Is your enterprise video ready?

Video is playing an increasingly important role in the way people share information.  Chances are, all of us will watch at least one video today for either entertainment or informational purposes. A recent Gartner press release indicated that by 2015, 60 percent of workers will be consuming video content on their mobile devices.
As employees become more comfortable interacting with video in their personal lives on social networks and websites it is likely that they will expect the same convenience in their work life too. Let’s be honest, anyone would rather watch a three minute video versus read a 20-page manual! In this blog post we take a look at all the business use cases where video can be used effectively in the enterprise.

Leadership and executive communication

  • Video can be an excellent tool for executive messaging. According to a Cisco report from the Yankee Group, the persuasiveness of a video message is much stronger when compared to written or oral communication by 43 percent. Most executives usually send out a quarterly email with business updates to their employees as a form of communication. Imagine if you could replace this with a five minute video where employees could not only see and hear the message but also add emotional elements like passion and energy making for a more powerful message.

Corporate voice

  • Videos can be used to express the corporate voice of the organization, in a more engaging way that any amount of newsletters or emails. As executives try and stay more engaged with their employees, video can play a crucial role in encouraging transparency.

Employee collaboration tool

  • Since many people have smartphones these days with camera capabilities, user generated video content is the next step in video empowerment in the enterprise. Employees can use this to take short videos during their workday to share experiences and best practices with peers or teams. As a company, this allows you to crowd source knowledge, improve employee engagement and set the foundation for a strong learning culture.

Sales enablement

  • Sales is your company’s frontline. To maintain their edge they need to be regularly updated with new information and video can be a very effective tool to achieve this in the shortest time possible. Whether you need to onboard new sales professionals, provide new product information or hand out engaging sales collateral, video is the perfect format. The same Yankee Group report says that participants learn 200% more with video. So go ahead decrease time spent in Live training and replace boring power points and reference sheets with short, snappy and visually engaging videos – your sales staff will thank you!

Powerful marketing and advertising tool

  • Video, based on the nature of its format allows the most creative freedom when it comes to messaging which perhaps makes it the richest tool for marketing, advertising and branding. Research indicates that conversion rates are higher when audiences are exposed to video content.  No amount of white papers, case studies and colorful brochures can compete with a solid and strongly produced video. Targeted video campaigns for specific audiences (partners, customers, suppliers) allow you to tailor your message more effectively. This coupled with analytics for attention drop off point, conversion clicks and popularity of content can in turn lead to further optimizing your video content so you get the most bang for your marketing buck.

Improved customer service

  • Imagine if you could make short engaging videos of all the most frequently asked questions by your customers. In these videos you could discuss the issues and suggest ways to solve them. How about videos that share common tips and tools for better using your products? The viral nature of video could help propel this knowledge faster plus you could harness the social elements to get instant feedback and suggestions for improvements. This could potentially cut your support calls by half and double customer satisfaction!

Internal process communications

  • We all suffer from email fatigue and sometimes lose important information in the daily collection of emails. The most common casualty of “lost emails” are internal process communication emails that include important information like information about your 401k , an update on your benefits, or a required viewing of video on sexual harassment. If this information was transformed into succinct and engaging videos, it would likely be absorbed easier via video content. Videos can be a great tool for Human Resources to convey ethics and benefit updates, clarify rumors, post company culture updates, address new hire ramp ups etc.
These video options are only just scratching the surface for all the ways video can improve the enterprise. Video will soon be a part of your corporate communication strategy in some form or the other. Companies need to start thinking about their enterprise video strategy so they are ready to meet the challenges that come with it.
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