It all starts with your people
For many employees sharing their work story on a short video will be a new experience. It's therefore important to be aware of their concerns and focus on the value their story will bring to them, their colleagues and your organization.
StoryTagger works best when there's a clear goal and business need which can be achieved by sharing real stories about work, learning or change.
Talk in terms of 'sharing a story' rather than recording a video
It's common for people to be nervous about recording a video. So, based on our experience, we find talking in terms of ’sharing your story' rather than ‘recording a video’ puts people at ease. Phrasing it this way emphasises the importance of what people are saying rather than simply focussing on the media format.
Reinforce StoryTagger is there to help
If you feel sharing stories, recording videos and uploading MP4s might be beyond the capability of your colleagues, don't worry. StoryTagger has been specifically designed to help anyone do all of these things, without having to learn new skills.
Of course, some people may already feel overwhelmed with the amount of tools they need to use at work. When you introduce StoryTagger reinforce how it's simple to use, will guide them through the process and help them produce something they will be proud of in a short amount of time.
Record a welcome video
A welcome video is a great way to engage your creators and explain why you want them to share stories and how StoryTagger makes it simple. Use and adapt our Record a welcome video template to give you a ready-made interview structure to follow:
Add the Record a welcome video topic template to your campaign.
Invite your campaign sponsor, programme facilitator or yourself to record a welcome story.
Publish your welcome story before you launch your campaign so everyone you invite can watch it straight away.
Set the welcome video topic's status to 'Inactive' and the story will stay visible in the feed for all of your creators to watch.
You can also use this video in your launch communications.
TIP: Include a link to your welcome video in the original invite email to reinforce WHY you’re asking people to share their experiences. If they’re new to StoryTagger it helps them visualise what you’re asking them to do.
Add your company logo to brand your automatic emails
Your logo will appear in automated system invite and reminder mails building trust for first-time StoryTagger users.
Send the first invitation email from your organisation’s account
When introducing any tech, it's best to send the first email from your organisation email account to build trust. Let them know to expect an invitation from StoryTagger.
Set a realistic deadline
Help this task become top of your creator’s to-do list by setting a deadline and nudging at key milestones.
Set realistic deadlines to keep creators on track. Make sure the deadline is appropriate for your ‘ask’ but as a rule of thumb 5 - 10 days is reasonable for most simple videos especially if people are expecting to participate.
Give people a good reason why this date has been chosen so they understand it’s not arbitrary. For example, you’re planning to feature their content in a monthly newsletter or publish it to your learning platform on X-date.
Use campaign manager’s reminder email templates to schedule nudges to those yet to record their videos.
Use the submission deadlines feature within your topics to trigger an automatic reminder email 24 hours before the set deadline.
Recruit ambassadors to go first
Target at least one engaged creator to go first. Make sure you are inclusive and don’t just engage those that shout loudest. Publish this seed content to the story feed. These early video stories will set the tone and encourage other creators to share their own.
One tactic to get your first story in the bag, or make sure you hear a diverse range of voices, is to recruit ambassadors directly. A short, 1-1 mail which reinforces value, explains why you need THEIR story, and what will happen if they submit theirs now, works wonders.
Publish videos on StoryTagger to nudge other creators
Creators will receive push notifications every time a video is published. As well as sharing experiences directly, this acts as a brilliant reminder for them to record their own story. You can publish every video or just a few example ones.
You can also keep an eye on whether creators have created an account by checking their status on the Creators tab. This means they’ll receive notifications if they are using their mobile and have these enabled.
TIP: Turn on 'New story published!' auto engagements to send emails to creators when a story is published. This means mobile and desktop app users receive notifications.
TIP: Turn on 'Auto publish stories' so that creators automatically receive notifications and can see stories as soon as they are uploaded.
Send reminders during the campaign
Send a reminder message from your brand account or StoryTagger at the halfway point and the automated deadline reminder - most people will leave it until the last minute so don’t miss this final nudge!
Ask for a registration of interest
Inviting a wider, or unknown group of people? Ask for registrations of interest first. It’s an easier call-to-action, and you’ll have more control over the creator onboarding process.
Thank and celebrate creators
Thank you messages will be sent automatically to all creators that submit a story.
Always recognise and thank people for sharing their video and the difference sharing their story has made. This reinforces the value of their contribution.
If you’re using the stories as part of a development programme pick up on points made and stories shared to create a dialogue in the virtual classroom or face-to-face session.