Video is increasingly becoming a popular format for content for internal communications.
A Melcrum survey of internal communications professionals found that 93% feel it has become essential for internal comms in organizations.
Videos are an easy, engaging, and cost-effective way to send information to employees in a format that they are likely to pay attention to. If you’re not using it yet in your internal communications, it might be time to rethink things and include it.
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Benefits of using video for internal communications
As we’ve seen during the COVID-19 pandemic, the ability to use video to communicate has become normalized and expected in many workplaces. People use video conferencing software to have meetings or even one-on-one conversations with colleagues while working remotely. Webinars have become one of the most common ways for education and training to be delivered during this time.
Sending internal communications via video is a natural continuation of this, and has many other benefits as well. Some of the benefits of video for internal communications are:
- The ability to send large amounts of information in a way that doesn’t require a lot of effort from the person who is viewing it.
- Saving time because it can be quicker to say something in a video than it is to write it down.
- It can also be quicker for some people to view a video than reading.
- Video is easier for people to absorb and harder for them to skip over information, which is what can happen with emails.
Research from Insivia found 95% of a message is retained when it is watched in a video compared with just 10% when the message is read in text form.
Personal preference for video is also high: 80% of people will watch a video while 20% will read text on a page.
Emails are often unopened or ignored, meaning important information can be missed. Video can replace other types of communication that take time such as meetings.
There are some more benefits of using video for internal communications:
- Video can feel more personalized, and people react to it favorably.
- It can be watched at a time that is convenient for the recipient.
- It can be re-watched later if the recipient wants to check something.
- Video is accessible on most devices - including mobile phones and tablets, meaning people can access it practically anywhere.
- Video is a better medium to tell stories and can help you better convey emotions.
- It can help to overcome isolation as people are working remotely.
Different types of internal communications videos to make
If you’re not sure how to start using video to communicate with employees in your organization, think about how it might be able to help with these common types of internal communication needs.
1. Messages from the CEO
Making your CEO more visible can help build trust and establish a communication culture within your organization. Use video to create a regular update to employees so they know how the company is faring overall. A short video alert is a great way to do it. It can either take the form of an interview, or the CEO can just address the camera and speak.
2. Videos for onboarding staff
When recruits join your team, having video content to show them can help with a consistent onboarding process during COVID across the organization. Because it is visual, you can show them different things they need to know about within the organizations, whether facilities or procedures. It is beneficial when employees need to be onboarded remotely.
3. Announcing significant corporate changes
When you have new initiatives that you need everyone to be aware of, a video can help cut through and outline what it is and why it’s crucial. Consider policy changes, new projects, mergers and acquisitions, new legislative requirements, external marketing and promotions, new products, and more.
4. Training and education
Creating your suite of corporate training videos can help save money when you no longer have to send employees to an external provider. The video will also help them to retain knowledge better than text.
5. Demos of new software or troubleshooting issues
New software systems can be a headache to implement across the organization, particularly if they have many different functions. Creating demos of using the software can help walk your team through the steps they need to take. You can also make demo videos showing how to troubleshoot common IT issues, which will help to pressure off your IT help desk.
6. Live-streaming of events
Corporate events such as town halls, awards ceremonies, presentations, and important meetings can be live-streamed, so those who cannot physically attend can still feel as though they have participated. Making the video available later, people who were unable to view it live don’t have to miss out.
Creative ways to include video in internal communications (examples)
The whole point of using video in your communications is to provide your employees with interesting, engaging, relevant, and informative content. If people see a talking head droning on for 60 minutes, they’ll be bored and stop the video!
The video shouldn’t replace all your internal communication channels (you don’t want to do it, plus there is still the minority of people who don’t respond to it) but can be used creatively in conjunction with other communication methods to cut through and inform your employees.
Some creative internal communications video examples include:
- Embedding video in your internal newsletters alongside the text.
- Interviewing staff members and profiling their achievements.
- Professional videos sourced from platforms such as YouTube can be used to help demonstrate a point.
- Video captured by staff members - even using phone cameras - can demonstrate new or existing work practices in the field to their colleagues.
- Sharing good news stories from employees via video can help boost morale, increase camaraderie, help build successful teams, and break down silos.
- Personalized videos to welcome new recruits to the organization.
- Internal marketing videos as part of internal marketing campaigns.
- Videos to create buzz and promote upcoming events.
- Positive feedback from customers, clients, partners and other stakeholders.
- Showcasing the organization’s new products or promotions.
- How-to videos for employees on just about any corporate topic that they need to know about - whether it be payroll, how to apply for leave or how to submit expenses claims.
- Health and safety demonstrations - including the correct way to operate machinery, demonstration of hazards to avoid, and how to use PPE.
How to make and distribute engaging internal videos
Like all internal communication, your video communication needs to be concise, easy to understand, exciting and relevant. If your content doesn’t feel authentic, your employees will pick up on that and regard it with cynicism.
You don’t need to spend a fortune on professional video equipment if you can’t afford it; a lot of videos can be shot successfully on smartphones these days. Good quality off-camera lighting is also relatively inexpensive.
When you create your videos you should ensure:
- You know what you want to say and who will say it
- The subject is properly lit. Avoid dark shadows on faces. If you can’t achieve good lighting with office lights or natural light, continuous video lights are a good option.
- Attention is paid to the sound quality including any distracting background noises.
- You pay attention to the length of the video, trying to keep it as short as possible.
- Videos are edited, so they are professional, including adding graphics and subtitles.
There are lots of different tools available to help you make video content - including free options such as Canva, Typito, Kapwing or Soapbox which can help you get started if you’ve never created video before, using templates. There are professional tools also on the market, such as Adobe Premiere or iMovie.
Once you’ve created your videos, you’ll need to distribute them in a way that ensures your employees will see them! Some ways to share your internal communications videos include:
- Prominent placement on your intranet page.
- Sending them as a pop-up alert on employees’ screens via DeskAlerts
- Embedded in newsletters.
- Embedded in emails.
- Shared on corporate social media channels.
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By tapping in to your employees’ communication preferences and using video, you can reach more people with vital information so long as you keep it interesting. Improving internal communications will help to boost your company’s productivity and employee morale.
