In today’s age of remote work and home offices, companies are facing a challenge for their internal communications. How can you make sure your employees feel like they’re part of a unified work culture? How can you make announcements or explain complex topics while avoiding long and misleading e-mail threads or pointless online meetings?

This is where video content shines. Usually, video is heralded for its marketing potential and external communications purposes. However, companies are composed of humans too! – shocker, I know – and video provides a great channel to streamline important messages in simple and efficient ways. 

So, today I’m going to walk you through what the finest production companies accomplish by using video as an effective communication tool for your workers. Hopefully answering all your doubts about using different approaches, what type of videos best suit your needs, and more!

Let’s get started, shall we?

First of all, why video?

Because of its interactive nature, video has become one of the most effective ways to communicate in the current digital landscape. You see it everywhere, from Face Time calls, to eLearning courses and live meetings. 

There’s something about dynamism that innately pulls at our attention, making video content visually stimulating and engaging. Not only is video more captivating than using just text or pictures, but it can also incorporate those mediums, by using graphics and animated images, to illustrate its message. 

Imagine how long it would take to describe a scene in a text rather than simply showing it through video! Why write pages and pages of text when you can use video to explain your message in just a few seconds? 

Humans are emotional beings, and video can trigger those emotions like no other medium. They let you talk directly to your audience and convey a personalized message, this way, improving information retention and making it easier to absorb complex ideas. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that video is the preferred medium in the eLearning industry.

Choosing live-action or animation

Before we dive deep into the different types of videos you can use in your internal communications, let’s talk about using live-action footage and animation. 

Animation and motion graphics allow you to explore the wide range of possibilities of using video. They let you combine infographics, data visualization, metaphors, and colorful motion effects, to captivate your audience and boost engagement. 

This doesn’t mean that animation is simply better than live-action, it’s a little bit more complex than that. But if you’re looking to produce a medium-length video that explains a crucial topic, or need to illustrate your point using images, then animation is definitely the way to go. 

On the other hand, if you need a short video to make an informal announcement or a quick update, live-action is your best choice. You can probably record it on your mobile phone, make a simple post-production edit and share it.

The most effective types of videos for internal communication

There’s at least one type of video to suit each of your communicational needs. Are you looking to introduce a new product or service to your employees? Do you want to teach them how to organize their tasks and workflow? Do you want to boost morale and strengthen your company culture? It’s important to answer exactly what your main goal is before you start.

Explainer Videos

Explainer videos are one of the most effective pieces of content in the online marketing puzzle, and they can also do wonders for your internal communications. They are short animated pieces that tackle complex topics in a simple and easy-to-understand way. They are so effective because they rely on the power of storytelling to get their message across.

One way to use explainer videos is to train your employees on your product or services. After all, they need to know what you’re selling better than anyone. How else are they going to communicate them to your customers? Explainer videos make training fun and engaging. 

Plus, explainer videos work especially well with new hires. We all know that onboarding new members into your organization can be very time-consuming. Explainer videos get that task out of the way by providing a clear and personalized message to incoming employees.

Company Stories and Culture Videos

Company stories and culture videos put your employees at the center stage. They focus on your brand values as defined by the people who make your products or services. By featuring your employees, this type of video works perfectly if you’re looking to make everyone feel like they’re part of a team. 

Culture videos come in all shapes and sizes. Maybe you want to interview the founders of your company to tell the story of how they created the brand. Or you may want to make a fun video about some of the quirkiness and inside-jokes that happen every day in your office. Culture videos can do just that!

HR teams know that culture videos can also be great for recruitment purposes. You can show your employees talking about the benefits of working for your brand, or what a normal day looks like in your office. You can even answer frequently asked questions to help new employees get up to speed. 

And lastly, company stories can also be shared with your customers, letting them see the human side of your brand. By sharing a fun behind-the-scenes look at the products they love, you’re building a lasting relationship with your clients and strengthening their trust in you.

Updates and Announcement Videos

We mentioned this type when discussing live-action videos, so I’ll keep it brief. Video provides an easy way to communicate an important announcement across your organization. You can make sure every employee knows about a newly closed deal, an upcoming event or just a quick update from your CEO.

Events Videos

How many times has your company held a special event, like a product launch, an important presentation, or a nice office party, only to realize that no one filmed it? Event videos offer a way to keep track of those moments and share them with the employees that missed it.

Length, storytelling, and other production tips from the pros 

Regardless of the type of video you’re going to make, there is some basic advice and rules you can follow to keep your piece interesting. Let’s go over them! 

Less is more

One of the key advantages of video is how it gets its message across in a quick way. So making a long video would defeat that purpose! 

We recommend not going over the two-minute mark and introducing your main subject in the first 30 seconds. This will bare your message to its essentials, sticking your video to your core idea and removing any unnecessary information that would distract your audience. 

The power of storytelling

Every good video tells a story. Simple as that. It doesn’t need to be a very elaborate one as long as all the hallmarks of effective visual storytelling are present. Just follow a simple three-act structure: a beginning or introduction, a description, and a conclusion. 

Writing a script lets you plan out your video, making sure it’s following a tidy structure and keeping your message short and sweet. Make sure you explain your ideas with stories and examples, this will also help with information retention! 

Branding your video

Many companies have a “brandbook”, or brand guidelines, that details the brand’s color palette, the preferred typography, how to use the logo, and more. It helps to unify the brand’s identity across all of its communications. The same should apply to your video, making your piece feel like it’s part of a much bigger conversation between you and your employees. 

So, whenever you have a chance in your video, try sticking to your color palette and your typography. The same goes for using your logo, though don’t overdo it! As much as you may love your logo, it doesn’t need to appear on every frame. You can simply put it at the start and end of your video, like a friendly reminder.

Promoting and distributing internal videos

Internal communications that use video content is supposed to boost your employee satisfaction. If the members of your company feel disengaged from their work, sending them tons of videos per day won’t do any good. It’s important to carefully think about how you want to distribute your internal videos. 

If your company uses internal newsletters, video content would be a great addition. Even dispersed and remote workers that check their e-mail will watch your piece, making them feel like they’re part of a team. 

Also, keep in mind that video doesn’t impose itself on your workers’ time as meetings and livestreams do. Your employees can watch your video whenever they have the time to pay attention to it. Plus, videos are available anytime and anywhere, while e-mails are often deleted or hard to track. If they’re faced with a question you’ve answered in a video, they can always go back to the piece. 

For that reason, a good idea is to upload your content online, to create a sort of library of all your videos. You can always have them “unlisted” or set them to “private”, to only be available through a private link. 

Conclusions

Now more than ever, people are working miles away from their offices, and internal communications can be a tricky thing. Thankfully, with all that we’ve learned from using video in marketing strategies, we can apply it all with the help from our employees. 

Including video content in your own organization is an integral aspect of every caring and successful company. So, give it a try!

About the Author: Victor Blasco is an audiovisual designer, video marketing expert, and founder/CEO of the explainer video company Yum Yum Videos. Besides running the business, he’s a lifelong student of Chinese philosophy and a passionate geek for all things sci-fi.