier.

New VP Growth

Among the latest recruits is Carolin Christiansson, most recently from the fintech company Bambora, where she’s had leading positions in product and sales. At Storykit, Carolin takes on the role as VP Growth in which she’ll be responsible for accelerating Storykit’s growth rate even further.

– I am tremendously happy that Carolin wants to join our journey. With her experience and talent for growing businesses at high rates, she will hold a key position in levelling up the team a lot further, says Peder Bonnier.

– Joining Storykit is, of course, extremely exciting. The company is growing at a fantastic pace, the product is unique, and the team we are building is top level. I’m looking forward to doing this full throttle with them, says Carolin Christiansson.

We have to talk about “likes”. Or... it is perhaps mean to single out likes, so let’s instead talk about the term “vanity metrics”.

Simply put, vanity metrics are measurements that make you or your brand look good, even though they don’t say much. These measurements don’t help you to reach your goals or to make informed decisions for future strategies.

But what should you look at if you shouldn’t look at likes and comments? Can you even use video for something else than for the early stages of the buyer’s journey, when you want to get the attention of the audience? Can video really provide business benefits?

Well, yes of course! You can, and should, use video in every step of the funnel. And set goals that align with what you want to achieve. Let's take a look.

Top of funnel = awareness

When you pour the audience down into the top of the funnel, the purpose is to create awareness of the problems that your product or service solves. And to put your brand in front of the audience so that they know you exist. 

At this stage of the funnel, you can really explore your storytelling and the topics that the audience is curious about. What feeling you want to evoke in the recipient is much more important than what you want to say about the product. Just remember to be clear when it comes to brand. You want to evoke feelings that become associated with your brand, and this can be done through clear brand colors, logos, jingles, or slogans. 

KPI examples are: views, retention and engagement.

Mid funnel = consideration

In the middle of the funnel, we take a big step closer to the product or service we sell, even though we are still more focused on creating value for the user than simply selling the product. At this stage, you should help the audience to make informed decisions, and your role is to be a credible sidekick along the way. You often want the audience to leave the platform and come to your site. The goal is to tell a good story while also saving a piece for later so that the audience is inclined to continue clicking. You should not be ashamed to create videos that mainly act as eye-catchers or small teasers.

KPI examples are: CTR, whitepaper downloads and webinar or event bookings.

Bottom of funnel = decision 

Now it’s time to sell! Don’t be ashamed to express yourself clearly. This material almost immediately employs a call to action because the purpose is to get the user to buy. Hopefully, the audience knows what your company stands for and what they can do with your product. Should you ever invest resources in creating many different types of videos, do it during this phase. Don’t do it only to convey a thousand different messages, do it to test a thousand different ways to continuously find what attracts the most potential buyers. 

KPI examples: meetings booked, sales-qualified leads and purchases. 

This article is an extract from our e-book “Winning with video in a social world”. Want to read the whole thing and learn ALL about setting the right goals in a video strategy that will make your business grow? Download your free, packed guide here!

‍Want to know more about the #1 video tool for storytellers? Just let us know!

When our users start making videos in Storykit, their video production rate tends to shoot through the roof. It is not unusual that their video content production increases by 400% or more. And that is amazing. But at the same time, it’s a fact that 99% of all companies doing their marketing through videos do not make enough video content (and to be honest, that applies to Storykit too 😅).

How come it is so important to create plenty of videos? 

– Essentially, it comes down to how the digital world works. This is not only related to video content but to all types of content: The digital offering is incredibly big and interchangeable, and the amount of content published is bigger than you can even imagine. Users, on the other hand, have increasingly high expectations for the content to be relevant for them, as individuals, says Fredrik Strömberg, VP Product at Storykit, and continues:

– The only way to learn how to reach out in this swarm of content is to try a thousand different ways and do it a thousand times.

The infinite need to communicate

Moreover, the need to communicate different types of stories at every marketing and communications department is infinite. 

– There will always be more stories to tell. More press releases or blog posts being published, more product releases, and more quotes from the employees that should be put in print. This means that a person that works with communication should strive to tell everything, everywhere, and preferably also at the same time. 

But of course, there is a problem with this. 

– It would be incredibly expensive to execute. The stories are there, but neither the resources nor the time is available. 

When it comes to video content, a majority don’t even think it is doable. 

– Many people still believe that when it’s time to create a video, you get four guys dressed in safari vests with heavy cameras that will send a juicy invoice in return for the work performed. That’s why many people have this notion that we need to make ONE video to cover it all. However, that is not the way to go about it: A better way is to do one video for every detail. 

The shortcut to loads of videos

So how does one make many videos, then? 

– One of the more efficient methods is to work with formats. And, again: This goes for all content, including video content, which is something that many tend to forget. Working with formats is an amazingly efficient shortcut, both for your productivity and your communication. 

Tell us more!

– There is a vast amount of science showing that habits and routines are good for us. The same thing applies to content. For you, as a content creator, things go faster if you do not have to figure out how a new story should be told each time. And for the recipient, it is much easier to follow and absorb content in a format they are already familiar with. To put it in another way: By sticking to a set format, you make it easier for yourself to create good content by removing unnecessary hinders. 

Classic editorial trick

When throwing an eye on how most editorial offices work, one must admit that Fredrik is absolutely correct: To work with formats is a classic editorial trick to create a fundamental structure for content that is quick to produce, and that shapes the habits of the recipient. 

– A common misconception is that using format kills creativity. But in fact, it is the other way around! Working with format is one of the best creative shortcuts, because you will always get a bunch of interesting answers popping up in your head if you look at your content and think “could I make a personal portrait out of this?”, or “are there some interesting numbers I can analyse here?”. It is so unnecessary to waste time by starting from scratch over and over again. 

Transform your digital content strategy: Maximize results with video today!

Increasing the accessibility of your video content is essentially a matter of catering to more people. 

– No less than 20% of all people have some form of disability, so if you adapt your content, more people will be able to access your information, says Mikael Hellman, visual communicator at the city of Malmö in Sweden.

Since last autumn, it's now a legal requirement for all companies within the public sector in the EU to include subtitles and audio descriptions in their videos. Still, all companies can benefit from increasing the accessibility of their video content.

The question is, does that require a lot of extra work and resources? Just the thought of including subtitles and audio descriptions in all videos is enough to freak anyone out. But don't fret. Here are five great tips about how you can do it without breaking a sweat. 

1. Focus on the manuscript

Most people watch videos on mute on social channels. This has naturally evolved into most videos being subtitled for social platforms. Having a good manuscript has therefore become the very foundation of any successful video. We at Storykit recommend that you write the manuscript first. Why not create a first version of the video, using only a white font against a black background? If that works on its own, you can then improve it with the imagery of your choice. 

This method makes it a lot easier to create highly accessible video content. Your text/subtitles are already sorted, and in order to create the audio description, you only need the manuscript to be read out loud. If you are using Storykit our automated voice-over function takes care of this in a few seconds!

– 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, says Fredrik Strömberg, VP Product at Storykit.

Read all about the automated voice-over in Storykit here.

2. Simplify your manuscript 

• Write shorter sentences, for example, by removing "and". Use full stop instead and split it into two sentences.
• It's always better to opt for basic words in a video manuscript.
• Avoid abbreviations and parentheses as much as possible. It makes the text more difficult to read out loud.
• Don't repeat yourself.

3. Larger fonts, fewer words 

Larger fonts make it easier for the viewer. The larger, the better. When you work with script-driven videos it's essential to write text that's easy for everyone to read. By using fewer words per slide, you make it more accessible. 

4. Improve your story 

As you scale down the number of words you use, you can also be more discerning in terms of what information you want to include. An example: If you have a quote, you can add a slide with the following text: "The Mayor of London explains". 

5. Use colours and graphics

It's important to choose colors that don't blend in with the text. You're best off using a background plate to make sure that the text really stands out in many instances. Remember to use contrasting colors on the background plate and the text. White text on a yellow background is, for example, not advisable. 

All Storykit slide templates have been designed with contrasting colours, as they were created with high accessibility in mind. The user can also adjust the colours to increase the contrast. Since we always keep accessibility in mind, it's harder to "go wrong" in Storykit than other tools.

6. Avoid complex elements

A moving graph can be challenging to understand, as with all other images that are packed with information, so avoid these. Also, keep in mind that graphics can be confusing for people that are colour-blind. A red and a green box may not be enough to illustrate "yes" and "no", but the words "yes" and "no" must also be included.