How to supercharge engagement with native video adoption

There is no shortage of content; after all, we live in the attention economy, where companies are vying for the little time we have at our disposal. Right now, content creators are searching for that killer angle, to pull you in and keep you coming back for more, delivered via the right channel for the most significant impact. In the midst of the battle for views, video content has emerged as the most effective medium for connecting people to your news.

Video is no longer the flavor of the month. It has grown in stature and popularity, from funny cat videos a decade ago to a way of life for influencers and YouTube personalities today. Now internal communicators and HR professionals can use video content to make their content stand out and demand the viewer's engagement.

Firstly, videos are incredibly memorable. Viewers retain 95% of a message from video as opposed to just 10% from text. They also offer superior ROI. Anyone can create a video with just their phone and basic video editing software (although you could explore a professional set up by building slick sets and using high-end equipment). And if an embedded video can increase conversion rate by 80%, then a native video, with a consistent user experience that keeps users on your platform, can only bring about next-level engagement.

With Unily's comprehensive and flexible employee experience platform, you can efficiently manage and deliver your video content. Unily empowers you to rapidly upload videos and target your audiences, to create compelling, personalized experiences. Once created, your videos can be shared effortlessly on any device. Upload, target, and share; it's that simple to power up your engagement.

Spotlight leadership and promote your mission

Video is quickly becoming the preferred medium for executives, as 59% of executives say they would rather watch video than read text. If you're relying on email communications for your leadership updates, consider that the average email open rate is only 21%; that's a one in five chance of someone opening your email, much less actually reading and engaging with your content.

Creating regular targeted video updates means that you reach and engage your target audience every time. You could, for instance, record business updates from your CEO and post them directly on your homepage in a prominent position. Alternatively, why not create a dedicated company updates hub where your people can see all relevant content in one place. With native video, you can reuse content anywhere you like across Unily, and for improved discoverability, you can even tag people featured in your video.

As discussed in our blog, 5 ways a digital workplace creates better leaders, a collaborative and communicative approach is the path towards great leadership. Spotlighting your leaders with video announcements makes their business updates far more powerful, and your people can start to feel a personal connection with your leadership and mission.

Onboarding and training

Studies have shown that 20% of new hires resign in the first 45 days. Onboarding, in other words, is vital for ensuring you keep hold of your best talent. It's your opportunity to make a positive first impression by providing essential company background and mission statements, crucial information about the employee's role coupled with key contacts, as well as pointing them to an area on your intranet with a comprehensive list of company policies.

It is said that 65% of learners are visual learners, so perhaps we should reconsider the common practice of sending text-heavy starter packs. With video in Unily, your company can create engaging and informative onboarding materials, to be accessed at your convenience on a dedicated HR hub. Creating a video catalog for new starters means you're enabling them to self-serve, reducing the need for costly onboarding meetings or demonstrations.

Training can also be delivered using video. Put together dynamic training programs composed of quick burst learning videos and create a training hub for easy access. How-to videos have proven to be the most popular form of video content on Instagram - people are always enthusiastic about learning with fun, instructive videos.

The perfect partnership of video and social

A study of 777 million Facebook posts has shown that video performs better than any type of social post, with 59% more engagement. It has been shown that visuals are processed 60,000 faster than text, so video is naturally more appealing, and much more memorable.

Enterprise social channels have become the de facto communication tool, allowing staff to keep up to date with the latest news and events, create and share initiatives, and collaborate on critical projects. Unily's powerful and flexible employee experience platform empowers people to create multiple social channels for open or private discussions. It is also mobile-friendly so that your people can carry on collaborating from anywhere.

You could, for instance, create a dedicated corporate responsibility social channel, where you share informative videos about your latest initiatives. Here are some possible topics to consider:

Promote charitable efforts - Raise awareness of important charitable causes, then record charity away days to highlight team efforts and achievements to encourage further participation.

Environmentally-friendly policies - Create new company policies that are good for the environment, like steps to reduce the carbon footprint. A video will give you a warmer and more impassioned delivery.

Corporate mission statements - A company's mission statement is the foundation on which company culture is built. Record and upload motivational videos to exemplify each of the main points in your mission statement.

Are you looking to maximize engagement?

Take your internal communications and HR guides to the next level with Unily's native video capabilities. Contact us for a free demo and experience the possibilities that are open to you.