Why would you want to add video to your internal communication plan? Here are four reasons why video can be a powerful tool in your communication arsenal:
1. It’s Efficient
Employees receive a plethora of emails and written communications on a day-to-day basis. Stacked next to competing priorities, it’s highly likely that your message will be skimmed over, or worse – skipped over completely. Replacing an email update with a well-constructed video ups the odds that your message gets the attention it deserves. What’s more, it can take paragraphs upon paragraphs of text to explain an idea, whereas a person can much more succinctly explain by speaking on a video with the added advantage of being able to emphasize the most important information in ways that can’t be done as easily through a written message.
2. It’s a Way to Reach Various Audiences at Various Times
It can be difficult to impossible to reach everyone through face-to-face meetings, but a video can quickly be shared with all audiences. Oftentimes companies have multiple office locations, making it challenging for leaders and teams to meet with everyone. This can lead to employees feeling disconnected. At Craft Impact, we’ve created videos to introduce new leaders without them physically traveling everywhere, and to help acquired companies get acquainted to their new parent company, and vice-versa. Video can also help with internal communication when working around timing issues. For instance, employees may work on different shifts, or you may have front-line teams that can’t be pulled off of their jobs. By using video, you can ensure that everyone receives the same message, even if they have to view it at different times.
3. It’s Personal and Engaging
Video gives you the opportunity to “walk the walk” and exemplify your company’s culture. Show your employees that you’re committed to openness, reachability, transparency, and other core pillars of your culture by putting your face out there, and speaking to colleagues directly. By speaking over video, you can let your personality show and you’re forming a connection, helping employees get to know you, and building trust and rapport. Introducing yourself grabs attention in a way that cannot be achieved through email, and can be a powerful step toward breaking down barriers and truly engaging with each employee on an individual level. People are inherently interested in listening to other people, and your words hold a lot more weight when they’re spoken from your mouth than when they’re read on page. As an added bonus, video allows for viewers to hear your tone of voice, lowering the likelihood that your message will be misinterpreted.
4. It’s Cheap and Easy
Video doesn’t have to be a daunting, pie in the sky idea. Anyone can do it, and it’s easier and simpler than you may think. All you need is a plan of the the information you’re going to share, a decent video camera (or even a mobile phone), and a workable location to shoot the video. The speaker can express the idea in his or her own words, rather than having to spend hours constructing the message using just the right words in an email. Plus, the viewer will be able to sense the emotion in the speaker’s voice, and feel like they’re part of the plan.
Video is quickly becoming peoples’ preferred method of receiving information – and that’s a great thing, because it’s a robust tool that you can easily add to your internal communication plan. To continue the discussion on using video at your company, drop us a line.
Photo by Sam McGhee on Unsplash