In today’s fast-paced, digitally connected workplaces, internal communication video creation has emerged as a powerful tool for engaging employees and fostering a unified company culture. These videos simplify complex messages, enhance clarity, and connect dispersed teams in ways that traditional communication methods cannot.
Whether you’re addressing remote teams, onboarding new hires, or reinforcing company values, using video for internal communications creates impactful, memorable connections that drive engagement and alignment. Let’s dive into why leveraging video can revolutionize your internal comms strategy and how to create the types of video that resonate with your team and suit diverse learning styles.
Why use video for internal communications?
First, let’s address the obvious question — why use video for internal communications? The answer lies in how internal communication video content can bridge communication gaps, foster engagement, and also provide clarity in a way that traditional communication methods often fail to achieve. Videos for internal communication are a powerful tool to engage employees. Here’s why:
- Enhanced engagement: Videos are a great way to capture attention. They combine visuals, sound, and storytelling, making them more captivating than emails or text-heavy announcements. Research shows that viewers retain 95% of a message when watching a video, compared to just 10% when reading.
- Adaptable to diverse learning styles: Meanwhile, video content caters to visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners. This ensures employees with different learning styles can grasp the message effectively. This makes videos a more inclusive way to present information to a company.
- Global connectivity: In a world of remote work and dispersed teams, videos eliminate barriers. They are a powerful tool for bringing human connection to virtual environments, making it feel more personal and inclusive. In fact, 82% of employees feel more engaged with video-based communication.
- Improved efficiency: Furthermore, using video for internal communications can save time by condensing complex topics into digestible formats. For example, training videos or leadership updates can simplify lengthy documents into a few minutes of impactful content. This helps achieve internal communications strategy objectives.
- Stronger emotional impact: Whether it’s a heartfelt leadership message or a celebratory highlight reel, corporate videos have the power to humanize communication by inspiring and motivating employees. Just consider how emotions rarely come across over text alone.
Top 10 internal communications video ideas and examples
Internal communication videos are a great and powerful tool for enhancing your internal communications strategy. But when it comes to finding internal communications video ideas, you might be wondering where to get started. That’s where the following list comes in handy.
From leadership updates to team highlights, corporate videos can be tailored to engage employees across industries regardless of company size. So let’s discover internal communication video ideas and examples to inspire your strategy.
1. Leadership Updates
Keep employees connected and informed with short, personable updates from executives. These videos humanize leadership, build trust, and align teams with the company’s vision. For instance, a CEO sharing quarterly goals or celebrating wins via a video update makes information feel personal and engaging.
2. Training Videos
Simplify onboarding or skill development with structured, step-by-step tutorials. Training videos are especially helpful for explaining complex tasks, like mastering new software or learning safety protocols. For example, a tech company could leverage training videos to walk employees through product updates. This ensures consistent knowledge across the organization.
3. Company Culture Videos
Additionally, use internal communication video content to showcase your organization’s values, mission, and personality with engaging content. Highlight team-building activities, CSR initiatives, or employee recognition events to foster a sense of belonging. These videos not only celebrate achievements but also strengthen your internal brand.
4. Employee Spotlights
Celebrate individual contributions and foster connection by also featuring employees in internal comms videos. Internal communications videos can share career journeys, departmental highlights, or achievements. For example, a global company might spotlight a remote employee who excels at collaborating across time zones, showcasing their success story to inspire others.
5. Change Management Videos
Communicate organizational changes with transparency and clarity through internal communication videos. Internal communication video content such as animations or infographics can explain complex transitions, like a company rebrand or structural shifts. Such videos ensure consistent messaging and help employees navigate change with confidence.
6. Event Recaps
Transform meetings, town halls, or company celebrations into dynamic recap videos. These are perfect for sharing highlights with employees who couldn’t attend live. For example, create a sizzle reel for your annual sales conference to energize teams and keep momentum going.
7. Internal Campaigns
Use videos for internal campaigns to promote wellness programs, DEI initiatives, or charitable activities. Visually compelling content helps employees connect with your campaigns and motivates participation. Think of a campaign launch video featuring testimonials or personal stories to inspire action.
8. Onboarding Welcome Videos
Give new hires a warm introduction to your company with onboarding welcome videos. Include messages from leadership, insights into the company’s mission, and a virtual workplace tour. These videos streamline the onboarding process and leave a lasting impression.
9. Crisis Communication
Furthermore, internal communication video content provides timely, accurate updates to reduce misinformation and maintain employee trust during moments of uncertainty. For example, a video from HR during a global crisis explaining remote work policies ensures clear and unified messaging.
10. Celebratory Videos
Boost morale with videos celebrating milestones, project completions, or company anniversaries. Create vibrant, fun, and upbeat content to make employees feel valued and motivated. For instance, showcase a video collage of employee contributions to celebrate the company’s 10th anniversary.
Craft your internal communication video strategy in 5 simple steps
Now that we’ve discussed internal corporate video ideas, let’s talk strategy. To maximize the benefits of video in internal communications, a well-structured approach is key. Follow these steps to develop a robust internal communications video strategy that resonates with your employees:
1. Define Your Objectives
Start by identifying the purpose of your internal communication videos. Are you aiming to improve employee engagement, simplify training, or enhance team alignment? Setting clear goals ensures your videos are impactful and aligned with your broader internal communications strategy.
2. Know Your Audience
Tailor your video content to different teams or departments. A tech team might appreciate concise, data-driven updates, while creative teams may prefer visually dynamic formats. Understanding your audience helps in creating videos that resonate with their preferences and needs.
3. Choose the Right Format
Select the ideal types of video based on your goals. Live-streaming works well for leadership updates, while pre-recorded tutorials suit training videos. Interactive formats, like Q&A sessions, can also help engage employees in meaningful ways.
4. Leverage the Right Platforms
Effective distribution is critical for success. Use intranets, employee apps, or email to share your videos widely. Platforms like Staffbase streamline video distribution, making it easy for employees across time zones to access content.
5. Measure Success
Track engagement metrics such as watch rates, feedback, and comments to assess the effectiveness of your internal communications videos. Use this data to refine your future video production efforts and continuously improve.
10 best practices for producing internal communications videos
Follow these best practices to develop a robust internal communications video strategy that resonates with your employees:
- Set clear objectives: Identify what you want to achieve with each video (e.g., increasing engagement, simplifying training, or sharing updates). Advice: Define measurable goals to track the success of your internal communication videos.
- Understand your audience: Tailor your videos to different employee groups, departments, or learning styles. Advice: Use data or feedback to decide the tone and complexity of your content.
- Plan your content thoroughly: Map out your script, visuals, and flow before production. Advice: Keep your message focused. Avoid cramming too much information into one video.
- Leverage the right tools and platforms: Use tools that ensure high-quality production and seamless distribution across time zones. Advice: Choose platforms like Staffbase to centralize video delivery.
- Select the best format: Match the format to your message (e.g., live video for announcements, animated videos for tutorials). Advice: Test different types of video to see which resonates most.
- Focus on storytelling: Use relatable stories to engage employees and make your message memorable for impactful employee communications. Advice: Highlight employee success stories or team achievements to connect on a personal level.
- Cater to diverse learning styles: Include visuals, subtitles, and voiceovers to reach all employees effectively. Advice: Ensure your training videos and other content are accessible to all employees.
- Keep videos short and engaging: Limit videos to 2–5 minutes to hold attention. Advice: Focus on one key message per video to avoid overwhelming your audience.
- Incorporate branding: Add company logos, consistent fonts, and colors to create a professional look. Advice: Branded corporate videos strengthen company culture and reinforce your organization’s identity.
- Track and measure performance: Analyze watch rates, engagement, and feedback for improvement. Advice: Use insights from your videos to refine strategies and address gaps.
Get inspired by the best internal communications videos (from leading companies)
Now that we’ve discussed many aspects of sculpting compelling internal communication video content, it’s time to briefly examine this communication method in action. Discovering internal communications video examples that inspire can provide valuable insights into effective storytelling, professionalism, and employee engagement. Here are some standout examples:
1. Airbnb onboarding videos
Airbnb’s onboarding videos are known to effectively immerse new hires into the company’s culture. They combine engaging storytelling with visually appealing content to convey Airbnb’s mission and values, helping new employees feel connected from the start. This approach ensures that new team members understand the company’s ethos and are well-prepared for their roles.
Example: Airbnb’s “Get ready to host: Beginner’s video guide” provides insights into setting up a great listing, attracting guests, and running a hosting business. This reflects the company’s commitment to quality and community.
2. Google animated internal updates
On the other hand, Google utilizes animation and infographics to communicate complex updates creatively. This approach simplifies intricate information, making it more accessible and engaging for employees. By presenting data and updates in a visually stimulating manner, Google ensures that employees can easily grasp and retain important information.
Example: Google’s “A new era for AI and Google Workspace” video showcases how the company communicates significant updates to its team, highlighting advancements in AI integration within their tools.
3. Patagonia corporate social responsibility (CSR) videos
Patagonia’s CSR videos highlight the company’s dedication to sustainability. By showcasing their environmental initiatives, these videos inspire employees and reinforce the brand’s commitment to social responsibility. This transparent communication fosters a sense of pride and alignment among employees regarding the company’s values.
Example: Patagonia’s ongoing efforts in environmental activism are well-documented on their official website and through various media outlets. They even have a Patagonia Films section on their website. dedicated to their celebration of the planet.
4. HubSpot training videos
Additionally, HubSpot produces training videos that blend humor with professionalism, making learning both enjoyable and effective. This strategy enhances employee engagement and facilitates better retention of information. By incorporating relatable scenarios and a lighthearted tone, HubSpot ensures that training sessions are both informative and entertaining.
Example: HubSpot’s training materials often feature in their HubSpot Academy, offering a range of courses that exemplify their engaging approach to employee education.
How Staffbase enhances internal comms with video distribution
Staffbase makes it easy and accessible to leverage video for internal communications by streamlining video distribution, improving accessibility, and providing actionable insights. Here’s how:
- Centralized hosting for easy access: Store and organize all your internal communication videos in one platform, allowing employees to easily find content like training, updates, or announcements.
- Multi-channel sharing across platforms: Distribute videos seamlessly across employee apps to keep remote teams connected, intranets to centralize access to updates and corporate videos, and employee emails to boost engagement by embedding videos directly.
- Analytics to optimize content: Track engagement, watch rates, and feedback to refine your internal communications video strategy and create more impactful video content.
- Accessibility across time zones and devices: Ensure employees, whether remote or global, can access videos optimized for any device, keeping communication seamless.
Staffbase empowers organizations to create videos that inspire and inform, such as onboarding and training videos to deliver engaging introductions and tutorials, company culture videos to reinforce values and team spirit, and crisis communication videos to provide clear and consistent messaging in critical moments. Overall, this boosts employee engagement and communication for the entire company.
With Staffbase, organizations can maximize the potential of their internal comms videos, ensuring employees stay informed and engaged. Learn more here.
Closing words on using internal communication video content
In modern times, one thing is clear: videos are a powerful tool in any internal communications strategy. They engage employees, cater to diverse learning styles, and enhance clarity. With a rise in remote work and the reality of global teams, internal comms video content addresses the challenges of engagement, clarity, and human connection in the modern workforce.
So whether you’re just starting with internal communication videos or refining your current strategy, investing in video content will transform how your organization communicates. Start creating videos today and see the benefits of integrating video into internal communications firsthand.
