On June 30th, OFFEO’s Co-founder David Lee went live for the first time on Facebook with a very special guest - Jimmy Lee. Jimmy Lee is the Global Creative Product Lead for Instagram. David Lee and Jim Lee went on to discuss Vertical stories, and what works best on Instagram. Jimmy and David have worked together in the past on several projects before he joined Instagram. Jimmy is one of the most creative minds in Asia currently, he focuses on developing strategy and creating memorable experiences on Instagram. After all, Jimmy being the best in the industry knows what is best! So he shared a few tips on how to leverage Instagram Stories for growing your business. David and Jimmy went on a fun and interesting discussion regarding vertical videos, stories, and the future of Instagram.
The webinar started with a friendly discussion:
Jimmy - Typical week is a lot of late nights. A typical week is logging off after my last meeting, which could be at 1 am, too many thoughts in my head that I couldn't sleep till about 3 am. That’s a typical day for me. But no, *laughs*, I think it is very exciting. With product launches and other things, a week can be super-packed and tiring, but at the same time, you are so pumped about the excitement around new launches. For example, we had this new ad launch for Reels. We did that for Southeast Asia. It is exciting stuff. So a typical week is making sure we are kept up to date with our product launches, make sure our go-to-market movements are ready and understanding the needs of the users, dealing with challenges of new formats, and addressing them through some of our local market materials. The way we experiment and test to uncover new insights, new learnings, and new best practices so everybody gets inspired but also be informed to work on the best way to move forward with our campaign. As it will be the brand’s responsibility to handle the future of storytelling with this form.
After an enthusiastic response from the guest, it was time to dive deep into the discussion about stories and reels.
Jimmy - Why vertical? Well, think about the good ol’ days when everything was square. I truly believe that vertical is the new square. It is the new 1:1! Way back when Instagram started, the feed was all made of squares. I remember a few campaigns when they embraced the square format of videos and images. But in 2018, when we launched Stories for users, it really changed the game. It changed the way we looked at content. It is obvious that content should fill the size of the phone. Vertical stories were one of our pioneering and first few formats that truly embraced where the tide was going and how content needs to evolve. It also focused on fulfilling the needs of people on their mobile screens. We tried creating the most optimal viewing experience on phones. That's it! We truly believe that Stories are beyond square ratio! Going vertical is step one.
There are so many opportunities for storytelling. It is not just a vertical video format. Before the Story feature, it was all about a perfect square picture, perfect caption but Story changed the way of Instagram. It made storytelling more effortless, creative, and frequent. The story became a simple creation tool that allowed you and me to be more creative. We use the tool to share a moment. We use the tool to invite participation from friends. If I want to buy a pair of sneakers and can’t make up my mind, I can use the poll sticker to ask my friends to buy them or not. If I am a small business owner and want to get feedback from my consumers, I can use the Question sticker to strike a conversation and open a dialogue between me and my customers. With Stories, I believe we introduced an all-new behavior using our interesting interactive tools, and new visual language. Story brings a new and unique experience for users. It is a whole new language of storytelling and expression. For creative people, this is a new opportunity to master a unique visual language of story-telling. So, we can be authentic with our approach,
With Stories going vertical is the one as I said, there has been a rise of other vertical video formats on social media. We have seen the rise of reels, a whole new genre of short-form videos. There are a lot of new formats that are going to come out of this genre. Story is just a pioneer format that changed the way.
David - Yeah, I think it is a very important point because many brands took a while to understand the concept because when you think of ad campaign you usually think of other formats like they approach a production company and think about long-form video format, and after that when they have the final product they think, okay fine now I can just optimize and reformat it.
Jimmy - It is a lot to ask for. I mean it is hard to change the tradition, whether it is an agency, or whether it is a production company, it is hard to shake us off from our old behavior. But I also think it is important to understand where your consumer is at, right? It is just gonna be challenging if you know that you are creating for a community let's say Instagram, that's gonna be a social activation campaign but you are developing a 16:9 film. How is that content gonna resonate? We don’t know! How is that content gonna perform? We don’t know that either! It should be created based on how the audience is consuming content on the screen. So I think it is extremely important. On the topic of optimization, it is also sort of a creative journey, sophistication like we think about, we are not expecting everybody to go from point 8 to point 10 and start creating stories. They can’t go from feed to stories. But there should be a journey of learning and shifting from 1:1 images and leveling up to sharing stories. Start with optimization, going vertical first, then if you see improvement in engagement, then you can start investing more in storytelling capabilities.
Jimmy- Optimized may seem like a dirty word. It is not the most creative but it means making sure the story you are to say is of the highest quality. When we say optimized it is an asset that has been reframed vertically with no adjustments made to complement its environments. So it is a linear storytelling video, everything has been optimized for the feed. It is a feed video that has been made vertical, that's what optimization means. However, stories first are bespoke. It is ideas we imagine, ideas created specifically for Stories first, taken into consideration the experiences, the environment, the design, the tools. And this also includes a lot of ads like carousels and polling ads, polling and carousel ads are consumer experiences built for Instagram stories. We have seen a high take-off rate and increased usage, which is why we introduced this in an ad format as well.
Jimmy - I think brands should think about stories first. If people’s first approach is what they think about. In the world of creativity, we go for form or ideas but it is also important how we execute those ideas. If you want to build for people you should focus on Stories first. Try to be authentic and relevant. You need to ask yourself -” How are people using stories?” How are you gonna use stories?” People often forget the fact that a brand is also a consumer. A brand is also a person, it has a persona to it. So the way you communicate organically needs to be the same as how you communicate in a plain environment. Ask yourself questions like - How are you as a brand? What kind of content resonates with you and your community? What kind of content are people consuming? What are they engaging with? How are people capturing? How are people expressing themselves? How are people creative? How are people sharing their moments and stories? Brands can learn from people how to make stories less linear, less passive. They also need to learn how to leverage interactive tools on Stories to make them more visual. That's the beauty of Stories, it helps with communication. That's why brands should use Stories First.
David - I think what sets stories apart is really the interactive part of it. I think we have some examples.
Jimmy - Yes, that's what I am talking about, the beauty of stories. May it be the poll stickers or the shoutouts, everything makes it more interactive and fun, it helps building and communicating with the community.
Jimmy - This is the most commonly asked question of whether Stories First has better outcomes. As creatives, we always believe in big ideas. We love aesthetically pleasing ideas, we are drawn to art. Instagram is also a creative platform. And this is a primary question we ask ourselves that “does creativity help business?”. And yes, I can say very confidently that stories first creativity can have better outcomes.
We have been working with 16 brands to discover the answer to this particular question, whether Stories First offers better outcomes than Stories Optimized. Here are the results
Across 16 studies we observed that there is an 83% chance that Stories First creative outperformed Stories-Optimized creative. Which is huge! We were first worried that the Optimized content may do better, but the Stories first did better because of the interactive features. Interaction makes Stories First a lot better than Stories Optimized. Instead of passively watching a linear video, your audience will have the chance to partake in the video. You make the communication a lot more participatory. The optimized content is great as well but the lightweight interactive approach steals the show.
There were also many positive takeaways from the studies. we observed a 95% chance that stories' first creative outperformed Stories-Optimized creative, we also observed a 92% chance that Stories-Carousel creative outperformed Stories-Optimized Creative. David, I feel like you wanted to share something.
David - Yes, I believe that shorter videos most of the time outperform long-form videos. It is better when videos are short, snappy, and fast.
Jimmy - Yeah, Most of the time as brands we think, we have 10 benefits, lets showcase it in the video for our product. But it is hard to do that in short videos. So we need to be careful that in the 15 seconds we can inculcate all the ideas in the video, or just focus on one and build around it.
David - So, how can businesses start crafting effective Stories-First content?
Jimmy - The number one rule for me is you gotta put yourself in the shoes of your consumer. You need to create intuitive experiences by leveraging native behaviors. The number two rule is the foundation. Foundation means a set of principles a brand follows during its marketing. It is unique for every brand. The third is to pay attention to motion, make sure your brand shows up early in the ad. Fourthly, enhance the sound, as it provides an all round experience to the audience. So, do not forget about that! The fifth important thing to follow while making stories is an attractive font or text. Use text to draw attention to a focal point. Lastly, there should be a Call To Action in the story. You need to inspire people to take the next step. These steps are really vital when it comes to creating Stories.
Jimmy - I love posters, I love a good print! I always believe that the principles of designing a poster should be the same as designing a story. They are both vertical. In a poster, there is a key visual, one key message, and there is a brand upfront. So, the principles should be the same. After all, we are seeing moving images do better on the platform. Take for example cinemagraphs, nobody talks about them anymore, but they are created from stills. I believe taking an image, and adding motion to it makes it more aesthetically pleasing and effective.
Videos are being consumed madly. Since April 2020, the amount of consumption has increased from one hour a day to 4 hours a day! Video consumption on Instagram and Facebook is also on the rise. More people are using Live, IGTv, and many are using Stories to communicate with friends. So, I would say go for videos, because the demand is greater. But see what stills can do. Test what resonates with your audience, and use that in the long run.
Jimmy - Definitely. There should be a mix. I think the mix is a good way to determine audience behavior and decide what's good for you. Find out and learn what's best for you. start with a mix, and decide on the formula that is best for your brand. You need to determine which format delivers the results for your objectives.
Stories First focus on one feature only and end with a beautiful call to action you can’t deny. Stories first are single-minded and effective. Stories First outperform the Stories optimized.
David- Jimmy, Before you go any further, I would like to ask a question, years ago Ponds struggled with rebranding and social media marketing when they were transitioning. So the question is
Jimmy - Here is the thing, when you dig into your brand’s guidebook, there is always a page on personality. So emojis or no emojis, The brand logo treatment, the typography, and other visual features can set a brand tone. I believe brands should update their brand guidelines according to the times. I see many brands who redesign to be in touch with times. This is the time to get creative. Wendy’s created a set of emojis with their girl mascot. So, you can embrace your brand identity and create something fun and new with it, so you can be on-brands but also be true to Stories. Even Mercedes used emojis, sliders, and fun features for Instagram stories, they kept it classy and minimalist. Brands must know different ways on how to leverage native elements to reinforce storytelling.
David - I think it is very important because ultimately a brand should cater to what its audience wants to see. But a brand should also be true to itself and leverage native elements. A surprising element can also be an added bonus to hook the audience in.
Jimmy- Yes, you use new features to surprise viewers but you do not overwhelm them with too many things on the screen. Trying to keep it clean is the best way. So, another way of making a story is with interactivity. Interactivity could be native control, interactivity could be carousel, and also polling ads. I think interactivity is the story’s superpower, we do not see any other formats using the ability to give control to your consumers. Here is a good example, Alan is an insurance company based out in France.
They changed their optimized Stories into Stories first, by using their mascot and mentioning a few benefits, making it more interactive for the audience. I think it is a fun example. They use the tap and hold option to read the puzzle in the story.
Give people the option to choose. It gives them a sense of freedom and control. But use it carefully. The polling feature is there so you can share the beneficial nature of your message. Some things to watch out for when creating engaging Stories polling ads are -
The carousel can be used to break up your stories into parts to make them digestible for the audience. It is a sort of guided communication.
Recap
Jimmy - Ad placements! AHH yes! We know the value of placement optimization. A single asset placed in multiple placements delivers optimal performance. I recommend incorporating your stories into your multiple placement campaigns with Placement Asset Customisation (PAC) for performance efficiency. When optimized for each placement ads are 90% more likely to be effective at driving ad recall than non-optimized ads. That's what we recommend!
David - Jimmy has shared much valuable information with us. Let's see we have questions from our participants. It is a great time for you to ask.
Audience 1 - Which one is better, stronger asset, square or vertical?
Jimmy- It is really like asking a mother to choose between her children *laughs*. But yeah okay, square or vertical really depends on where you are communicating. If you are on feed then 4:5 is the biggest you can go. If you are on Stories you should really be designing for where you are. I would say stories are paving the way. The spectrum of video formats is gonna increase, who knows what's gonna happen in the future. All we know is we should capitalize on the full screen.
Audience 2 - Can we make interactive links with Offeo?
David- I think that's a great question when a few minutes ago Jimmy was sharing about polling ads. I think the polling sticker is not part of the video, but a sticker on Instagram.
Jimmy - You need to know exactly where the stickers are gonna be placed. When I do my mockups I always like to do the placements. Stickers won't be part of your final video, then can only be added through your ads manager.
Audience 3- What tip would you give to a complete beginner?
Jimmy - Start using stories! Okay, here is the thing - there is organic and paid. With organic, there is no money. Start thinking about what resonates with your followers. Start thinking about how you can bring value to your followers' lives. Use your organic stories to experiment. Start using native tools. It is a good way to learn what your audience prefers. Once you are well versed in this, use that knowledge to create ads. Understand what your consumers want from you. Gather feedback. Organic is a great way to gain feedback, reviews, and tips from the audience, and then use those insights to design your campaign.
Audience 4 - I see X number of views, X number of likes on Instagram, what should I focus on "quantity or quality?"
Jimmy - Quality but consistency. That's where people get confused with consistency and quantity. Consistency is key whether it is twice a week, whether it's five times a week. Because the moment you stop communicating, you lose your audience. You gonna bail on them, they bail on you.
Audience 5 - It is about Instagram automation, Will we be able to link Instagram stories, polls, and links to Instagram automation (messenger)?
Jimmy - I believe, If I am not wrong you are talking about the messenger integration, am I right? Unfortunately, the two surfaces are not related. So you can't link a poll experience to your DM. But we know a lot of small businesses are using Messenger, WhatsApp to communicate and facilitate payment. Shopping is a huge focus for the platform. The platforms are integrated to make it a seamless experience, no matter where you are.
Audience 6 - Who would win the war, Stories Vs Reels Vs IgTv Vs Live?
Jimmy - So here is the thing, last year we took some time to evaluate all the video surfaces in IG. And every surface was designed with a different purpose. Let's start with Live, live is built for real-time conversations with your community. Then comes IgTv, IgTv was built for people engagement, for videos longer than 2 minutes. If you want to take people on a journey, like a docu-series, IGTv is the right place to do it. Feed is for highlights, images, and hero video formats. Story is for snapshots, short videos, etc. All of them have a different role in building your community and keeping them engaged. You just need to know how to tell your stories across the spectrum. Extend your storytelling beyond one video. The reel is a new genre of entertainment. It's an emerging behavior. The reel is where you can leverage the trends for your good.
Audience 7 - Where can we check out more of your works or look for more Stories inspiration?
Jimmy - I would say follow @instagram handle for business purposes. You can also search for the Instagram business page on your Chrome.
Last Question - What do you think is the future
I think the future is platform native. There is an opportunity through reels. What are creatives creating through reels? Why are the trends? What's the genre? What is humor? How can brands partake in the movement by participating in the trends? Brands can tap into the collective creativity of our platform. The evolving role of AR is also important, it is a technology that is a bridge between worlds. These are the creative opportunities we can explore in the future.
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