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How Storykit enables Skandia to create all the professional video content they need
Storykit is able to help Skandia achieve the type of storytelling they need to do on a daily basis.
– We no longer need to use photographers and motion designers in all of our projects, and we have a team of people that create videos. If you have a good story, anyone can create video content in Storykit and that's why the tool is so valuable for the quick and brief storytelling we do on a daily basis.
Skandia is still working with larger productions as well, with producers and sound- and light technicians.
– But we also use our larger productions in Storykit, to easily create short, very target-focused videos.
Why is it important with target-focused videos?
– We have our core topics, such as pensions, mortgages, and health, but we address many different age groups. A 25-year old who recently started receiving occupational pension from his or her employer is obviously in a different target group than a mid-career 45-year old or someone who is 65+ and ready to retire. We use Storykit to easily duplicate a video and angle the message towards a specific target group.
Have you noticed any positive results?
– Yes, absolutely.
Are you using Storykit to solve any other problems?
– Lots. One example is internal screens. We recently changed all our internal screens at Skandia to very nice high-res screens that will be installed in elevators, cafés and facing the street. It doesn't make sense to hire a motion director to produce a video for 20 000 SEK and takes two days to deliver, just for an after work invitation, so we use Storykit to create something nice and simple, and it doesn't require much time from our side.
Looking ahead, Jesper is planning to work even more effectively with Storykit.
– We are currently taking steps to further increase our productivity with the use of templates, modules, and custom slides. It's fun to work with the new features that are constantly coming out. We have so many ideas and it's kind of inspiring when Storykit keeps releasing updates.
Skandia is a Swedish insurance company that creates security through higher pensions, a healthy working life and sustainable investments.
They chose to work with Storykit.
– Storykit is a valuable tool for our short, fast, daily storytelling, says Jesper Carlson, editorial manager at Skandia.
With Jesper's background in journalism, it was a natural step to create an editorial department at Skandia for the company's content creation.
– When I started working at the company, the marketing department was separated from the communications department. I was probably pushing the boundaries a bit when I started pulling employees from both sections into coordination meetings. We've now had an integrated unit for several years - Strategic Communication & Marketing - where the editorial team plays an important and fundamental role in our work.
There are obvious advantages of the editorial approach, according to Jesper.
– We simply have to coordinate our resources and channels to maximize our efforts, and I can't stand silo mentality. Our editorial team is a group of fantastic professionals with unique profiles and incredible competence, but they are even more powerful when they work together. And with the editorial department in place, we create a lot of great content!
The editorial approach is reflected in everything, from how the meetings are structured to how they think about storytelling.
– Every morning at 9 am we meet to discuss the content of the day. We certainly have a cohesive marketing- and communications plan that we adhere to, but we also work reactively and respond to what's happening in the world and stay up to date if there's something we want or need to comment on. We also have weekly and monthly meetings.
Jesper and the rest of the editorial team make sure that the morning meetings are productive and taken seriously.
– Everyone participates with a sharp mind and it creates a positive pulse and breeds creativity. Classic news' evaluations play an important part of what we do and that's why we use the term 'editorial department'. We bring the news pulse into our marketing- and communications department because it has a very positive effect on our work.
Do you think working editorially would benefit all types of companies?
– I'm absolutely convinced that all companies would benefit from moving away from working in silos. Working as an editorial department has worked really well for us at Skandia!
– Three years ago, we decided to radically increase the frequency and quality of our video production. That includes both video on social media and our site, but also in terms of product videos, events and internal screens.
Why video?
– There are billions of figures that confirm the benefits of working with video, but for us, it's mainly because we noticed a growing demand for video content. We also see how effective it is.
Jesper and his team came across several challenges when they decided to step-up their video production.
– Video production can be very resource-intensive. Sure, you can go with simple mobile videos and super basic productions, but the public's demands and expectations have increased significantly. Today, people expect content to be relevant, attractive, and engaging. And creating that type of videos used to be so time-consuming that we weren't able to produce everything we wanted to create.
Almi uses Storykit to increase social media engagement
– Yes, absolutely. We see an obvious trend when we look at our reports, especially on Facebook. Our video posts drive much more engagement than the other posts.
Eva and her colleagues are now teaching the tool to other people and divisions within the Almi Group.
– So many people have asked us about the tool, but we wanted to try it out first. Now when we know how great it is, we are including more and more people. We are also planning to use templates across different departments.
– We want to start creating content with a local perspective, for example. If we send out a press release it should be easy to change the photo to a local representative.
Since you went from basically not creating any video at all to making 1-2 videos daily, do you have any tips for our readers?
– The most important thing is to just go for it! What's the worst thing that can happen? So, just do it! If you have a text, make a video and see how it goes. That's how you learn what works.
– I really think that all companies should use Storykit simply because it's so easy and fun to work with.
But how do you find your stories?
– Everywhere. There are stories everywhere. But if you get stuck, you can start with your customers. Their stories are always valuable.
Almi is a Swedish business development company that offers loans to companies with growth potential and assists in their growth.
When they came across Storykit, they immediately saw the opportunity to increase the production speed significantly.
– We liked Storykit immediately and received a great introduction to the tool. Emma, who did our onboarding, encouraged us to just go for it and create videos about everything. We have a lot of really good content, so it was easy to get started after the onboarding. Today, I make one video daily, and it's safe to say that it's not my only responsibility at work.
– We certainly want to reach the right people with the right message, and we want people to notice us. Video is a great format when you need to explain complex matters. If you only have 40 seconds you need to make an effort, says Eva Dahlberg, digital communicator at Almi.
Previously, Almi used external agencies for a large part of their video production.
– Even though we hired agencies that were super talented, it was both cumbersome and expensive. We constantly had to decide whether making a video was "worth it" or not.
Producing videos in-house with traditional video editing software was never an option for Eva and her colleagues.
– Software like Premier Pro is simply much too complex. I tried iMovie, and although you can use it for a lot of things, it was still sort of limiting. And you had to create the video from scratch. It's not easy to find the time for that.
How Storykit helps this real estate company boost its HR strategy with video
– We see significant results: our videos get more views than the news, blog posts, images, and other material that we publish onto our other digital platforms. We are, for instance, doing very well on LinkedIn where we always make sure to share relevant news, says Katarina Lorenz, Digital Project Manager at Einar Mattsson.
Do you notice whether applicants to your company have seen your videos?
– Yes, they have almost always seen a video on our Facebook or LinkedIn page.
What is the most important aspect to you when it comes to using video for employer branding?
– To attract talent to our company. We want to find skilled individuals who genuinely want to work at one of Stockholm's largest real estate companies.
– It's also about strengthening the brand by having a solid social media presence. We are a family business, and we have a modest presence despite being active for over 90 years, so it's essential for us that new employees share our values
When you work with communication, it's often important to divide your information everything into smaller segments. This is what Katarina and her colleagues often do by using video.
– Together with our HR department, we have discussed how to divide parts of the introduction into shorter Storykit videos. For instance, making several shorter videos about the company's policies or filming easily accessible videos about how we work on equality, diversity, and the like.
An important reason why all information needs to be available in video format is that many employees at Einar Mattsson don't sit at computers all day.
– Out of our 350 employees, almost 200 are stationed at our construction sites. A worker who assembles windows all day will have difficulty finding the time to read a long document on his mobile phone. If we send a link to a 60-second video, the probability is much greater that they will have time to watch it during their coffee break, lunch, or whenever mobile phone use is allowed, says Katarina Lorenz.
– As with all communication, we must ensure that we always communicate on the terms of the audience. We can write thousands of long texts, but if the audience does not comprehend the message, we have to rethink. That's why video, in combination with text and image, is ultimately unexcelled.
What is the role of your existing staff when it comes to your internal communication and employer branding?
– We notice a remarkable difference in commitment when we have asked the staff to shoot the videos. As soon as you see yourself or one of your colleagues on screen, it changes everything. It becomes something that people talk about, and we can see an immediate increase in views.
Since working in Storykit is so easy, many people at Einar Mattsson can create video, which has resulted in a remarkable increase in video production at the company.
– Using Storykit has lowered the threshold and allowed us to achieve a lot. We have also managed to make many employees interested in video creation since it's evident that videos have such a positive effect. As a result, many of my colleagues have started to use Storykit!
– There are so many things! We could work even more with video when it comes to the onboarding part, such as making videos for software introduction or for introducing new employees to our processes. Especially now, when many people are working remotely, we notice that people become accustomed to the work much faster if they have seen a video explaining how things work. It would be fantastic if the bosses could send new employees a welcome video to tell them how happy the company is to have them working there. It would be a great way to make them part of our culture since it can be challenging for new employees to get a feel for the company while working remotely.
– We also discuss transforming our entire personnel manual to Storykit videos. Instead of reading a lot of text as a comprehensive pdf, our employees can watch a video about everything from how our pensions work to the holiday rules.
Want to learn more on how HR departments can use video? Download our crammed e-book here!
Einar Mattsson is a family-owned company that owns, manages and develops properties and builds houses in Greater Stockholm.
Storykit proved to be the ideal solution for Einar Mattsson's HR department as it enabled them to enhance their video production and streamline their workflow.
It's increasingly important for HR departments to communicate with the audience on their terms. Video makes it possible to reach out beyond your regular users.
– People who apply to us have almost always seen one of our videos on social media, says Katarina Lorenz at Einar Mattsson.
Want to learn more on how HR departments can use video? Download our crammed e-book here!
Among marketers, video has been an obvious format for several years, but more and more HR departments have also realized that video can give an edge, both for employer branding, recruitment and internal information.
