Business video is changing ... let your clients speak for you

Don't get caught in the trap of creating a video so that you and your colleagues can pat each other on the back and say 'don't we look good, aren't we great'
Instead you should be thinking about your customers issues and needs that will be solved or improved by using your product or service. How can you help to make their lives easier or better. It sounds dramatic I know, but think about it - what is the end result of a customer coming to you instead of one of your competitors?
For me the answer is easy - now I've taken the time to talk to my customers and find out. Our clients say that they appreciate working with New Edge because of the added value that our expertise in video communication brings to a project. Have a look at the Video Testimonials from the home page introduction on the New Edge website to see what our clients have to say:

People buy from people, and a set of video testimonials like this lets your clients do the selling for you. Viewers can tell that the video is genuine and not set up in any way. Contrast the natural style of this film to the ‘Daz’ washing powder adverts we all know and love to hate:

Do you really believe that the lady in the advert did not know Danny Baker was about to knock on the door?

Compare this style with the video testimonials and interview with the MD in the general overview film we recorded for Blue Chip.

For most of you the key messages of this film are very specific to IBM server maintenance, but imagine that the film was your clients talking about your business.
Here is another example from the optical sector for No7 Contact Lenses  Imagine that you own an independent optical practice – what would you feel about using No.7 as a supplier after watching this film?

My only criticism with both these companies is that they have decided to hide the videos on a back page of their website only accessible through the menu. I believe that these messages should be ‘shouted it from the rooftops’ in a prominent position on the homepage - they are a great introduction to the company, it’s ethos and it’s values.

This type of film suits the British approach to business perfectly. You get all the information you need to make an initial judgment about the company, which is qualified by significant personnel from well known brands speaking on the company’s behalf.

In contrast here is a video demonstrating a new cheap video solution borrowed from the US. Do you believe that the presenter is from the company? Is she an expert in IT data recovery? Do you feel informed enough to make a judgment on working with the company?

If you are in any doubt she is clearly a busy lady – here she is again selling cleaning materials…. And again selling beds

What do you think, am I right?

I’d appreciate your views

Why Clear Communication equals Improved Staff Motivation

I hesitate to use the ‘R’ word, but it’s clear that the economic climate could be better.  When things are bleak economically we naturally look at costs we can reduce, and for many organisations internal communications are seen as a ‘nice to have’, so they are reduced or cut to a bare minimum.  I would argue that an engaged workforce is a happy workforce, so by failing to engage employees with honest communications companies are in fact making the problem worse.

If your company or organisation has difficult issues, an honest and up-front attitude is more likely to get staff onto your side.  If you tell them that everything is OK, or say nothing, they’ll see through it and think the worst.  According to the British Association of Communicators in Business (CiB) “When the situation starts to improve, organisations that have not given sufficient attention to this issue may find that recovery is slower because of the lasting negative impact on staff loyalty and engagement.”

So what is the best way to communicate?

Messages should be delivered directly from the originator to all members staff with as little dilution and distortion of message as possible.  The traditional tiered communications strategy where the CEO/MD talks to directors - who then talk to regional managers - who talk to line managers - who eventually talk to staff is generally a disaster.  Each person in the chain will put their own interpretation onto the message and deliver their own version to the next person. We all know how disastrous ‘Chinese whispers’ can be!

A communication delivered by video makes sure that everyone receives exactly the same message.  In addition to this a video has the benefit of being able to supplement the communication with strong images and other non-verbal attributes - adding power to the message.

A couple of years ago one of our clients had experienced a brilliant first three quarters of the year, and wanted to avoid the usual drop in sales in the final quarter. Their product is seen as an everyday item and wouldn’t normally be on anyone’s Christmas list.  New Edge produced a video for them congratulating staff on the brilliant year to date and reminding them that ‘It ain’t over ‘til it’s over!’  This theme was emphasised by comparing their situation with a recent ‘miraculous’ recovery by Liverpool FC in a European football match. They were 3-0 down at half time and came through to win 4-3.  I’m not a football fan, but couldn’t help being drawn in by the excitement of the story – and the goals.  Adding emotive and powerful music served to enhance the positivity and hope of the message even further, along with the introduction of a staff incentive with great prizes.

The results were fantastic – an engaged and motivated workforce achieved increased sales in the final quarter giving the company a record year.

DIY with regular video podcasts

This example involved quite a complicated production, but if you want to communicate regularly with staff using video this needn’t be the case.  Regular video podcasts to all staff from the CEO/MD, delivered in a friendly, conversational manner will have a similar effect.  Keep it short and to the point, and involve your viewers by ensuring there is a way for them to reply, comment and ask questions.  As well as making staff feel involved in the process, this will also give you ideas for future issues to address.  A video consultant would help you to set up an area in the corner of an office where you can produce this type of message without having to bring in a production company every time.  Make sure that the person who delivers the message is completely comfortable with talking to a camera.  They will need training, and must have a process in place to construct their messages effectively.  There are plenty examples where people believe they can do this and just turn on the camera and talk – a disaster!

So if you are faced with challenges in these uncertain times, you need to increase your emphasis on internal communications, get staff behind you and move forward as a cohesive team.

Business Communications need to attract ALL potential clients?

Effective communications are the backbone of any successful business. Whether we’re selling
informing, promoting or educating we all have to communicate to survive – so why do so many businesses get it wrong? English was never my strong point at school, but during my relatively short business career I’ve listened carefully and learned from the wealth of advice that’s available. I know that:

• A business communication should avoid talking
  about ‘me’, ‘us’ and ‘we’; preferring to engage the reader with ‘you’ and ‘your’.


• It’s better to get someone from outside my business to write my website and newsletter copy – even though I have a degree in journalism.


• I should avoid writing long sections of text and use bullet points and headers to help the reader have a comfortable reading
  experience

With all this knowledge readily available for free, why do I continue to be bombarded with junk mail, newsletters, twitter connections and emails that do all the above and more – ensuring a speedy trip to my deleted
folder or my bin!

Rant over.... sorry!

What I’d really like to investigate today are the more subtle ways we can try and ensure that our business communications, whether text or video can be more engaging to all of our readers – and it’s much more complicated than I ever appreciated. In my role as a school governor over recent years I have seen attitudes and teaching methods shifting to policies that accommodate all learning styles; visual, auditory and kinaesthetic.

• Visual learners are happy seeing and reading as
  in the traditional school environment we probably all remember from our school days. They respond well to pictures and diagrams.


• Auditory learners are more comfortable listening and speaking – so discussing and debating issues, and asking questions. Sound and noises can also be useful learning tools


• Kinaesthetic learners are most effective when they are touching, doing or holding – I can relate to this myself from my
  geography A level course when I’m pretty sure that I passed the final exam on the strength of my learning from various practical field trips – not the lessons and text books.

For more information on this and a free test to discover
your own preferred learning, visit: http://www.businessballs.com/vaklearningstylestest.htm. My own preferred style is a mixture of visual and kinaesthetic. Many of us will prefer
a mixture of learning styles and an internet search reveals various statistics on how the population is divided. The
following diagram is representative of the consensus, with the majority of us having a visual or kinaesthetic bias and a lower percentage preferring auditory
learning.



Bringing this back to business communications where we are
trying to promote and inform about our products or services, can we afford to ignore the 20 – 25% of the population who prefer sound and speech by promoting our services using only text and images? How many websites do you come across that don’t have either video or audio content?

How do we engage with each other online?

Interested in how such findings might affect the way we
interact with online networking and social media sites I instigated a ’straw poll’ on Ecademy, the online business networking
site. As is common with such sites businesses and individuals are encouraged to construct a profile that is likely
to attract connections, build a network and ultimately find new business. Admittedly this is not scientific research,
simply a few questions in a blog that will only have been read and commented on by people who read blogs – so probably not those who prefer an auditory experience!

The blog was posted twice to give it a better chance of
reaching more people. It was viewed 2,767 times, and received 76 unique responses after discounting repeats and replies. The question was simple:

"How do you read someone’s profile; what attracts you, why do
you stay and what turns you off?"

More than one third of the contributors look for a
photograph first while nearly half consider a photograph as part of their decision on whether to continue reading. More than 10% said that they would not look at a profile that does not contain a photograph. The next highest criteria in the decision to stay or go is the content of the opening few lines
of text. Ecademy members are encouraged to write 50 individual words that represent them and these are indexed for
search. Some Ecademists consider the 50 words as an overview of the person and make a decision to engage based on these along with the photograph. The next most popular category at around 20% was the need for a professional and interesting layout.

The overall message was clear: most people want to engage
with another person – a human being – and look for personal compatibility and common/relevant interests as well as business opportunities. You have to grab them with a professional
positive photograph, and a well thought out opening paragraph that gives them an idea as to who you are as well as what you do. For Ecademy users this can be achieved through their 50 words, although some contributors to the blog completely
ignore the 50 words so my advice would be to work on your opening paragraph as well as the fifty words.

You will see from my own Ecademy profile here
that I have chosen a selection of words that encompass the whole of me, while the primary text is business focussed. I
rely on my short introductory video to let the human being shine through! The great benefits of video in this
environment is that it is attractive to both visual and auditory visitors, and it contains a whole load of non-verbal information through which the viewer will make unconscious decisions on whether they like you, and even if they might
like to do business with you...

The turn-offs when visiting profiles are:

• No photograph


• Overt selling without an effort to engage
  personally


• Negative statements saying ‘don’t contact me if
  you are.......’


• Too much dense text without breaks or images


• No significant content – looks like you can’t be
  bothered

To conclude...



As a creator of business communications the conclusions I
draw from combining the results of this ‘straw poll’ with my understanding of preferred styles of learning (engagement
in business communication terms) is that we have to engage with individuals rather than corporate entities. A communication is more effective if it is from a human being who shares a part
of their own personality and their passion for the business, rather than an impersonal message from ‘the company’. In
video terms this means that we always try and get somebody from within the business to present the core message, as opposed to the traditional corporate video technique of using a voice over artist or actor – neither of whom can demonstrate their true understanding and passion of the business.

We should also always try to include elements of visual, auditory and kinaesthetic into all our communications if we want to be ‘heard’. Of course doing this via a newsletter is a challenge, so you could think about adding interesting links
that contain audio and video to activate the visual and auditory. Encouraging your readers to take part in
some way will help to engage the kinaesthetic readers – for example, I have linked to the test above and the action of taking the test will appeal to a sector of my audience.

Why should corporate communications be a 'turn-off'

Mention the phrases corporate communication or corporate video in a conversation and people switch off, fall alseep, or even actually decide to do some work - anything they can think of to avoid having to watch.  The head of corporate communications from a major high stree bank recently told me that they had decided to use less video to communicate with staff because the staff weren’t watching.

 I wonder why……Could it be that the videos they are producing are formulaic, dull and lifeless - or could it be that the bank is insisting on maintaining their corporate identity - even to an internal audience who are probably surrounded and suffocated by that identity all day, every day.I’d like to wager one thing.  The same audience who don’t want to watch the corporate video are rushing home to catch the latest episode of their favourite TV programme.

So what’s the really simple answer to succesful employee engagement - make business communications more like factual television, which has to  play to a large an audience as possible without excluding, patronising, or discriminating - Info-tainment is the trendy description.  A business communication can be entertaining and fun while also educating or informing.

Successfiul television employs simple language and avoids jargon.   So relax - give your corporate identity a rest, and talk to staff like you’d talk to your friend or neighbour.  Entertain them, engage them on different levels - dare I even say have fun!! 

Crucially, talk to them in a language that they understand.  Here are examples of a good and a bad communication.

 Richard Flewitt
business video producer
    www.new-edge.tv