Storytime holds attention where no other format does, because the viewer stays to find out how it ends. The problem is that most people use it badly: they tell a long story and drop the product at the end as if nobody would notice.

The story has to be true

It does not need to be dramatic, it needs to be real. An order that arrived broken, a house move, a trip that went wrong, a gift that missed. Invented stories get spotted because they lack the odd details real life has, and those details are exactly what keeps people watching to the end.

The product enters mid way, not at the end

If it only shows up at second forty, the viewer feels the tone shift and leaves. What works is the product being part of the story from the start, even unnamed. That is the difference between a story with a product inside it and an ad with a story stuck on the front.

The first three seconds

Storytime needs an opening that promises an ending: "this happened because I did not read the notice", "I almost lost the biggest order of the year". Without that promise there is no reason to stay. It is the part most often refilmed and the one that most defines the result.

Length and rhythm

Forty to ninety seconds. It is the one format where longer length is justified, because the viewer has a reason to continue. But every sentence has to move the story: if one can be removed without losing anything, remove it.

What to ask the brand for

Room to tell it. A storytime with fifteen mandatory sentences is not a storytime. If the brand needs to mention five features, offer another format and save storytime for the message that can genuinely live inside a story.

Keep reading

Publish your creator profile →

Frequently asked questions

Can the story be invented?

No, the missing real details give it away.

When does the product appear?

Mid way, as part of the story.

How long can it be?

Forty to ninety seconds.

What if the brand wants many lines?

Offer another format, they do not fit a story.