SPOTLIGHT ON: Online video - A guide for internal communicators
Part One - Is it right for you?A hot topic amongst many and embraced by some, it’s likely you’ve wondered at some point if online video is the right tool for improving communication in your company. Throughout September the Internal Comms Hub takes a closer look at this increasingly popular medium. Part one of this four-part series will help you decide whether you should put on your director's hat, or if you’re better off yelling, “Cut!”
If you’re already using or thinking of using online video then you’re in good company. Melcrum's recent global research into social media revealed that communicators are increasingly turning to social media and web 2.0 tools, to engage employees in the company strategy and to drive business results.
The business benefits of social media are evident, the research, completed by 2,212 communicators, found social media contributed to improved levels of employee engagement (21 percent), better communication with remote workers (16 percent), knowledge management and collaboration (25 percent), improving employee feedback (20 percent) and making business leaders more visible and accessible (14 percent). When asked about channels used for internal communications, online video and webcasts were cited as of increasing importance.
But this shouldn’t come as a surprise. From blogging to podcasting, the evolution to online video was inevitable.
Video revolution
In days gone-by, an online video venture would have been a costly corporate production, circulated by DVD, and consumed through computers or an on-site television. During the first-half of the decade, simply getting the basic infrastructure behind an online video to work was a feat in itself. End users frustratingly clicking the play button would have been more familiar with an on-screen “buffering” message interrupting their viewing pleasure every few seconds, than the almost seamless video stream quality we’re used to now.
It’s become an important business tool not just to drive customer growth and increase profit but also to collaborate on key projects and open up the business and its inner workings to everyone involved
But video has since come a long way in a short space of time. Today, new platforms are able to handle the medium much more easily. Jim Brewer, web developer, says: “Online video has benefited from both the massive increase in network capacity and the tremendous increase in network throughput. When combined with streaming compression technologies, online video offers excellent playback, with many content providers offering HD quality resolution”.
The YouTube effect
The creation of YouTube in 2005 has changed the way we shoot, share and appreciate video in two distinct ways: Firstly it has established the concept of viral video, where a well-conceived video can gather millions of views, changing opinions and creating celebrities, for example, in lightening quick speed. And secondly it has shifted our demand from previously slickly produced, polished video content to quick-fire, three minute clips shot by anyone with access to a mobile phone, flip camera or video camera.
Much like the widespread use of blogs has created millions of citizen journalists, user generated online video content is no longer solely the domain of professionals. YouTube isn’t alone. The internet is teaming with popular social networking platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace where you can share video clips, allowing them to be viewed by an even wider audience.
A multi-purpose medium
So where do communicators fit in?
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Have your say
Have you introduced online media into your communications strategy? Did you come up against any challenges while doing this? How did you build your business case?
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