The Method
HOW WE BUILD STORY SYSTEMS
Here’s how we actually work, from the first conversation to what actually gets made
Chapter One
What clients ask for, and what they actually need
Often clients come to us wanting someone to post to social. That’s the ask. What we discover is that they need processes internally to manage everything first, and that’s what gives us a solid foundation to build on. Once we streamline their process and set up internal workflows for finding stories and spotting engagement opportunities, we can really dive in and find the stories worth expanding on.
The stories are almost always already there. There’s just no structure for surfacing them, no real purpose behind what’s getting posted, and a lot of soft, shallow material going out at random. So we start by asking why. What’s the purpose, what are the business goals, where are the pain points, and is what you’re posting actually working toward any of it.
Chapter Two
Good storytelling lives below the surface
The good story almost never comes from the first answer. It lives below the surface, so we dig past the canned version to the why behind the product, the team’s journey, the nuances. Be curious and ask the second and third question, because that’s where the better story resides.
A lot of it is just fresh eyes catching what the people inside have stopped seeing. One company we worked with was hopping on calls with teams across fifteen countries like it was nothing, completely routine to them and genuinely remarkable from the outside. Another was an automotive supplier where almost everyone, top to bottom, was into extreme sports, and that said everything about the company’s culture. When you live in it every day, you stop noticing it. We notice it.
Chapter Three
Content is one and done.
Story systems bring people back.
Most content is one and done. A post goes out, does its thing for a day, and that’s it. A story system is built to bring people back: a reason to keep coming back, cliffhangers, a serialized narrative that keeps going. One client thought they needed a single video. By breaking the story into snackable social sizes, we turned it into a series that brought the audience back week after week, and it meant more followers, more visibility, and more engagement.
A story system is recognizable without the logo. You don’t always need to brand everything. The look, the feel, the tone, the copy should have enough clout to stand on their own. Sometimes we want to create intrigue with the customer and not have the logo in their face the whole time. Look at Nike, REI, Coke. Iconic.
Chapter Four
How we decide which stories to tell
We can’t tell every story at once, so we look at which ones have the most support and hit the goals hardest. Then we look at timing, because a story needs enough runway on the calendar to do it properly. A lot of the time we reverse-engineer from what’s already coming, the product launches and the initiatives, and map the stories to those.
Chapter Five
We approach content like documentarians
We approach content like documentarians. You start with a core idea, but you stay flexible as it unfolds, the same way a documentary’s concept shifts while the core message holds. Be curious. Follow the story wherever it leads. You never know what it’ll uncover, and oftentimes the story is even better than you originally planned. Digging in like that turns up complementary streams and whole campaigns we never planned for.
The best stories usually appear when you least expect them. And when a story system is really working, it gets easier, almost like it writes itself. Don’t fight the story…
Let it unfold.
Chapter Six
AI moves us faster. People make it land.
AI accelerates the craft, and human judgment shapes it. We lean on AI for the shot lists, the location routing, the transcription, the loose edit layouts, keeping everything organized. That’s the part that lets us move faster and keep the work affordable.
What AI can’t do is the part that makes something land: the tone, the pacing, the meaningful pause, the smile that says more than words. It’s the taste, and it’s what makes humans human. We’re documentary filmmakers who use the tech, not purists about it. AI helps us move faster, but it always needs a human touch.
Chapter Seven
Who this works for
This works for clients who are open, the ones willing to try new ideas, new trends, new technologies. When a client is rigid and not open to change, social and digital are going to be a struggle, and they won’t see results. The strongest ones say “prove me wrong” and let us run the test.
One word is a red flag, and it’s “viral.” Chasing virality is a surefire way to lose. We’d rather build something that keeps people coming back.
Chapter Eight
What changes when it works
When a story system is working, it hits on all cylinders, internally and externally. Decisions get easier, sales conversations get sharper, the team gets clearer on what the company is actually about, trust goes up, and the content gets faster to make. It all moves together.
And you usually don’t need more content. You might just need to rethink the way it’s presented. What clients realize too late is that they needed a better strategy. Post with purpose.
Your brand needs a story
Let’s find the one already inside your company and build it into something that keeps people coming back.
