How to make a great induction video for your business
The term ‘induction videos’ can have a mixed reaction from people at all levels of the business. A lot of people will have had to endure an induction video that was dull, cringe-worthy and about as inspirational as the company paper clip!
The trick is to know how to use the advantages of video in a way that allows you to use video as an induction tool that is powerful, inspirational, informative, engaging and time saving. It ultimately needs to be successful in terms of welcoming new staff to your organisation and engaging them in key information and messages.
Here are some tips that will help you to firstly consider how effective video can be as an induction tool and once you have considered this, ensure that you induction video project is a success and has maximum impact and ROI.
1/ Consider who is the audience and do you have different types of audiences that need engaging in slightly different ways? For example, lower level manual staff will respond to different messages than higher level management staff. The age of your audience is also important to consider when thinking of ways to engage them in your messages. The beauty of video nowadays is that the lower cost and greater flexibility with technology means that you can create different versions targeted at slightly different audiences. We often recommend that a series of short videos is more engaging than one long piece anyway, therefore if you have multiple audience styles to engage, it might be worth tailoring different pieces to each audience. This doesn’t necessarily need to mean much greater cost or more production, as if considered from the outset it can be rolled into the complete production project and done as a whole.
2/ Involve the production company in your concept and ideas from the beginning. A good production company will have enough experience in this field to best advise and consult on your ideas and the best ways of communicating your key messages creatively from the outset. If you simply give a production company your creative ideas set in stone you will be missing out on the expertise and experience that they can bring to this aspect of the project and the project will likely not be executed as successfully as if they are involved from the outset. A good production company are not only technically excellent, but should be experts in helping to convey the messages in the most appropriate way.
3/ Involve your people as much as possible. As much as professional presenters and actors are options for all kinds of video productions, if you are looking to engage new staff and employees in your company brand and messages then using your own people to do this is far more powerful and real. This does not have to just be the standard ‘talking heads’ or CEO comment to camera – there are many, many more creative ways of involving your staff in the piece and engaging your audience as a result.
4/ Think of maximising your end results and using them in as many ways as possible. As well as using them in the standard ways, for new starters, recruits, on your intranet and within new starts training sessions, think about how they might impact current staff too. Have you recently reminded your current staff of the company brands and mission? If current staff have featured in the video they would appreciate seeing the piece and being thanked now doubt. So maybe organise a ‘premiere showing’. Make a big deal of your new video assets and use them as an excuse to get staff together in this way.
5/ Think about making the videos easy to update and develop in the long term; again making the most of the content and filming that has been done. How can they been kept up to date and is there a way that updates can be produced throughout the year, using a similar format / style to the originals.
6/ Work with a company who have a proven track record in producing these types of communication video projects – not just any production company. As in any industry there are various types of production companies with different specialisms. If you choose a production company who don’t necessarily have the experience of internal communication projects then you will potentially waste a lot of time and money in not getting it right. So choose a full service company who can consult and advise on your company communication messages as well as produce your videos technically and creatively. And it goes without saying that in this industry especially you get what you pay for – don’t ask for quotes online and make you decision based on price or it will come back to bite you! Invite potential suppliers in for a meeting, you will gauge if they genuinely have the skills and expertise to help you and make it an easy and enjoyable process for you and your team. A long established company may cost more in the short term but in the long run it will save you masses of time, hassle and long term costs as they will ensure your project runs smoothly and meets (and exceeds) the communication objectives for your business. Ask for examples of previous video production work and qualify they can do what they say they can do…
To talk to us about how we can help with your induction video project or other internal communication video and presentation requirements contact us here….
