– Yes, I make a lot of movies. About cases, white papers, and blog posts. I also create a lot of videos internally, including an employee survey presentation, and I also helped our CEO with a video for a Christmas event instead of just doing a PowerPoint.
Are you seeing any results from your videos?
– I publish 2-3 times a week on our Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts and I can see that it's widening our reach and it has improved our ability to communicate our messages.
Petra has also found that video is helpful when you want to lighten up certain complex topics.
– Our work can be perceived as pretty technically dense. Our texts tend to be quite specific and technical, but we can lighten it up by splitting it into a series of videos. That's why we have a lot of videos on our website.
Going forward, Petra wants to further increase the pace.
– There are areas I'm yet to explore with video and making videos is so much fun!
Advenica provides expertise and world-class high assurance cybersecurity solutions for critical data in motion up to Top Secret classification. They enable countries, authorities and companies to raise information security and digitalise responsibly.
It was easy to convince the company to invest in the tool, according to Petra.
– I used a simple financial argument. We were previously ordering videos via an agency, and it didn't give us a lot of videos for the price that we were paying. For the same price, I am now able to create as many videos as I want in Storykit – throughout an entire year.
Thanks to the fact that she can now make her own videos, Petra is able to work much more efficiently.
– Although an agency previously did the job, it was a slow process. Most of the time I had to write the script myself and proofreading was always required. Now I can get the work done so much faster; I just get going and before I know it, I have created a video and sent it off to a colleague. It's absolutely incredible how quick and easy it is, and it always looks incredibly professional.
- It's just as user-friendly as I had imagined. I'm just about to teach a colleague as well and I know that she will enjoy making videos as much as I do. The customer support has been brilliant whenever I've come across a problem.
Petra Lamorell, Marketing Manager at cybersecurity company Advenica, really wanted to work more with video.
– It was clear to me that video works better in social channels compared to when you only use photos and text, and that it's easier to explain something, such as a product.
For this reason, Storykit caught her interest.
– An ad popped up on LinkedIn and as soon as I got more insight into the tool, I knew that it was exactly what I needed.
Christoffer has also noticed that video content makes Bil-Nilsson more visible on Google.
– I have worked quite a bit with SEO for our website and I can see that when we are using video, which generates more clicks, our ranking improves as well.
– Video is simply a central part of the ecosystem and hopefully we it's also reflected in the business.
Having access to Storykit has been fundamental for Christoffer, since it has enabled him to create the quality content in short time:
– I can't work in Premiere Pro. It would take me far too long to create videos with traditional video editing software. Storykit has been so important for me, because it saves me so many hours. And it also looks really great.
In addition to everything else, Christoffer produces two videos per week on average.
How do you find the time?
– Since Storykit allows me to create videos so quickly and efficiently, creating videos doesn't demand too much of my time at all. The time-consuming part is doing the research and writing the articles. When I am done with the article, I just insert it into the video template, and then it's done.
Christoffer has a lot of ideas for the future:
– I want to bring our mechanics into the spotlight and make videos with car hacks and tips, and it would be fun if our employees could write chronicles. I also want to focus on some of our favourite spots in Alingsås... There is so much!
Do you have any tips for companies that struggle to find their stories?
– When I worked at Spoon, we used to talk about finding a specific sweet spot, half-way between the customer's needs and your sales goals. All companies have stories and you can always start by highlighting your employees. Another tip is to gather people from different departments and just brainstorm freely. It tends to get the ball rolling on some interesting stories.
Bil-Nilsson is a family owned car dealership and is proud to off vehicle-related products and services.
Therefore, Christoffer has established a number of various content formats to create brand recognition.
– We have our “Bil-Nilsson Story” for example, where we tell stories about our staff. It helps us to connect with the customers in a personal way, and it also works a bit like employer branding. I also do "The Classic of the Week", where we present a classic car model, which helps us to position ourselves as experts when it comes to the history of our industry, and there is a rich history to be told about the world of Volvo and Renault.
With the third format, Bil-Nilsson takes a step out from the company's premisses to contribute to the local community of Alingsås.
– When the pandemic hit, we felt a need to do something to celebrate some of the companies and entrepreneurs of our town. Those people who provide us all with local products and services, which creates a great environment for the entire community. We created the hashtag and concept #alingsåsärfantastiskt, which means "Alingsås is fantastic", and we do outdoor events in collaboration with different local companies and present their businesses. We also have articles on the blog and video in our social channels.
What are the benefits of working with formats?
– As I am the only marketeer at the company, my time is very limited, and having the format simplifies my work significantly. Especially when I create my videos with Storykit. When I have written a new article, I simply pick out the best bits to make a video with one of the templates I have created in Storykit.
Why do you have such a big focus on video?
– I can spend endless amounts of time on our website and our articles, but if I don't get any traction on our social channels it's all a waste. Videos get a lot more attention, especially in social channels.
– Video is also effective on our website. I can create a video ad for a car, or an instruction video about our process for people that bring their cars to us, instead of just writing a long boring text for the site.
Christoffer Hiding is the Marketing Coordinator at Bil-Nilsson in Alingsås close to Gothenburg; a job title that includes a lot of responsibilities.
– One day I take care of things that need to be done at the shop and the next day I create video content for our social channels. I handle the marketing department on my own, which means that I do everything marketing related.
With an extensive background in content marketing, including a role at the Spoon agency in Stockholm, Christoffer is well aware of how impactful a structured content strategy can be.
– Bil-Nilsson covers a pretty small market, so we want to approach our customers in a personal manner, with an emphasis on local engagement, and creating good content is one of the ways which we are able to do that.
Oliver's work has yielded positive results.
– Our videos are easily our most engaged with content. We always see a big spike in engagement when we have published a video.
Speed and simplicity are essential to Oliver, but he is also very pleased with the level of professionality.
– We've tried to replicate organizations with high performing social channels by matching and exceeding the quality of their video production. Our team is too small to reach these specific channel's production rate, but we wanted to match the quality of their videos, which I think we do with Storykit.
Oliver would also like to use the tool to make short documentaries in the future.
– I would like to make them in Storykit without digging too much into other software. I'm quite proficient in Premiere Pro, but using it to create every video from scratch would take way too long. Working in Storykit reduces my video production time by 90%.
This is not just something Oliver says.
– We are constantly striving to optimise our processes, and hence we measure how much time we spend on each video. I would never be able to create video so quickly and in such high quality with any other tool.
Oliver will soon be onboarding two new colleagues to the Storykit team.
– Once they have learned the software, they'll never want to use any other video tool.
Gridlines is a British financial modelling company that supports their clients with financial modelling, valuations and due diligence.
Since then, Oliver has been able to dish out the company's stories quickly and efficiently.
– We have many stories to tell, and we have established a quick process. At this point I know how to structure a manuscript and what is needed, so it's easy for us to discuss a topic and put together a video. This is a great advantage, especially when we want to talk about a current topic.
When the British financial modelling company decided to invest in video production for their social channels, they spent quite a bit of time searching for the ultimate tool.
– Due to my previous experience with Premiere Pro, we decided to compare it to Adobe Spark and Storykit, says Oliver Durston, marketing manager at Gridlines.
They performed a simple test: Oliver made the exact same video using the three video tools.
– It took me four hours to finish the video in Premiere Pro. It was a bit quicker with Adobe Spark, but I encountered some technical limitations, which was annoying. With Storykit, I managed to finish the video in less than half an hour, although I was a beginner.
What were the results?
Oliver gathered his colleagues to show them all three videos without telling them what software he had been using.
– Everyone thought that the Storykit video was best, by far. And I was happy because I preferred Storykit: it's far more intuitive than the other tools, I really enjoy the built-in video library, and the support has been great.
They were off to a flying start in Storykit.
– Learning Storykit was easy. It was a positive surprise to realise how simple it was to start using it, says Malin Skoog, Marketing Coordinator at ESSVE.
After only a couple of weeks, Malin and Caroline had produced over 150 videos.
– We were going on a tour and needed to make three videos for all the 25 cities we intended to visit. Additionally, we made each video in two different formats. By copying each job, changing background images, and adapting each video for every city, the process was really smooth.
Duplicating and adapting videos to the local context is something that Malin and Caroline have continued doing.
– Through Storykit we have ramped up our video production, also in our other markets. We work in a centralised manner here in Sweden to make videos, and in accordance with our content calendar, we make a certain amount of videos per month. Then we use slide notes in the tool to write an English translation so that our colleagues in other markets can translate it to their local language. After that, we send them the video through the tool, and notify them by e-mail that they can get the video directly through Storykit, says Malin.
Which are the benefits of centralising making video in-house instead of producing video content locally for each market?
– The most significant benefit is that we are saving their time. Our marketers have a big workload, and by getting nearly completed videos, they can publish the content in no time. Something else to consider is that the brand becomes more consistent – we retain control over the video experience, says Caroline.
Today ESSVE publishes a total of around 35 videos per month, and the work has been paying off.
– The Click Through Rate (CTR) has definitely increased for our Facebook videos. We experiment quite a bit to understand how to make videos that give the biggest effect, says Malin.
Are there any disadvantages to working in Storykit?
– Haha, maybe that one wants to make everything in a video format and that everyone starts providing suggestions for upcoming videos. The tool gives us huge opportunities, so it is important to set up a strategy for how and when to use it, says Caroline.
Essve is one of the leading fastening companies in Europe. Since 1970, they have been making everyday life easier, safer and more profitable for construction professionals in the industry.
Instead, Caroline and her colleagues started working in Storykit.
– We realised that Storykit would be perfect for enabling us to create more video content by ourselves. None of us had any video creating experience since before: I would say we are a classic marketing department with some knowledge of Photoshop, Illustrator, and PowerPoint, but video editing was new to all of us. With Storykit, we can suddenly create videos by ourselves, and as the tool is so simple to use, we can give more people in our organisation access to it, says Caroline.
By making the videos in-house, they speeded up the production radically.
– We can now work much faster, have more flexibility, and save a vast amount of time, says Caroline.
Since 1970, ESSVE is a leading fastening company in the Nordics. For example, the company sells over 5 million screws – every day.
– Our biggest sales channels are our retailers, but in our marketing, we are also targeting the end consumer: The carpenter, says ESSVE’s Brand Manager, Caroline Larsson.
To reach out with their message, they mostly use social media.
– We use Facebook and Instagram and work actively with the website. The amount of ”traditional” marketing we do is meager, says Caroline.
Why did you start working with video content?
– We recognised the need and noticed the increasing popularity of video. However, we also realised that we were lagging. Previously we worked with big, expensive agency productions. Despite the fact that we have a reasonable marketing budget we couldn’t afford spending 40 000 SEK (approximately 4 000 EUR) per video, given the fact that our intention was to produce several videos every week.
However, the idea is not to completely stop buying videos from external studios.
– We want to continue making more prominent and more advanced videos, but with Storykit we can do a lot of efficient video in-house. With the platform, we can also tell a lot more stories with video: for instance, I'd love to try to communicate more internally with short videos. For example, if we would replace a system, we could inform and educate our colleagues about it using video created in Storykit.
What is the biggest challenge when an organization like yours want to communicate on social media?
– As for everyone else: to be relevant in the right context. It is true as they say today: "Content is king, and context is queen".
– This means that we can produce even more video. For example, we want to customize our messages to a much greater extent so that the communication feels relevant to the audience around every billboard, and that is incredibly easy to do in Storykit, says August Jakobsson, Communications Officer, City of Stockholm.
Another advantage is that they can now work even faster.
– For example, we will be able to produce crisis information to the screens, without any extended lead times.
To further simplify video production, Storykit has developed a number of templates for the City of Stockholm, tailor-made for OOH.
– We need to be able to adapt the message to fit the billboards. We work very hard to get the message across in 10 seconds. Using Storykit, we can now deliver material to the web, video to social media and billboards when something happens in a short amount of time, which is an extremely cost-effective way to work, says August Jakobsson
Start.stockholm is a website that provides information about Stockholm, Sweden. It includes an overview of the city's history, culture, attractions, and practical information for visitors. It also highlights Stockholm's sustainability initiatives and offers resources for entrepreneurs and businesses interested in establishing themselves in the city.
Since last summer, the City of Stockholm are using Storykit for their video production.
– We wanted to be able to tell stories in an objective, educational and entertaining manner. We also wanted our videos to look good. I was thinking of developing Adobe Premier templates mimicking KIT's video look, but with Storykit we could just start working instead.
Now August and his colleagues can create their own video in Storykit instead.
– It's the perfect tool when we need to be fast but still work with high quality. This type of content, fully adapted for social media, really helps us reach through the noise.
With the help of Video Studio, more people in the communications department can create video.
– People who previously planned the video and wrote the script, but didn't know how to edit the video, can now complete the entire project on their own.
The official website start.stockholm has around 18 million visitors a year, but when they truly want to reach out, the City of Stockholm communications department is also actively working with social media.
– We see that people visit Stockholm.se to look for specific things, such as how to apply for preschool or school. But when we want to reach out with information, the website is no longer the right platform to use, says August Jakobsson, Communications Officer, City of Stockholm.
For this type of content, video is often an excellent choice.
– Video is a suitable format for many reasons, partly because it's a great way to tell stories, but also since it can be shared in its entirety and is easily portable in social media. This makes video easy to distribute.
The results? Since the introduction of short videos and their new strategy they have increased their number of viewers on Youtube with a massive 2900% and seen a 25% increase in subscribers. And they don’t want to stop there:
– We want to be the biggest Youtube community in terms of business in Poland, says Paweł Sołtys.
Instead of filming bald guys in ties, Paweł’s team creates videos like these:
A social campaign in Portugal used Neymars overreaction on the field as a meeage not to call emergency number without a reason.
A social campaign in Portugal used Neymars overreaction on the field as a meeage not to call emergency number without a reason.
Bankier.pl is a trusted financial and business website since 2000, providing content and tools to assist with money management decisions. They aim to offer reliable and valuable information on investing, personal finance, taxes, and running a business.
Paweł and his team realized they had to take action and do something else, so they started using Storykit Video Studio, and combined forces with digital marketing specialists.
– Paweł gave me free hands and pretty much told me: this is the content we currently produce, but we should try something else, says Agata Zych, Social Media Specialist at Bankier.pl.
Bankier.pl had just started working with Storykit, and the tool was a superb fit for Agata's strategy.
– We introduced short videos and began working strategically with them.
To create the most significant impact Agata, Paweł’s video team and Bankier.pl’s editors started working as a video newsroom with focus on real time search optimization.
– Every morning we are exchanging ideas and do our daily planning. What topics are trending? Do we have video material? Which story can be told better with a video instead of text, says Agata.
– We always work hard to create something different. We know that the classic business videos, often interviews with bald guys in ties, don’t work on Youtube or social media, says Paweł.
The business site Bankier.pl is one of the most visited websites in Poland, but the last few years they have seen a rapid shift from text to video.
– We knew we had to do something on Youtube. But Youtube in Poland is filled with entertainment, not business news, says Paweł Sołtys, Chief of Audio Visual.
They were posting traditional business videos on their channel but struggled to reach out to their audiences.
– Since we were telling business stories, many of our users perceived them as difficult and complicated. Also, the formats we were producing were quite time-consuming, many of our videos were 30-40 minutes long. And, as we all know: time is money.
