resources.

23 July 2013

Life through a Lens

If the global appeal of Fenton, ‘Charlie bit me’ and Socks the Dancing Pony have taught us anything (apart from the earning potential of animals and children), it’s the power of video to connect us to one another. At a simple click of the button we can enjoy a flash mob in Shanghai, a concert in Sydney or a retirement do in Skegness (if that’s your thing…). But if we’re using video to connect with strangers half way across the world, why aren’t we making better use of it as a tool for internal communication?

Today’s employees want to be engaged and entertained, to take a break from reading endless documents and receive information in another way, and while websites, e-zines and social media all have their part to play, they can’t compete with the personal touch of video.

Video lets our body language, tone and expressions strengthen our words. Video never forces us to check whether a ‘LOL’ is genuine or ironic; when a text message just leaves us stranded in a semantic wasteland. Body language helps us to get our points across when our words aren’t enough and allow us to be heard and understood by people, whatever language they might speak. With over 100 different languages spoken in London boroughs alone, the age of visual communication is now.

And let’s not forget the simple practical benefits. It allows us to get our messages out to all of our employees, wherever they’re based. No more cramming in to airless hotel conference facilities once a year to hear from the CEO, no more sending the intern to ‘take notes’ on behalf of the team. Video lets our employees hear what we have to say without them having to leave their desks, making them more inclined to listen to it.

camera lensIt’s also increasingly easy to use. Gone are the days of hiring heavy duty recording equipment and standing around looking like a lost BBC cameraman. Now you can record exciting, high definition footage on your smart phone and upload it on to your company’s website quicker than you can say ‘cut’. With smart phones now in such wide circulation, chances are you already have some skilled videographers sitting just a few feet away. Why not get them involved and tick both your technology and engagement boxes?

That’s what global consultancy firm Accenture did when they asked employees to submit employee orientation videos covering the best bits about working for the company. The take up was incredible, demonstrating that video can capture people’s imagination in a way that the written word often can’t.

The creative opportunities are enormous. You could use it to record messages from your management teams; tackling the often-heard criticism that senior leaders aren’t visible enough. You could film overseas conferences so that your employees can hear exactly what you’re telling people across the world. You could use video to show people the work that goes on across different part of your business or capture what your employees did during company charity events. You might even consider using it on your technical support pages to give people a step-by-step visual guide on how to overcome common technical problems. Just don’t make a lot of videos showing people how to turn their computers on and off…

At Sequel we’ve been channelling our inner Spielberg and creating exciting video content for some of our clients, including one-to-one interviews, team profiles, conference reporting and animation.

If you’re thinking about using video, now is the time to get involved. It might have killed the radio star but it could breathe new life in to your internal communication.

If you are interested in video please see Storyboard TV: 60 seconds with Sequel – short digests of Internal Communications news every two weeks.

By Claire Thurlow, Editor with Sequel Group