If you think video is a vital part of internal communications, you’re not alone: 98% of companies say video is useful for improving communication and employee training.
Why use video for internal communications, though? Video is, traditionally, one of the most expensive and time-consuming media to produce. With today’s tools, however, it’s easier than ever to make your own videos to keep employees informed with dynamic and engaging internal communications.
Why use video for internal communications?
How can internal communications be improved in the workplace? With the amount information is shared in a workplace on any given day, video can be a game-changer in terms of how employees access and retain knowledge at work.
Video appeals to multiple learning types.
Presenting information through video helps address the different learning styles of your employees:
- Visual learners will benefit from watching videos, as opposed to reading an article or sitting through a workshop.
- Auditory learners will benefit from a voiceover explaining a video’s contents.
- Those who learn through reading/writing will also benefit from text or motion graphics added to a video.
Why use video for internal communications? Because video is one of the best ways to meet the needs of all your employees in a single format.
Creating videos has never been more affordable.
Videos are more cost-effective to make than ever. Equipment and software have become more affordable and accessible, so anyone can make a video with the right combination of tools. There are also many budget-friendly platforms that offer easy, web-only video-editing services.
Take Vyond, for example. A subscription to our platform costs between $299 and $999 a year. Compare that to a single TV commercial, which, on average, costs $2,000 to $7,000 to produce (assuming you have a small crew).
But by using Vyond to create a suite of animated videos, Cottingham & Butler saved over $600,000 in production costs and saved their clients more than 2,000 hours in unproductive meetings.
Anyone can create videos.
To make videos a few decades ago, you would have needed the skills of both a professional videographer and video editor. The software and equipment were both complicated and expensive to use — two things that put amateurs off from creating their own content.
Video-making software is far more accessible today with drag-and-drop editing and other user-friendly features. The knowledge barrier is shrinking, thanks to the many tutorials available. You can find tutorials for everything regarding video creation on platforms like Skillshare and YouTube. Some video-editing platforms also offer templates that make the video creation process even easier.
5 Ways to Use Video for Internal Communications
Creating video is easier than ever, so dream big when thinking about how you’ll use video for your internal communications.
From employee spotlights to DEI training, video can be used in a number of key ways to educate employees and strengthen your culture.
Recruit Talented Job Candidates
Stand out from competing employers by bolstering your Jobs page with video. Instead of just using text, add videos of your employees and office space to get candidates excited about your company:
Job Description Videos
Communicate key details about a role with visuals to reach and appeal to a wide range of possible candidates. You can also use this format to showcase company values. This Fiverr video uses plain language to invite viewers to apply to the company. The narrator’s straightforward descriptions of what’s happening in the video are comedic and keep viewers engaged.
Company Profile Videos
Create anticipation for potential hires through a company profile. Use this format to show company values, history, an office tour, and any other interesting parts of your company. Google used their popular video to showcase their office, work culture, and company values through the eyes of their interns.
Employee Spotlight Videos
Showcase your current employees and their stories by highlighting them with video. This video humanizes our marketing specialist Asia by sharing her interests and background. With a friendly voice and animation, potential hires can get a feel for company culture.
Onboard New Hires
Video is a great tool for onboarding because it allows you to communicate the vast amounts of information new hires need to know. Instead of using long blocks of text, highlight the meaning of company policies with visuals and audio. Engage your new hires with videos that make their onboarding a smooth, enjoyable process.
Workplace Orientation Videos
Show new hires internal tools, processes, security policies, and any other general information employees need to know to do their work. Consider depicting scenarios to get your point across. For example, this video uses animated characters and engaging dialogue to illustrate what you shouldn’t do on a conference call.
Leadership and Team Welcome Videos
Have leadership and team members create short videos introducing themselves to new hires. They can share their work history and company values to offer a lens into company culture. This leader at Intuit uses video to share their history with the company, company values, and expectations of new employees.
Showcase Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
Rather than explaining DEI values in a block of text, video allows you to show what diversity and inclusion mean within your organization. To become an inclusive organization, you need to demonstrate what it looks like in practice. Use video to demonstrate common scenarios and give a voice to underrepresented team members.
Video is also a great tool to keep your team updated on DEI best practices within your organization by combining moving images, text, and audio to illustrate important information:
DEI Company Policy Videos
Show your organization’s commitment to DEI by sharing videos that explain what initiatives are in place to support minorities within the company. Google did this with their Women at Google video, in which female employees lend credence to the company’s DEI commitment.
DEI Education Videos
Some DEI concepts may be newer to some employees and hard for them to understand. Video helps make these concepts more concrete and understandable. This video by PDT Global uses animated characters, text explanations, and a voiceover to introduce a nonbinary gender identity.
Communicate Health and Wellness Policies
Using video to share health and wellness is a great example of how internal communications in the workplace can be improved. You can use images and text with a voiceover to explain why different health practices—like exercise—are important, or perhaps you’d show scenarios to demonstrate healthy behaviors:
Health Awareness Videos
Create videos addressing health issues that employees might be susceptible to. This video breaks down precautions employees should take due to COVID-19, using animated characters, text, and voiceover.
Mental Wellness Videos
In Summer 2020, we found that 45% of employees regard training on mental health a key concern for workplaces as many continue to work—and feel isolated—at home. This video uses a scenario to explain how viewers can take charge of their mental health and also covers the employer’s initiatives for managing mental health.
Conduct Employee Training
Include video when training employees. Doing so can boost the quality of the training sessions, especially in remote settings. It’s a great tool for demonstrating key concepts with formats like motion graphics or animated videos in play. You can use scripted scenarios or whiteboard animation to convey information.
Self-led Training Videos
Our research found that employees mostly preferred self-led online training, like video, to instructor-led training. Use this medium to explain concepts, allow viewers to understand and digest the topic, and ask questions where necessary. This format is used by Microsoft Enable in their series on gaming accessibility. This video uses examples from actual games as well as a voiceover to explain how to set clear goals for players.
Microlearning Videos
When explaining new concepts, consider creating microlearning videos that break down complex topics. This video (and the whole series) by Orchard Supply Hardware uses a consistent template in bite-sized video format to explain different training topics.
Continuously collect input to improve internal communications videos.
Not everyone will receive changes to internal communications in the same way, so make sure to follow up with your employees. It’s important to understand, too, what the communication needs of internal and external stakeholders are. However your organization adopts and implements videos, consider sharing employee engagement surveys to learn how your videos are performing.
This feedback can help you understand where video does and doesn’t work and how effective it is in your internal communications.
With easy-to-edit videos made in Vyond, you have the ability to create engaging videos that can be continuously improved. Start making internal communications videos in an iterative way, and try Vyond free.
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