Video has never been as integrated and accessible in our day to day lives than right now. Not only are we constantly browsing video content on our devices, these same devices double as video cameras themselves. There’s a latent potential for any of today’s industry professionals to become video content producers. For many, the only thing stopping them from taking the step into video stardom is that sensible business question around cost/benefit – is it profitable?

The simple answer is yes. The sophisticated answer is that it depends on how you use video as a tool to elevate your business.

The power of video extends beyond social media. It can completely transform your relationships with your customers and staff. This means videos can extend your reach while also humanising your brand — and, when done right, with little time investment.

In TechSmith’s ‘Value of Visuals’ research they found that adopting visual communication in the workplace could give employees about 33 minutes back in their week. Let’s explore how using videos as part of normal course of business can help you save time every day and, allow you to better communicate internally and externally.

Customer relationships are about people connecting with people

Regardless of your industry, company size, or target audience, you’ll be faced with the challenge of having to be available around the clock for your customers. While a 24/7 customer service department is desirable, for many companies it simply isn’t an option.

Instead, using video and imagery within your customer support material as an extension of your brand goes a long way to build a connection with your customers. With some effort spent upfront in creating videos and tutorials, you’ll have a library of on-demand content for your customers to reference. With each video you’re getting an extra touchpoint with your audience and connecting in a personal way.

While it doesn’t replace one-on-one conversations with people, there’s real value in using visuals to communicate. A recent study conducted by TechSmith found two-thirds of people understand information better when it’s communicated visually — and 48% of people found video the most engaging form of communication. By making it as easy as possible for your target audience to discover and grasp the information they’re looking for, you’ll be a step closer to gaining them as a customer.

Your offering and target audience will help shape the kind of content you can and should produce. A great starting point is with a video illustrating who you are, showcasing your product or service, and answering some commonly asked questions. Videos cement human touch into your business’ brand identity and the relationship becomes personal rather than transactional.

Flexibility, time-efficiency, integration – all captured with a camera

Managing a business requires a diverse range of skills and abilities. In today’s market, video content creation has become a requirement for any business looking to engage with their own team.

The same findings from the study commissioned by TechSmith are just as relevant within the workplace: people absorb information better and are more likely to be motivated by visuals than plain-text. In other words, your employees don’t want to read long-winded emails.

Anything from short messages to longer instructional videos has been shown to save time and improve the performance of employees. Videos can also ensure you’re sharing a consistent message across your organization. Rather than an employee attempting to relay information to colleagues from a previous conversation, a video recording removes any chance of distortion of information occurring. Short videos can be recorded and available for staff to watch on-demand or during their next shift – giving time back to you and your employees.

Most importantly, visuals put a face to the message. Where emails leave many to forget there’s a human on the other end, videos help to create a human, eye-to-eye connection. Seeing a person, hearing their voice, and seeing their body language is essential for feeling connected and motivated, and enriches the amount of information communicated, even if viewed on a screen.

Once you begin integrating video into your schedule, it will quickly become apparent where else video communication lends itself. Here are some key areas to get started with.

*  When onboarding a new employee, record each time you run them through a new program via screen recording to capture the lesson. This will become part of an archive of video lessons that can be referred to in the future.

*  Try recording a quick video message in lieu of written email memos. You’ll find it noticeably quicker to simply speak your thoughts rather than taking the time to type out a message. With a video memo, the recorder and receiver both have the added benefit of verbal and physical expression through voice and body language that just isn’t captured in a typical email.

*  Remote workers are more present today than ever with cloud-based work becoming integral to our work lives. While working remotely can be extremely convenient, it can also lead to fragmentation within an organisation with remote workers becoming ‘outsiders’. Encouraging employees to communicate with remote co-workers across different time zones working asynchronously via recorded screencasts and including them in internal meetings can significantly boost team unity and integration.

It is important to remember the above tips are meant to simplify, and not to complicate. While you’ll want your customer-facing videos to capture your brand identity and fulfil a certain level of quality of production, you don’t need professional equipment or experience to create engaging content. In fact, creation tools that streamline the video-making process like TechSmith’s Camtasia are more affordable than ever. It’s simply a matter of making that first video.

From meeting recordings and company announcements to tutorials and FAQs, videos allow you to be in many places at once.