Internal Comms Videos You Didn’t Know Existed (Episode 97)

Welcome to the Video Made Simple podcast. I'm your host, Chris Schwager. And today's question is from Peter. And he wants to know, how do videos help internal communications? This is a great question. Because if you wish to improve communications and build stronger teams, then videos can fill that gap more effectively. So Peter, let me help you understand how internal communications videos actually work.

And what are they they are videos used for internal communications. Now, that's overly simple explanation. But yeah, they are videos used internally, they're not videos in use for marketing or outbound in any way. They usually things, it's very hard for us often when we're doing internal videos, communication video to explain it and show it because it's internal. And lots of the time, these big companies that we work for, don't want us to use it in on our website or for any marketing materials. So it can be quite difficult. But often, it's really indicative of something we do, such as a company profile video, for instance, still very highly produced. It's yeah, it's got the scripting, lots of detail in the scripting, because there's usually heaps of decision makers in there, trying to sign off on all their different aspects of what they need included in the video. But it goes through the same process, you know, scripting, on camera training, video production implementation, and getting it out there.

A couple of examples I want to show you or least explain to you now is three, three big ones. One is Ausgrid. They were originally in India, Australia, when we started working with them. And they were talking about file management, they were trying to get I think, I don't know, 10,000 employees, all on the same file management system, because they had multiple versions floating back and forth, and different file naming conventions. And all this data was just never consolidated, never organized very well. So they had a full change management team in there to assist with this overhaul. Right. And part of that overhaul was to have a kind of razzle dazzle video in there, which actually used an animated character that they use, it was kind of like their ambassador for the program, if you like, but they used and kind of headed up the video. So it's really successful, because people aligned to these visuals in these video really well. And so what they did is they use this animated character through a lot of different areas of their marketing wasn't just the video, but they use it on Billboard, not billboards. But posters and things like that around around the place. And they kind of used it in digital format so that people recognize that the change was coming the video explain what that change was, and that everybody in the organization would be taking part in, you know, offline training, if you like, where it'd be like a day of actual one on one style or group training, where they would be able to explain in detail how it works and what to train them up on program. So that was really successful, that was a really fun project to be a part of, because we got to kind of share the whole, I guess, history of Ausgrid along with this transition that they were going through and why it was important for them to do that.

The next example is New South Wales Police Force. Now I feel like I'm speaking all the big names here. But these are the people that we typically work with on these types of big operations where they have a significant change needing to happen within the organization. New South Wales Police Force has like like 15,000 officers in New South Wales, and mental health was a quite a big thing within the police force. And obviously, the churn rate of offices was by gets high enough that they really need to raise awareness of mental health and the impact that it has, and how to manage it effectively. So it was a really fun project, because they had, they did lots of videos, it wasn't just one, you know, video kind of fits all they did heaps, so they kind of sort of had this almost like a pyramid type of type of approach where they had the head of police. And then from there, this kind of first tier of experts that talked about all the different areas of the mental health program they're rolling out, along with, then all of the different areas beneath that. So actual topical content and sort of how to content if you like, that actually got people to consider their mental health and what they could do to improve on it. So it was really, really fun project. We love working with them. We got to hear some amazing stories of those that actually struggled through the mental health. So that was another part of it, too, is like unpacking and demystifying mental health, you know, it's so always swept under the rug. And you can imagine in the police force, nobody wants to put up their hand in a minute, right? Because, you know, they're, they're off the job, you know, and they're unfit. They had to, like really manage that stigma. And part of that was to get it out in the open and use videos to do that.

That a third example is defense force. And we loved our interview just recently with Kate Robinson. She was such a gun. She's such a pro, she saw so pro. This particular example, where she did a half hour program. So it was one video, but a half hour video. So completely different New South Wales Police Force, there's a demand to develop ethical and values based leadership within a military rules based structure. research finds that there are many challenges. And you know what, it's such a interesting concept to develop a half an hour video as opposed to the usual 30-second videos that we're producing. But in this particular scenario, half an hour was actually a practical application, because it was in amongst a whole bunch of training, I think they did days or if not weeks of training. These types of videos basically broke it up. You know, it's interesting, when people implement video in this way, you get to hear from people that you wouldn't ordinarily hear from, right, because, you know, senior leaders in the Defence Force aren't going to appear in some training, you know, group that happens, like literally every week, so videos are a way for them to leverage that time of that expert in the across the whole of the Defence Force, right. So hugely successful, that episode is going to be coming up in I think, the next two or three weeks, so have a listen out for It's Kate Robinson.

She's the one that brought in defense force. And we've known Kate for over 10 or 15 years, and she's just been such a delight to work with. Look, you know, what internal videos are powerful. And like we know from all video marketing, it's the same for your internal comms, you know, you've got to have longevity, right? It's, it's got to be done right. You know, you are internally marketing, if you like, the proposition that the organization is a great place to work, it has good structure, there's good people here and it's a great place to work videos can serve a higher purpose for the business than just being an internal comms video.

So here are five ways your internal videos can be more effective. One walkthrough videos, onboarding new employees, record FAQs, to help new employees get up to speed. Two, training and troubleshooting videos. Now I've gone through a little bit of that with you. But recording loom videos, for instance, for training and developing processes, improving employee engagement and helping with like troubleshooting with employee questions and things like that and helping resolve those issues. So lots of FAQ type type stuff, updates and announcements. This is great, particularly for senior leaders who want to basically get a message down through the line. So it can be great for product update, market launches, closing deals that can sometimes be the most powerful when it's coming from a senior leader.

Four is live streaming and or video meetings, Zoom meetings, short meetings, keeps everyone in the loop, you know, video, we've underestimated the power of video here. But synchronous video or live video is hugely, hugely valuable in a world where getting to places now is a little bit harder than it used to be. And number five personalized email messages. This is so trendy right now, we love personalized email messages. It's just so powerful when you take the time to do that one on one for someone how validated that makes that relationship and how warm and fuzzy they they get out of it. And you know what, it's faster. Oh my god, it can be so much faster to record a video then to type it out. I mean, I'm talking like 20 minutes difference in some cases.

So send personalized emails to employees or coworkers. And that would be just a brilliant idea for you guys for this year. We've talked about internal communication videos, but if you want to know more jump on a 15 minute video call with me. So I can walk you through how you can create clear messages that's conversational and human and benefits your employees.

We've helped hundreds of professionals just like you get to ridgefilms.com.au/diy and the links in the show notes. And Peter, thank you so much for asking your question. How to videos help internal communications. If you want to know more about communication, building teams strengthening working relationships in business. I'm sure this podcast is really going to help you. And for listeners, what has you feeling overwhelmed? Oh my god. Submit your video marketing questions ridgefilms.com.au/question For your chance to get coached by me. Thank you so much for listening and see you next week.