Why?
It is the easiest way of cultivating a good work culture of inclusivity, camaraderie, and teamwork. After all, interacting with employees and keeping them informed and connected to your company encourages commitment and productivity.
Videos, especially in HR, can serve different purposes ranging from recruitment to training and general communication. Nearly all communications from team leaders can be delivered using an engaging video. But it isn’t easy.
What do I mean?
You may have the critical information you want to pass, but getting the employees to listen is quite difficult. Scattered teams and remote working has made things even more challenging.
So, what can you do about it?
Here are 5 simple tips for creating videos that employees would love to watch.5 Easy Ways to Make Engaging Videos for EmployeesMost people prefer learning through videos: approximately 73% prefer learning about a product or service through short videos. The same applies to your employees.
To keep them hooked, you need a little bit of creativity.
Sounds challenging? Consider the following tips to make engaging videos for employees.1. Capture Attention QuicklyYour first goal for making videos that engage employees is to spark curiosity in the shortest time possible. You can do this by leveraging George Loewenstein’s information gap theory of curiosity, which was developed in the early 90s.
The theory notes that curiosity relies on the gap between what people know and what they don’t. Not knowing something gives people the urge to want to watch.
Therefore, you should give your video a catchy title, and the first 3 to 5 seconds must be intriguing. According to TikTok, over 63% of videos with the highest click-through rate deliver their message within the first three seconds.
Capture attention by utilizing exciting facts, a funny clip, or an unusual character in your intro. You can use good video editing software to add these elements.
Also, create a sense of urgency with catchy descriptions.2. Incorporate Attractive Visuals in Your VideosWhen it comes to videos, visuals offer unparalleled value. A 2022 study on Instagram stories supports this premise. It showed that 35% of users prefer content incorporating a mix of photos, text, and videos, as shown below:
Image via HubSpot
This applies to the videos you make for your employees as well. Add infographics, charts, and other visual representations of data instead of numbers, tables, and text.
You can also create employee testimonial videos where you show videos of your employees talking about why they love your company. This will motivate new employees and help them feel like a part of a great company.
For videos where top management is communicating with employees, don’t use text messaging, but show their faces to form a human connection.
These little things make a big difference in boosting employee engagement.3. Appeal to Their EmotionsAppealing to your employees’ emotions is a brilliant way to evoke action. It is the one trick marketers use to increase engagement and generate leads.
Emotions including surprise, fear, sadness, and anger are instrumental in increasing social media content’s chances of going viral, a 2022 study says.
Why is this a big deal? You might ask.
Well, the answer is simple. You can tap into people’s hunger for knowledge and use their emotions to create engaging videos.
The best emotions to aim for, apart from those mentioned above, include:
- Curiosity
- Interest
- Happiness
- Uncertainty
- Admiration
4. Utilize Storytelling TechniquesRemember your childhood when grandpa would read you stories
Remember how you’d always be excited to hear the next chapter?
Well, that’s the power of good storytelling and you can use it to make engaging employee videos.
Stories make things memorable and engage listeners on a personal level.
Forbes reports that stories are ideal for creating stronger bonds with the audience and making information more memorable.
Why does this matter?
It teaches you that you can utilize the same strategy to increase likability and trust in the workplace. While at it, involve your team members to create a character-driven story that will always remain engaging.5. Make Them LaughRegarding this point, Karen Buxman, a TEDx speaker, has practical advice to help you make engaging videos for employees. In this , she highlights that corporates that value a good laugh realize better short-term and long-term growth than rigid firms.
A Stanford Business podcast episode cements this fact by saying that humor does more than make people laugh. It allows people to connect, eliminate tension, foster trust, and compel others to see your point of view.
Drawing from these insights, I can safely say that adding humor to your videos will evoke employee engagement. You should, however, deliver this in the first few seconds of your video before they lose interest.
Considering using video to persuade without blowing the budget? Look for moments of surprise, share bloopers, and use funny trending videos to achieve this goal.Ready to Create Engaging Videos for Employees?Ready to rejuvenate your workplace culture by connecting with your staff personally?
These five tips should get you started on how to make engaging videos for employees to connect with them better. You can also use these tips for marketing videos, customer service videos, and more.
Coupled with authenticity, social proof, and relatability, your videos should be able to engage and delight your employees.
Have any questions on this topic? Leave your questions in the comments below.
