Video as a Visual Aid

LEARNING OUTCOME

Discuss the pros and cons of using videos as a visual aid

Video helps you tell a story in the most visually engaging way possible, giving every employee in the company a face-to-face opportunity with the CEO, or allowing for the broadcast of team meetings and gatherings. Making a video that features the employees who work at your company can “humanize” the company’s image, a valuable tool when communicating with investors and other external stakeholders.

Videos are an excellent visual media choice when communicating things like,

The features of a new facility or office the company has opened
The details of a new product or service the company has introduced
Instructions for a new company process, like signing up for benefits or a new 401k plan
The introduction of a new business idea, plan or merger, especially if the subject is complex or the audience is highly emotional about the announcement
Webinars and meetings that all attendees might not be able to attend in person

PRACTICE QUESTION

While videos can be easy and inexpensive to produce these days, it can still be costly to create a professional, polished video. A video made on your camera phone likely won’t be appropriate for any medium besides a short post on social media. Beyond the cost and talent associated with creating more complex videos, there are a few roadblocks you might encounter, even when creating a short clip. You might want to reconsider video as a choice in any of the following scenarios:

Your human subjects are visibly uncomfortable in front of a camera and cannot deliver a message effectively in that manner
Your subject requires the display of a lot of data, and the audience will require time to review, contemplate and study the information
Your video is longer than fifteen minutes and viewers are likely to tune out after a while
You’re covering a sensitive topic or the topic of discussion shouldn’t be made public in any recorded format, written or visual

Video can be used to accompany text, or it can stand alone as its own communication. Consider where your audience will access the video, what information will accompany that video and in what format, and how they’ll work together when you start to plan the creation of your video.

WATCH IT

Take a look at this video “What is the Best Explainer Video Style for Your Business?” and the accompanying article “How Our Explainer Video Got to Rant #1 On Youtube (real case study)” by Juan Jose Mendez.