Socialive blog

Cloud video production — recording, producing, and distributing video in the cloud — is quickly becoming the dominant form of video production. A 2022 global survey of video editors, producers, managers, and prosumers found that nine out of ten video users have adopted end-to-end video creation and remote editing in their workflows.

This shift has unlocked dozens of new use cases for businesses. One way organizations are maximizing cloud video production is by capturing content in the field. The stunning picture quality on today’s phones and tablets means employees have the ability to capture studio-quality video in the field with the devices they already have.

Socialive’s cloud video production tools automatically transfer this content to your organization’s secure, centralized library in the cloud for immediate viewing and use by employees across the business.

But there are a few things to keep in mind before you turn your employees into videographers.

Benefits of capturing video content in the field

Leveraging your existing employees to record content provides several advantages. Before you set your employees up with the Socialive mobile app, however, it’s important to identify which goals you want to achieve.Use the objectives listed below to guide your strategy and help you identify which teams and stakeholders to involve.

Transform communications

Employees and customers want more video communications. When asked how they’d most like to learn about a product or service, 73% of customers said they’d prefer to watch a short video. Likewise, employees who work at organizations that frequently communicate via video are 2X more likely to feel highly collaborative at work and 75% more likely to feel highly engaged at work. By putting the tools employees need to create engaging videos literally in their pockets, you can transform the way your organization communicates both internally and externally.

Increase video content output

This one’s a no-brainer. More video creators = more video content. When you crowdsource video from employees in the field, your marketing and communications teams gain instant access to content to meet their needs. And with Socialive’s intuitive platform, anyone in your organization can build scenes and add custom graphics to video content — regardless of video expertise. This is a game changer given that 95% of the video services professionals we surveyed in our State of Enterprise Video report said they are at or over their work capacity.

Improve training and knowledge retention

Turn your employees into teachers. It’s easiest to learn how to do a task by watching someone perform it. But the reality is that today’s workforces are distributed, and the best person to show you a specific task might not be waiting around the corner, let alone even in the same city. With Socialive’s mobile app, experienced employees can record themselves performing a task, like how to use a POS system or sanitize a floor model. Each recording is automatically transferred to your organization’s library for instant learning or further editing and customization.

Increase employee engagement and lower turnover

By highlighting different employee stories, you can foster a sense of community and belonging across teams. Amplifying diverse voices and perspectives can also improve employee engagement and participation. And when you upskill employees who would typically be left out of the video production process, you can increase job satisfaction and encourage growth in their roles. There’s also the possibility of innovation. Who knows? Your employees might capture or inspire your next ad campaign or a new product.

What types of content to record in the field

The types of content you can record in the field will vary depending on your industry, team, and company size. Nearly every company can benefit from capturing video content in the field, but retailers, restaurants, and high-touch businesses like financial services and real estate are industries where the opportunities are especially impactful. Here are a few examples to get you started:

• Best practices: Restaurant franchises frequently need to adhere to strict food preparation and storage procedures. An employee could record a video demonstrating safe food best practices that employees across other franchises can find in your centralized recordings library. These videos are particularly helpful because they can be easily accessed any time (as opposed to a one-time training session).
• Personalized videos: Wealth advisors need to develop strong personal relationships with their clients to gain their trust and maintain their business. But in-person meetings are becoming few and far between due to consumer demand for more digital communication. Personalized videos enable wealth advisors to deepen client relationships through on-brand, compliant content tailored to specific clients.
• ‍How-tos: Similar to best practices, how-tos provide practical instruction to employees. For example, a grocery store employee could record the correct way to assemble displays for the holiday season. Or an employee at a cell phone retailer could share how to prepare a device for trade-in.
• Employee spotlights: Especially useful for organizations with dispersed workforces, employee spotlights help coworkers get to know each other and encourage camaraderie. These authentic stories can also be a powerful recruiting tool. Embed this practice into your onboarding process by asking all new hires to record a short video introduction of themselves.

Tips for remote recording

Social media has turned anyone with a smartphone into a content creator. Despite our familiarity with the cameras in our pockets, there are still a few best practices to keep in mind when recording mobile content for your company.

• Start with a script. Even if you only have time to jot down a few bullet points ahead of time, a basic script can help keep you on track and prevent you from rambling or taking long pauses during your recording. If you want to go all out, we like this video script writing guide from Hubspot.
• Consider inexpensive equipment add-ons. You can buy a smartphone tripod, external microphone, and ring light for relatively cheap when you consider how much similar equipment costs for studio productions. These small investments can take the production value of your field recordings to the next level.
• Set the scene. A few tweaks to your setup and positioning can make a huge difference when it comes to the quality of your video.

You already have the team in place to record best practices, on-the-ground training, get-to-know-you stories, and more in the field. All you need to get started is the app that empowers them.

With the growing popularity of consumer apps like TikTok and Twitch, individuals are more empowered than ever to create their own video content. As is the case with many trends in the consumer world, businesses are feeling the impact. Customers now expect snackable, relatable video content from the businesses they engage with. And employees want transparent and authentic video communications from their employers.

Enter the C-suite Creator. These business leaders are responsible for setting the tone for company culture and thought leadership, in turn driving sales, awareness, and even investor confidence. Like consumer creators on TikTok, they’re turning to video to create engaging, accessible, and empathetic content.

But creating video content that’s both dynamic and professional is easier said than done. So we sat down with C-level leaders from several fast-growing tech companies in Episode 2 of our Creator Economy for the Enterprise webinar series to find out how they do it.

Lessons from a founder

Amy Konary is the founder and chair of the Subscribed Institute, Zuora’s dedicated think tank focused on the challenges and opportunities of the Subscription Economy. Amy is responsible for setting the strategic direction for the Institute, leading the Institute’s research and event agenda, and developing data-rich analyses and expert insights for its members. Her advice for creating winning C-suite video content includes:

‍Do’s

1. Know your audience. Just because you have a great idea doesn’t mean it will resonate with your audience. Take the time to put yourself in their shoes. Be sure to ask yourself what pain points you’re solving for them, or what fresh insights you’re offering that can change audiences’ perspectives.
2. Create and distribute content. This one might sound familiar because Jon Miller mentioned it in his advice to C-suite creators as well. That just goes to show how crucial it is to think through not only the creation of your content, but also your distribution strategy.
3. Be mission-driven. Today’s audiences can spot inauthenticity from a mile away. If your video content doesn’t line up with your company’s mission and core values, viewers are more likely to perceive you as insincere and untrustworthy.

Don’ts

1. Get misaligned. Everyone from your marketing team to your sales representatives should understand the value being driven by your video content. If your video doesn’t land internally, it’s unlikely to do so externally.
2. Push speakers to be disingenuous. Take care to understand the strengths and weaknesses of your presenters. For example, don’t force a speaker to do stand-up for the sake of entertainment if that person isn’t a natural comic.
3. Say too much. If you’ve seen videos on TikTok or IGTV, you’ve probably noticed they’re usually pithy and pack a punch. Since these consumer trends have begun influencing the business world, you’ll want to be shorter and more concise than you might be in written communications.

Looking for more do’s and don’ts of video content creation for the C-suite? Check out Part 1 and Part 3 of our blog series for even more expert tips.

Annual ranking recognizes the fastest-growing tech companies in North America

We’re thrilled to announce Socialive has placed 258th on the Deloitte Technology Fast 500, a ranking of the 500 fastest-growing technology companies in North America, after experiencing 500% revenue growth between 2017 and 2020.

If there’s anything our own growth can tell us about the state of video, it’s that video solutions have undergone a massive increase in demand over the past few years. Now the preferred mode of enterprise storytelling for everything from shoppable videos to L&D courses, video experienced record-breaking adoption in 2021, especially with the rise of remote and hybrid work.

“To meet the evolving needs of modern enterprises amid this paradigm shift, we made significant investments in our self-serve platform for video content creation,” said David Moricca, our founder and CEO. “As a result, there’s been a massive increase in demand for our solution across the Fortune 500 and high-growth companies. Our placement on the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 is a testament to the commitment and dedication of our entire team to help businesses drive value through better and more frequent video creation.”

Demand for video continues to grow

And demand for video isn’t expected to slow down anytime soon. According to The 2021 State of Enterprise Video: Creation, Broadcasting, Distribution study, 88% of enterprises today expect their video content output to expand dramatically in the next year to meet increased company-wide demand. Yet historically, businesses have struggled to create high-quality, on-brand videos at scale due to time, budget, location, and team constraints.

Socialive’s self-serve video content creation platform, however, makes it fast and easy for enterprises to create, broadcast, and distribute unlimited live and on-demand videos at studio quality — without the physical studio. With its cloud-based production, Virtual Green Room, mobile capabilities, and intuitive interface, Socialive empowers anyone in your organization to become a video creator, regardless of technical expertise.

“Each year the Technology Fast 500 shines a light on leading innovators in technology and this year is no exception,” said Paul Silverglate, vice chair, Deloitte LLP and U.S. technology sector leader. “In the face of innumerable challenges resulting from the pandemic, the best and brightest were able to pivot, reinvent, and transform and grow. We celebrate the winning organizations and especially the talented employees driving their success.”

‍For more information, read our press release.

To see what Socialive can do for your organization, schedule a demo.

Many enterprise leaders can now add a new title to their LinkedIn profiles: C-Suite creator. In addition to their core job functions, C-suite creators set the tone for company culture and thought leadership through compelling content and engaging communications.

With the rise of self-serve technologies, individuals across the business can now do everything from automating workflows to creating professional-grade video content — with little expertise required. Many C-level executives are taking advantage of these technological advances to become their own creators. The videos they create enable leaders to speak more directly and authentically with their customers and employees.

But just because business leaders have access to intuitive content creation tools doesn’t mean they’re maximizing them. So we sat down with C-suite creators from several fast-growing tech companies to find out how they create video content that resonates in Episode 3 of our Creator Economy for the Enterprise webinar series.

Lessons from a chief marketing officer

As the CMO of Simplr, a human-first, machine-enabled customer experience solution, Daniel Rodriguez is responsible for shaping the software company’s go-to-market, demand generation, account-based marketing, and content marketing strategies. His advice for creating winning C-suite video content includes:

‍Do’s

1. Tell stories that connect emotionally. While difficult to measure, emotional connection has a massive impact on your business. In fact, emotion is the driving force behind most purchasing behavior. Logic and data are still crucial components, but without emotion, you’ll struggle to connect deeply with your audiences.
2. Go bigger than you think is safe. Thought leaders don’t earn that title by putting out more of the same old, stale ideas. And in today’s cluttered digital world, you’ll need to push boundaries to cut through the noise and reach your audience.
3. Be yourself. Authenticity is critical to successful video communications. As Amy Konary pointed out in her advice, assuming a fake identity for the sake of entertainment often falls flat.

Don’ts

1. Expect big audience engagement on day one. Building momentum takes time. Likewise, until you’ve established yourself as a leader with consistent — frequency is key here — transformative ideas, audiences won’t trust you.
2. Sound corporate. There’s a reason “human-centric” has remained a top buzzword over the past several years. Your customers don’t want to do business with a corporation — they want to do business with humans. So talk like a human.
3. Sell your product. Remember: You’re a thought leader, not a walking advertisement. When the thoughts you have inspire others, they’re much more likely to check out your product as a result.

Looking for more do’s and don’ts of video content creation for the C-suite? Check out Part 1 and Part 2 of our blog series for even more expert tips.

Key takeaways:

• ‍Video is the most effective communication method
• Distributed teams rely on video
• Communication teams achieve strategic goals with video

‍Digital communication is the backbone of dispersed work. But when you can’t physically interact with employees or customers, traditional digital comms like email, memos, or even messaging platforms are no longer enough. That’s why the vast majority of organizations have embraced video. In fact, 88% of enterprises we surveyed said they’re increasing video content output across departments this year.

But the dramatic increase in video creation has raised expectations. Viewers want more dynamic and engaging video experiences that go beyond a simple talking head on a Zoom call. Remote video creation has emerged as a pivotal technology to address these challenges.

The growing middle tier of video creation

Cloud video creation is tech that allows anyone to record, edit, publish, or livestream video from a single, unified platform. Because cloud video creation platforms like Socialive are powered by cloud technology, they’re easily accessible by all team members — whether they’re collaborating together onsite or from afar.

This accessibility — combined with Socialive’s HD recording, intuitive editing, one-click publishing, and streamlined integrations — has empowered more video content creators across the enterprise. These content creators occupy a growing middle tier of video creation that embodies both professional quality and ease of use.

High-end videos, like those outsourced to production studios, typically require a massive budget and long timeline. Low-end videos, on the other hand, can be quickly and cheaply recorded on virtual meeting platforms, but you’ll have to sacrifice quality. A cloud platform such as Socialive enables organizations to have the best of both worlds. Users can create videos that look like they were produced by professionals, even if no experts were involved — and all the complicated, costly hardware and software that comes with professional production.

Top 4 benefits of remote video creation for enterprises

In addition to the ability to more easily create professional-grade videos with dispersed teams, remote video creation provides several key benefits for enterprises:

1. Transform enterprise-wide communications

Video-first communication strategies are all the rage these days. But actually implementing them is easier said than done, especially when 95% of the video services professionals we surveyed said they’re at or over their work capacity. Socialive’s intuitive features empower departments across the organization to independently create their own videos. Reducing the strain on internal video services teams then frees them up to focus on highly technical projects where their expertise is needed most.

2. Amplify diverse voices

Historically, the people that organizations feature in video content has been limited by geography. Employees or customers who live in locations outside a central hub are often left out. Thanks to its cloud technology, Socialive can be accessed by anyone, anywhere, using the devices they already have on hand. As a result, organizations can feature more diverse voices across the globe. And our recordings library gives teams instant access to recorded videos in a secure, centralized location in the cloud, ensuring more visibility.

3. Boost engagement and reach

No matter what department you’re in, you need engagement from your audience, whether that’s your customers, prospects, social media communities, virtual event attendees, employees, or investors. Remote video creation enables departments across the organization to move away from static, fatiguing video calls and start making more compelling content. With simulcasting and one-click integrations, you can easily meet your audiences where they are. Distribute video across all your social, digital, conferencing, and event platforms with the click of a button.

4. Scale video content output and increase ROI

Remote video creation allows teams to dramatically decrease their tech stacks. Many organizations rely on separate tools and technologies — which often require complex, manual processes to work together — to create content. Socialive’s unified solution, however, has everything you need to record, edit, publish, and livestream professional video all from a single platform. Not only does an end-to-end platform cut down expenses, it streamlines processes, improving time to market and increasing overall content output.

How different departments use remote video production

Now that we’ve covered the benefits of remote video creation, you might be wondering how different departments put it into practice. The good news: Every department can — and should — remotely create videos to drive business value across the organization. Here’s how:

• Marketing: Fresh, on-brand video experiences help marketers connect with prospects and inspire customers to become evangelists. Use cases include product demos, case studies, how-to videos, virtual events, and so much more.
• Corporate communications: Authentic videos featuring real people help communications teams tell stories that connect more deeply with their internal and external audiences. Use cases include CEO fireside chats, employee spotlights, earnings calls and briefings, and corporate brand videos.
• Learning and enablement: More engaging training videos get your employees up to speed faster. Plus, remote recording enables employees to capture valuable learning content on the job, and quickly share it with the rest of the organization. L&E use cases include employee onboarding, upskilling, and customer training.
• PeopleOps: HR and recruiting teams leverage video to engage employees and attract top talent in a competitive marketplace. Use cases include showcasing a day in the life of an employee, amplifying diverse voices, and hosting virtual recruitment events.
• Video services: Internal creative teams can take advantage of remote video creation to maintain quality while simplifying workflows to ultimately create more content — faster. These teams then have the bandwidth to help other departments achieve their goals while also making time for more advanced projects, like animation.

Socialive’s all-in-one video creation platform

Powered by cloud technology, Socialive’s platform enables not only remote video creation but also the recording, editing, and publishing of video content. By unifying these processes in one platform, Socialive simplifies workflows, enabling teams to quickly scale professional video creation. Reduced costs and time savings unlock company-wide use cases, like those listed above, to support overall business goals.

How the Socialive platform works

1. High-quality recordings: Crowdsourcing recorded content across the business multiplies video creation efforts while empowering more diverse voices throughout the organization.
   • Remotely record 4K and HD video with the devices you use every day (a laptop, smartphone, or tablet) or a professional camera, if you have one on hand.
   • Everyone in your organization can record up to 4K video from anywhere at any time via their browser or the Socialive mobile app.
   • Recorded videos are automatically transferred to your secure, centralized recordings library in the cloud.
   • Recording a group? Collaborate with up to 20 people and direct the action from the Virtual Green Room.
   • Our platform automatically captures both composites and ISOs, facilitating more efficient post-production and content repurposing.
2. Fast, easy editing: An intuitive experience that empowers anyone to clip, add branding, layouts, and overlays.
   • Enable low-tech users to get professional-grade video content from a take with just a few clicks.
   • Custom intros and outros with logo and name card overlays are easily applied. Plus, smart layouts are soon coming available for screen share.
   • Final video assets with approved look and feel ready to publish in minutes.
3. One-click file transfers and publishing: Automate file transfers and push content to an array of integrated platforms.
   • Publish across social media channels and a number of integrated platforms and tools. Streamline file transfers in a secure, cloud-based environment.
4. Studio-quality livestreaming: Simultaneously stream live broadcasts to multiple channels from the powerful virtual studio.
   • Livestream across social media channels and virtual events platforms, publish content on demand, or broadcast directly to internal tools like Zoom and Microsoft Teams.
   • Embed live or on-demand content directly on your website to capture more traffic, leads, and conversions.
   • Encourage real-time audience engagement with Q&A, polls, reactions, and more.

Socialive is the fastest and most cost-effective way to create and publish professional video

But that’s not all. Our platform was built to meet the scale, flexibility, and security needs of the enterprise. We have best-in-class, always-accessible customer support and robust onboarding. And we pride ourselves on our partnership approach by helping organizations uplevel their enterprise-wide video strategy.

As hybrid work becomes the norm for knowledge workers, some employees are at risk of being ignored.

According to a new survey from Future Forum, 58% of knowledge workers from the U.S., Europe, Australia, and Japan now work in hybrid environments. That’s the first time since the start of the pandemic that the majority of workers have reported hybrid work arrangements, indicating the trend is here to stay.

While the survey found that caregivers and employees of color overwhelmingly prefer flexible, remote arrangements, these workers are at greater risk of being overlooked compared to their in-person colleagues. Executives, who are more likely to return to the office according to the survey data, tend to unconsciously favor other in-person workers — a phenomenon known as proximity bias. As a result, not only are remote workers’ voices often lost in the shuffle, they’re also less likely to be recognized and rewarded for their work via promotions, raises, and other merit increases.

But HR and internal communications leaders can help these workers’ voices be heard. Remote recording video technology enables employees to securely record and share video content to a centralized, cloud-based library from anywhere, using the devices they already have on hand. These videos can then be shared across the organization, ensuring underrepresented workers remain visible.

Crowdsourcing employee video content

By sharing user-generated video content from your employee base, your organization can amplify the voices of various groups. The intuitive Socialive platform enables any employee — regardless of video experience — to remotely record up to 4K video from a computer, smartphone, tablet, or professional camera. Our start/stop feature allows users to start and stop recordings directly from their devices, ultimately saving storage space and improving upload times.

Additionally, asynchronous videos can keep dispersed teams close while still providing the level of flexibility desired by working parents and employees of color. To ensure enterprise security, videos are never stored on the device itself. Rather, each remote recording is automatically transferred to your organization’s recordings library, where it can be centrally accessed by your team.

Consider leveraging a mix of live and on-demand video to keep employees connected and engaged both in real time and on their own time. You can even intersperse recorded videos with live broadcasts. For example, during a hybrid town hall meeting, you could build scenes with pre-recorded messages from remote employees to play in between announcements from in-person leaders, which are in turn broadcasted to remote employees.

5 remote recording ideas to get you started

As we found in our 2021 State of Enterprise Video report, video use cases among HR and internal comms are only growing. Some of our favorites to empower more voices throughout the enterprise include:

1. Develop comprehensive onboarding experiences. Even if you have talent who can come into the office for their onboarding, you should strive to create consistent experiences for all employees. That means developing virtual onboarding programming intended to train all new hires — regardless of location. Be sure to feature videos of remote-only employees as well as those who are unable or do not wish to come into the office on a regular basis so all new talent hears from these voices.
2. Share employee stories. One of the best ways to elevate employee voices throughout your company is to simply share their stories. Encourage employees to record videos talking about their roles, career journeys, and hobbies outside of work. These videos can then be shared and consumed asynchronously by the broader organization. You can also incorporate employee stories into your onboarding process by asking all new hires to record a short video. Additionally, you could host live virtual events featuring the voices of workers who often don’t get facetime with senior leadership, like interns. Salesforce, for example, uses Socialive to explore the future of work in a LinkedIn Live series led by their interns.
3. Foster an inclusive community. By leveraging video content to disseminate thought leadership around inclusivity, you can create a stronger sense of belonging and community in your organization. For instance, Boston Consulting Group used Socialive to host a LinkedIn Live conversation about allyship between their CEO and their North American Leader of Women@BCG.
4. Provide peer resources. Focus on broadening your L&D and training programs to include more faces from your employee base. In addition to sharing a static employee handbook, include video components where employees talk about why certain company values are important to them. And now that it’s more challenging to educate colleagues in person, record training sessions that can be easily shared among peers.
5. Host truly hybrid town halls. Too often, hybrid town halls end up providing a better experience to in-person attendees, whereas virtual attendees are essentially an afterthought. As outlined above, you can use Socialive to build scenes that include live or recorded videos from employees who aren’t physically present in the office. You can even integrate an audience engagement tool with your broadcast that allows virtual attendees to participate in live Q&As, polls, and more.

Hybrid work is here to stay. And it’s up to PeopleOps leaders to create an environment where employees feel heard and valued — whether they’re in the office or working remotely. Easy-to-use remote recording platforms like Socialive can help empower diverse voices across your organization, mitigating proximity bias and improving parity among your workforce.

Hint: You can do it yourself. You don’t need to blow your budget on expensive equipment or studio space to create professional-quality video.

You probably already have a general idea of what corporate video production is, or else you wouldn’t be here. Just in case, we define corporate video production as the creation of video by businesses for business use cases. That video can be just about anything, from product demos to case studies.

What the other guides to corporate video production don’t tell you is that the landscape has changed. Technological advances coupled with shifts to the way we work and collaborate have resulted in quicker and more cost-effective solutions.

‍Now, organizations can create studio-quality video — without the studio.

DIY corporate video production, without the DIY appearance

Traditional video production typically requires a big budget and long timeline to accommodate shooting on location, using expensive equipment, and hiring a full video crew to handle recording, post-production, and distribution.

At the onset of the pandemic, however, organizations were forced to change the way they work. For a while, it wasn’t safe to gather together in person to produce videos. Many businesses turned to makeshift solutions to keep the lights on, like remotely recording talent on Zoom.

While in-person activities have now resumed, the way we work has fundamentally changed. Dispersed teams were already common, especially for large, global companies. COVID-19 simply accelerated this trend and provided a proof of concept for all types of businesses, industries, and job types.

It’s certainly possible to return to traditional video production. But it’s also much more challenging to gather your team and talent together in the same location when the world of business is no longer bound by geography.

At the same time, the makeshift solutions companies turned to during the pandemic won’t cut it long term due to quality issues and complex workflows.

So where does that leave us?

‍Cloud video production has emerged as the cornerstone for creating high-quality video at the pace and scale of modern business. That means organizations can produce video in house, without the DIY appearance of a laggy conference call.

The importance of a unified workflow

When organizations contemplate moving video production in house, they often raise several valid issues. But a cloud-based, all-in-one platform can solve for those. Here’s how:

Cost

One of the main reasons why corporate video production can cost so much money is because many organizations try to replicate the production house experience. They build onsite studios, hire a full video services team, and purchase all the expensive hardware and software needed to produce video the traditional way.

With Socialive, you don’t need the fancy equipment or a physical studio. Your team can remotely record, produce, distribute, and repurpose video straight from their browser.

Time

Disjointed tech stacks eat up valuable time.

Many corporations rely on one tool to record a broadcast, a different tool to add production elements, and yet another tool to distribute video to their audiences. If they want to cut their finished video into snackable clips, they have to track down the original recording, upload it to a video editing tool, and make the edits.

Socialive unifies the recording, production, distribution, and repurposing of video into a single platform, which saves teams countless hours. Plus, our one-click integrations with popular enterprise applications like Sprinklr, Google Drive, Frame.io, and Brightcove enable teams to work even smarter and faster.

Resources

A whopping 95% of the video services professionals we surveyed in our State of Enterprise Video report said they are at or over their work capacity. But finding support in today’s candidate-driven job market is challenging.

Thankfully, Socialive’s intuitive, drag-and-drop features make it easy for anyone — with or without technical know-how — to get up to speed quickly. By upskilling existing team members across departments, you can ease the burden on video services, or rely less on outsourcing video creation.

Scale

Businesses often struggle to scale video creation due to access issues.

Video files are typically stored on an individual’s computer, which can make tracking them down to view, edit, or repurpose difficult. Likewise, complex video software tools prohibit many employees from participating in the video creation process.

Socialive’s cloud-based platform gives employees centralized access to all video files in a secure location. All recordings are automatically transferred to your library, so you don’t have to hound individuals to get access to content.

And because our cloud platform can be accessed anywhere via desktop or mobile, more employees can contribute video content to their company’s library, exponentially expanding your video output.

‍TL;DR - A unified workflow is critical to successfully bringing corporate video production in house.

How to drive value across the entire organization

Video usage has skyrocketed across departments in recent years, driven by increased customer and employee demand, as well as the prevalence of dispersed work.

Marketers are creating brand videos and corporate events. HR professionals are creating employee onboarding and training videos. Executive communications teams are hosting fireside chats and CEO earnings calls. If a department exists, so does the opportunity to leverage video.

‍But viewers’ concentration has become fractured. Between social media and workplace apps, there’s always somewhere else for their attention to wander. Organizations need to create more engaging video content if they want to capture and maintain their audience’s attention.

Socialive makes it easy to add production elements such as audio and video overlays, recorded videos, graphics, and lower thirds in just a few clicks. By creating more dynamic video experiences, departments can drive real value across the organization:

• Attract top talent
• Accelerate employee productivity
• Increase employee engagement
• Increase employee retention
• Drive brand awareness
• Increase qualified leads and pipeline
• Increase customer expansion and retention
• Boost engagement and reach
• Amplify diverse voices

Instead of using video out of necessity or simply for the sake of creating content, strategic organizations are aligning their business goals with their video plans. This approach, however, requires a deep understanding of the business. By bringing corporate video production in-house, teams can ensure every video they create is impactful.

You can transform the way you create corporate video across the organization with a cloud video production solution. Cloud technology empowers organizations to produce more video in-house, scale their content output, lower costs, and reduce time to market.

‍Take a quick, self-guided tour of our platform to see how Socialive can help your organization bring corporate video production in-house.

With so many of us working remotely now, it’s no surprise that today’s employees are disengaged and disconnected. While remote work has provided many with the flexibility to work more efficiently and achieve better work-life balance, the loss of in-person camaraderie has threatened workplace culture. That’s why many HR and internal community teams are turning to video to amplify employee voices, tell authentic stories, create a sense of community, and build a strong employer brand.

In our Creator Economy webinar series, host Katie Martell spoke with panelists Erin Fletcher, director of HR strategy & associate experience at Walmart, and Trish Fontanilla, head of community at Simplr. Their discussion centered around leveraging video to tell authentic stories across the enterprise — and build stronger workplace communities.

How Walmart empowers employee storytellers

According to Fletcher, feeling like we belong transcends business — it’s a basic human need. And video is a powerful tool in dispersed workplaces to facilitate that sense of belonging.

‍Walmart Workplace — the retailer’s digital town square that connects its associates and teams to Walmart’s strategy, business, and one another — was designed to empower the diverse voices of its one million+ employees. With so many employees working across every state in the U.S., video is crucial to building company culture.

In fact, Walmart equips its employees with video creation devices to encourage them to share their own stories with one another. They rely on video for everything from peer-to-peer training to recognizing associates for living up to specific Walmart values.

Walmart also builds employee community through The Difference Podcast, a weekly series highlighting Walmart leaders making a difference in their teams, stores, and communities. The podcast is recorded on video and available for on-demand consumption on YouTube.

‍Learn more about Socialive’s new one-click audio capture automation capabilities here.

How Simplr drives deeper connections

One of Fontanilla’s favorite quotes is from American writer Allan Gurganus: “Stories only happen to people who can tell them.” To that end, one of her core tenets as a community builder is to amplify diverse employee voices. And she relies on video to do just that.

One way Simplr builds community is by showcasing the impact that working at the tech company has on the lives of its employees. The internal video series features employees talking about how working at Simplr has enabled them to buy homes and start families, which Fontanilla says was very uplifting to watch around the holidays. By giving employees the video tools they need to share their authentic stories, Simplr is able to drive deeper connections and build a stronger culture.

Fontanilla also uses video to create personalized asynchronous videos — pre-recorded messages tailored to the unique recipient that can be viewed on their own time. After interviewing strong job candidates, for example, Fontanilla will follow up with a personalized thank-you video, which can move the needle in today’s candidate-driven market. Fontanilla also regularly sends employee appreciation videos to team members, making them feel valued for their contributions.

In 2022, businesses plan to rapidly accelerate their technological investments, according to new data from Gartner. "Our research this year showed that technology investments are going way up," said Monika Sinha, research vice president at Gartner, in a call ahead of the virtual Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo 2021. "In fact, technology investments are going to be at the highest they've been over the last decade."

Over the past several years, tech has been foundational to organizations’ digital transformation strategies — especially with the rise of remote and hybrid work. And video will continue to play a crucial role in the enterprise technology stack. In our recent State of Enterprise Video report, we found that 88% enterprises expect their video content output to increase in 2022.

Video enables businesses to reach wider audiences, improve customer engagement, support learning and development, recruit and retain employees, and sell more products and services. But organizations should take care to invest strategically in video solutions this year, or risk contending with a bloated or disjointed tech stack.

The need for consolidation

Too many enterprises focus on the short term when selecting new technologies. Often, they’re looking to solve a specific problem that already exists, which can lead to “band-aid” investments that provide a quick fix but disintegrate over time. What’s more, many organizations continue to add new technologies to their stacks in an attempt to augment a solution that isn’t working.

When it comes to video technology, many businesses rely on a patchwork of different digital tools and hardware for the creation, recording, broadcasting, and distribution of content. Bloated tech stacks like these often lack interoperability, making them costly, complex, and difficult to manage. Too many disparate technologies ultimately slow your team down and leave your organization vulnerable to future disruption.

To future-proof your video tech stack, you must consolidate it. A more unified approach enables organizations to better scale video output, create process efficiencies, improve customer experiences, and remain agile. As a result, you can innovate at scale, testing new ideas and bringing standout creative campaigns to market faster than the competition.

5 steps to simplify your video tech stack

One reason companies put off tech stack consolidation is they simply don’t know where to start. Technology is the lifeblood of modern business, and intentionally removing (some of) it from your stack can seem daunting. So we put together this checklist to help keep you on track:

1. Map your video processes. Determine which technologies are used for each part of the video process across your organization. This should include the creation, recording, broadcasting, and distribution of video content, so be sure to get input from team members in every relevant department to ensure accuracy and alignment.
2. Identify redundancies and excesses. Look for repetitive technologies or solutions that are no longer in use. Are you using two video technologies that perform the same purpose for different use cases? Are there video tools you pay for that aren’t being used in any of your processes?
3. Prioritize cohesiveness. You might love using a specific video tool, but if it isn’t compatible with your company’s other systems and processes, you’ll hit roadblocks. Similarly, if you’re pushing audiences to third-party video players instead of your own website, you can create a disconnect between your customers and your brand.
4. Evaluate vendors. Oftentimes, it’s strategic to abandon technologies that simply aren’t working. When evaluating new vendors, look for unified solutions like Socialive over individual tools to streamline processes and reduce complexities. Additionally, find a vendor committed to partnership to help you achieve your video goals while staying true to your company’s vision.
5. Regularly reassess. To ensure optimal efficiency and performance, you should frequently re-evaluate your video tech stack. Set measurable KPIs that line up with your objectives, and communicate often with your vendor to identify room for improvement.

Enterprises are investing in new technology at historically high rates. But investment alone won’t get your organization very far without a forward-looking strategy. The sooner you future-proof your video tech stack, the sooner you can focus on the work that sets your business apart, ensuring greater resiliency down the road.

‍Ready to try an end-to-end video platform? Schedule a demo with us today.

Welcome to the era of enterprise video transformation

We've unveiled our vision for Enterprise Video Transformation — a third wave of digital transformation characterized by the ubiquitous use of video for storytelling and audience communication in the enterprise. Just as social media platforms such as YouTube, Instagram and TikTok sparked a massive shift in the way individual consumers create and engage with video content, the creator economy movement is transforming the enterprise: Video is fast becoming the preferred means of communication.

Until now, it’s been challenging to easily create professional-grade, on-brand video content within an enterprise at scale. Creating, broadcasting and distributing video was traditionally time-consuming and limited to those with deep expertise. Video production also required complex, expensive software and hardware, as well as hefty travel and production expenses. As a result, video was reserved for mission-critical campaigns. Since the pandemic, enterprises have also been facing a steeper uphill battle trying to engage their external and internal audiences in fresh, dynamic ways, especially with the rise of remote and hybrid workplaces.

Socialive’s groundbreaking technology changes the equation by making it possible for both everyday business users and video pros to easily and cost-effectively create an unlimited stream of high-quality video content relevant to enterprise audiences.

Democratizing video content creation will help meet massive new demand for video

According to the State of Enterprise Video: Creation, Broadcasting & Distribution study announced today, demand for video skyrocketed in the last year, with 84% of enterprises experiencing an increase in video content output over the last 12 months. This trend is by no means slowing down — an astonishing 88% of enterprise professionals anticipate their company’s video content output to increase in the next year. These findings signal loud and clear that the next wave of transformation in the enterprise is well underway.

Business communication has evolved significantly in the last few decades. From email and chat to video conferencing tools like Zoom, every company has access to technology for fast and personal communication. The future of enterprise communication will focus on telling better, more authentic stories and empowering more voices from across the organization. Businesses must equip their storytellers and make it easier to deliver high-caliber video content at scale.

The next-generation Socialive platform realizes our vision for Enterprise Video Transformation. By removing the complexities of video content creation, our platform empowers business users and video pros alike to produce high-quality videos anywhere, anytime and from any device. What’s more, line-of-business users can now tell better stories and deliver more genuine and thoughtful video experiences through Socialive’s self-serve technology, eliminating the need to rely on costly external agencies while freeing up internal production teams for more complex projects. Easy-to-use video creation workflows enable diverse people distributed across the organization to continually create fresh, authentic video content themselves. With significant advancements to existing platform features, including the Socialive Studio in the Cloud™, Virtual Green Room, Recordings Library and new mobile capabilities, the possibilities for video are limitless.

It’s incredibly rewarding to be fulfilling our mission to fundamentally transform the way video content is created, broadcast and distributed in the enterprise. Socialive is paving a way for global organizations to better connect and engage with their employees and customers, get more out of their video content and grow their businesses.

We believe that everyone has a story to tell. By lowering the barrier to entry for video creation, Socialive is giving enterprises the tools they need to humanize their businesses.

Technology was supposed to make the way we work easier. In recent years, however, many of us have begun to suffer from too much of a good thing. There are so many disjointed apps and tools bloating our screens, it’s challenging to find the time to do real work.

According to Asana’s 2022 Anatomy of Work Global Index, roughly 23 hours of the 40-hour workweek are lost to menial, repetitive tasks. Today’s employees spend 58% of their time on work about work — communicating about work, searching for information, switching between apps, managing shifting priorities, and chasing status updates. While 33% of our time is spent on skilled work, a mere 9% is dedicated to strategy. Without a clear strategy, your skilled work won’t go as far, fueling a vicious cycle of more work about work.

We set out to make our unified video creation platform work even smarter by integrating with other popular enterprise tools. Our goal is to enable enterprises to seamlessly expand their ecosystems of work, so they can concentrate on creating great content instead of toggling between apps. Now, Socialive users can send their video assets directly to external applications including Slack, Sprinklr, Google Drive, Dropbox, Brightcove, Vimeo, Sprout Social, and Frame.io. We're constantly rolling out new integrations, so be sure to keep this growing list handy. With their freed-up time, our customers can focus on what matters most: strategy, ideation, and innovation.

Smarter content workflows

To date, our platform has empowered leading enterprises and high-growth companies alike to seamlessly produce high-quality video content in distributed work environments. But delivering those assets to external cloud storage providers, enterprise video platforms, and video editing systems required more time than we were happy with. Previously, users had to download recorded assets from the Socialive portal and manually upload them to each platform. And because not all producers and guests use the same storage providers, teams often had to resort to additional manual workarounds, causing more timeline delays.

With our new integrations feature, users can directly distribute video (and soon audio) files to multiple platforms straight from the Socialive platform. By reducing the amount of time your team spends on menial tasks, integrations eliminate productivity gaps and ultimately improve your time to market.

Getting more out of your content with integrations

Your content shouldn’t stop working for you once your broadcast ends. Integrations make it even easier to get more value out of your recordings using the ProducerSuite. Simply click the button to share a broadcast from the Recordings Library to one of the external applications we support (more coming soon!). Then repurpose the recording into snackable clips for social media and blog posts, podcast episodes, b-roll footage, recaps and highlight reels, or promotional videos.

Likewise, by making your content accessible to everyone in the organization, more employees can maximize it in less time. No more chasing down assets or resorting to complex workarounds to transfer large files. Anyone on your team can instantly access recordings from your secure, centralized hub and send them to the platform they need.

At the end of the day, Socialive integrations enable our users to spend less time downloading and uploading, and more time strategizing and ideating. To learn more about integrations, visit our support center.

LinkedIn Live is here.

For brands, that signals a novel opportunity to bring the engagement power of live video to an untapped audience of more than 600 million enterprises and professionals.

We provided an overview of live video on LinkedIn in our LinkedIn Live Primer. In another piece, we dive into the demand-gen potential of each LinkedIn Live. In this article, we explore how to get started using LinkedIn Live.

In particular, we discuss why you need a third-party platform like Socialive for LinkedIn Live — and how Socialive enables you to create pro-level broadcasts.

First thing's first: You can’t go live on LinkedIn natively

This is an important point about broadcasting live video on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn provides only the platform to play and engage with live video — not the ability to record or deliver live video to the platform.

In other words, you won’t be able to create a livestream using LinkedIn.com or the LinkedIn mobile app. Instead, to go live on LinkedIn, you’ll need what’s called an encoder — a third-party video app. (This is a key distinction between LinkedIn Live and livestreaming on social platforms like Facebook or Twitter.)

And that’s why LinkedIn is partnering with Socialive, an enterprise video content creation platform that enables organizations to create, broadcast, and distribute pro-level live and on-demand broadcasts for digital channels.

With Socialive, you can easily record and edit your video, as well as seamlessly deliver it live to LinkedIn — part of the live video workflow that LinkedIn doesn’t cover.

Polished broadcasts over raw livestreams

Why not send a raw, unfiltered livestream to LinkedIn? Why the need to create a broadcast-style livestream?

A key reason involves the distinct, professional nature of the LinkedIn community versus more consumer-centric social platforms.

Given the ethos of LinkedIn, one of the aims of LinkedIn Live is to elevate raw livestreams to the level of more polished broadcasts in terms of content quality and aesthetics.

Partnering with Socialive is a way for LinkedIn to encourage content that is easy to produce while meeting a higher quality threshold regarding content and production value.

In short, your audience expects professional, studio-quality content. Socialive makes it easy to create and deliver it.

Enterprise video platform Socialive is a LinkedIn Live partner

To reiterate, you need a third-party encoder to broadcast live video on LinkedIn.

Where LinkedIn provides the platform for viewers to watch and engage with a live broadcast, Socialive allows you to easily create the broadcast and deliver it live to the LinkedIn platform.

Socialive is an enterprise video platform that allows organizations to:

• Record video using any camera
• Build a broadcast using multiple live cameras and images
• Distribute a broadcast live across multiple channels — LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and more – all at the same time

Crucially, you can create a polished broadcast using your existing resources (i.e., your current team and equipment).

Socialive lets you easily create polished broadcasts for LinkedIn Live

Where a typical livestream entails a raw video stream from a single camera, the Socialive platform helps you create something closer to a professional broadcast.

Here’s what that means:

Multi-scene live broadcasts

Instead of an uninterrupted camera stream, Socialive allows you to switch between multiple live cameras and images.

Practically, that means you can create broadcasts with:

• Intro & outro cards (e.g., with calls to action)
• Live footage from different locations (e.g., a live broadcast from a bartending competition that shows hosts, guests, and participants in different places)

Branded on-screen graphics

Graphics enhance the production value of a live video, while also unlocking opportunities to spur engagement through strategic, in-broadcast calls to action.

With the Socialive platform, you can apply custom graphics to your broadcast with a single click, including:

• Title cards
• Headlines
• Lower-third nameplates
• Promo banners
• Logo watermarks

Split-screen and picture-in-picture layouts

With split-screen layouts, you can show more than one source onscreen at a time, facilitating broadcasts with subjects in different locations or scenes created at different times.

In Socialive, you can click to select or switch between a menu of split-screen options, allowing you to create a range of dynamic broadcasts, such as:

• Interviews and conversations with remote guests
• Live product demonstrations
• Tutorials

Screenshares

Relatedly, the Socialive platform also allows you to easily share your screen, so you can walk through a slide presentation, showcase a concept, and more.

Plus, efficiently record and seamlessly share video with Socialive

The Socialive platform spans the entirety of your live video workflow — from capturing video to delivering broadcasts to the LinkedIn platform.

Record video using any camera

Socialive allows you to capture video using your current equipment, from a smartphone or webcam to a high-end multi-cam setup.

This gives you the flexibility to quickly stream HD video from the field, or to record studio-style live broadcasts — and everything in between.

Video feeds from your cameras pop up in Socialive, and you can use them to build a live broadcast or to record footage to create your video later.

Deliver directly to LinkedIn

Socialive integrates with LinkedIn, so you can deliver your video to LinkedIn straight from Socialive.

With live video, you produce and distribute your broadcast concurrently. Using Socialive, you build your broadcast (the order of your show), and set up distribution to LinkedIn.

When you go live, you produce your show live — switching from pre-organized scene to scene — and your broadcast plays on LinkedIn in real-time.

Simulcast video across multiple channels

Instead of broadcasting your video on a single channel, the Socialive platform lets you distribute your video across all your channels at the same time.

In addition to LinkedIn, you can deliver your video live or on-demand to Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Amazon, and your own websites and apps.

Simply select your channels in Socialive, start your broadcast to go live across multiple platforms, and expand the reach of your video content.

In order to broadcast live video on LinkedIn – and take advantage of the opportunity LinkedIn Live presents – you must use a third-party encoder.

While LinkedIn provides the platform where audiences can watch and engage with a live video, Socialive enables brands to capture video, produce a broadcast, and deliver it live to LinkedIn. After the show is over, Socialive also provides an easy way to repurpose that livestream into more revenue-generating content.

The LinkedIn-Socialive partnership is conceived to empower organizations to create the sort of polished live video that will resonate among LinkedIn’s community of enterprises and professionals — and to do so efficiently.

Over the past couple of years, HR leaders have become adept at managing change. From tackling talent shortages to shifting to remote operations practically overnight to implementing DEI initiatives across the organization, PeopleOps teams have faced their fair share of challenges. So what's in store for 2022? Socialive VP of People Operations Anu Karwa shares her predictions:

1. Hybrid work processes will be optimized for maximum flexibility and asynchronous productivity.
   ‍The flexibility of remote and hybrid work is here to stay — not just in terms of where employees are working, but when they are working. In 2021, we saw organizations embrace hybrid work en masse, resulting in high levels of collaboration across many disparate locations. In 2022, employees will benefit from greater flexibility to set their own work hours. To accommodate more employees starting and ending the work day at different times, organizations will need to optimize hybrid work processes to ensure consistent employee engagement and enhance productivity. For example, instead of requiring everyone to join static video conferencing calls at the same time, organizations will prioritize asynchronous communication. To adapt to this new way of working, we'll see fewer virtual meetings and more short-form videos recorded in the style of social media which can be consumed by team members on their schedules. These videos can also be rewatched as needed, eliminating the need for inefficient follow-up meetings that interrupt schedules and allowing for more heads-down work time and increased productivity.
2. DEI will become embedded into day-to-day operations.
   ‍In 2022, the actions and makeup of successful companies will reflect their understanding that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) can no longer be standalone initiatives. Instead, DEI will be fully integrated into their policies and procedures to affect long-term change. We will begin to see concrete changes being implemented to make a difference with deeper and more thoughtful approaches, rather than one-off marketing campaigns. Employees will expect ongoing initiatives that are visible throughout every part of their company, making DEI practices “normal” not outliers. To ensure these initiatives are truly embedded within the culture, organizations will especially need to promote more people of color to leadership positions.
3. Businesses will need to provide women with better benefits and resources.
   ‍At the onset of the pandemic, many women left their jobs or were forced out to take on full-time caregiving responsibilities in light of school closures. Given the pervasive childcare worker shortage, many working moms are still required to juggle full-time jobs and full-time caregiving roles, or pay premium prices for daycare due to fierce competition for available slots. In 2022, employers will provide more scheduling flexibility for working mothers and create more part-time roles than they ever have before. More hybrid organizations, in particular, will convert unused space into childcare centers, which will enable more women to participate in the workforce.
4. Companies will turn to video and audio to help overcome “The Great Resignation.”
   ‍As organizations grapple with how to better engage employees and reduce turnover, they will explore new and unique ways to demonstrate their authentic employer brand. With in-office interviews the exception, they will find ways to display their culture in a way that is both virtual and real. Prospective employees will expect to experience the atmosphere of the companies they apply to holistically — through the faces and the voices of their potential peers and colleagues, not just C-suite executives and hiring managers. To accomplish this, smart HR and PeopleOps teams will turn to video content to better showcase their employer brand and amplify more diverse voices from across their organization through self-serve technology. Creating and distributing stronger and more engaging video and audio content will increase the sense of community and mission for current and future employees.
5. Burnout will be addressed from the top down.
   ‍Companies will no longer be able to implement quick-fix, band-aid-style approaches to resolve deeper company issues that result in burnout. Instead, the entire leadership team at forward-thinking companies — not just HR and PeopleOps leaders — will address the root causes that are leading to poor employee engagement and turnover. Perks such as vacation time or free lunches simply won’t be enough anymore. Providing mental health days and having thoughtful, open discussions to determine how to build the organization while supporting their team for the long haul will be key. To create an environment that lets people shine and be their authentic selves, all leaders will need to practice inclusive leadership and respect everyone’s perspectives, opinions, and diverse voices.

What is the right content to broadcast on LinkedIn Live?

Marketing channels are not interchangeable – Facebook is not Twitter is not YouTube – which is why it’s important to tailor content for each one.

After the launch of live video on LinkedIn, we discussed why LinkedIn Live signifies the opening up of a new channel – combining as it does a uniquely compelling format with a 600-million-strong B2B and professional audience.

Here, we explore how best to leverage this novel channel. Specifically, we’ll discuss guideposts for LinkedIn Live content and outline 14 ways to use live video for LinkedIn.

Guideposts for planning & producing LinkedIn Live content

When devising your LinkedIn Live content strategy, it’s crucial to keep in mind the qualities that distinguish the channel and aim for content that aligns with – and springboards off – those qualities.

There are three key aspects of LinkedIn Live that can serve as guideposts for creating appropriate and effective content:

Appeal to a B2B and professional audience

The makeup of the LinkedIn community is different from, say, that of Facebook or Twitter.

Where the latter are broadly consumer platforms, LinkedIn represents a community of organizations, entrepreneurs, and professionals.

When brainstorming for LinkedIn Live, ask whether a piece of content – in both substance and style – would appeal and provide value to a business and professional audience.

Nurture the LinkedIn community

The ethos of the LinkedIn community is also unique – focusing as it does on brand building, career growth, and sharing business news and ideas.

That spirit is more defined than consumer platforms like Facebook and Twitter, which tend to be more freewheeling and agnostic when it comes to use.

As such, remember to craft content that is in harmony with the prevailing norms and etiquette of the LinkedIn space. Thought leadership, for instance, is good; blaring buy-now promotions are not.

Maintain an elevated tone & aesthetic

Relatedly, the conversation on LinkedIn occurs at a higher register than the playful chatter on social platforms.

As a professional networking site, LinkedIn naturally favors a more polished presentation, in tone and packaging. That doesn’t preclude personality, but it does mean avoiding an overly casual manner.

Prepare content, therefore, that matches the professionalism of the LinkedIn environment by selecting thoughtful, substantial subject matter, but also realizing an elevated tone and style.

Generally, think of LinkedIn Live as a potent top-funnel marketing channel – an avenue for sparking awareness and building goodwill for your brand.

14 content ideas for LinkedIn Live

Practically, there are many ways to avail yourself of the powerful channel LinkedIn Live represents – one which affords you the singular opportunity to engage your audience in real time.

Using LinkedIn Live effectively can help:

• Humanize your brand
• Convey your organization’s story
• Demonstrate your thought leadership
• Educate & inform your audience
• Nurture a community of stakeholders
• Attract business opportunities & collaborators
• Spur interest around your current & future offerings

Here are some ideas to kick off your content planning:

1. Interviews & discussions

Host live conversations with company leaders, industry figures, experts, and influencers, to shape conversations and establish your organization’s thought leadership.

2. Tutorials & demonstrations

Educate your audience and reinforce your expertise by showcasing innovations, prototypes, and finished products or services via real-time demos.

3. Live presentations

Present stories, explain ideas or hypotheses, pitch solutions, walk through business plans, or summarize findings or results through live presentations.

4. Company news & announcements

Keep current and potential stakeholders apprised of your company’s latest news and developments through one-off or regular live broadcasts.

5. Insights & analysis

Demonstrate your thought leadership by explicating or interpreting the latest developments in your industry.

6. Tips & best practices

Provide your audience with practical information, advice, and skills about how to succeed in your space as an entrepreneur or employee, or how to make best use of your products or services.

7. Q&A’s or AMA’s

Field and answer live questions from your LinkedIn Live audiences to engage and galvanize your followers.

8. Fireside chats & CEO diaries

Humanize your brand through live dispatches from company leaders that describe their professional or personal journeys.

9. Live tours

Conduct live tours of your storefronts, offices, or facilities to unwrap experiences and services.

10. Behind the scenes

Showcase your company culture to build brand affinity by inviting audiences into strategy sessions.

11. R&D testing

Give your audience an inside look at the product-development process to reinforce your expertise and generate interest around upcoming offerings.

12.  Branded shows

Create a regular broadcast around subjects relevant to your company, industry, and stakeholders.

13. Product reveals

Build buzz and interest around new products or services – and, by extension, your brand – by broadcasting product launches.

14.  Live events

Most intuitively, you can use live broadcasts to expand access to physical events, such as ceremonies, conventions, and conferences.

TL;DR, your content should match your channel.

LinkedIn Live is a more defined channel than other social platforms; nevertheless, there are countless ways to craft and curate content that appeals to and activates your audience.

Heed the guideposts above, and experiment with various kinds of content to find what works for you and your organization.

If you want to learn more about how LinkedIn Live is a massive value-add for content marketers, check out our guide on how to get the most out of LinkedIn Live.

Part of what makes a broadcast successful is making sure a speaker is positioned correctly on camera to eliminate on-screen distractions. Low background light and off-centered presenters can take the focus off the content. For thought leaders who don't regularly create content, there are plenty of other tips to help make you comfortable on camera.

Below, we list three easy tips for making sure you are positioned on camera correctly.

Stay centered

To be properly framed, position yourself in the center of your screen. Don't just be a floating head — make sure to include the top half of your chest in the frame like the example below.

Lighting

You deserve the spotlight, so make sure your lighting helps your audience see you clearly. Use a soft light behind your computer so you don't have any harsh shadows on your face. Avoid having light point directly at your face as it can wash you out.

Keep the camera at eye level

It's all about angles! If your camera is too high, your viewers will only see the top of your head. If your camera is too low, your audience might get a nice view up your nose. Instead, prop your laptop or monitor up so your camera is exactly at eye level so you have a clean view of your face.

Need more guidance? Check out our other guide to looking your best on camera.

Today’s C-level leaders must contend with being in the spotlight on behalf of their organizations. They represent their companies’ brands, reputations, and cultures — as well as their personal brands. As demand for more authenticity continues to grow from both within and outside the organization, many C-suite leaders have recognized the importance of video for successful executive communications.

But just how are executives positioning themselves to be accessible, authentic, and empathetic through video content? We sat down with leaders from several fast-growing tech companies in Episode 1 of our Creator Economy for the Enterprise webinar series to find out.

Lessons from a chief marketing officer

As the CMO of Demandbase, an end-to-end targeting and personalization platform for businesses, Jon Miller is responsible for leading the software company’s account-based, go-to-market strategy and execution. His advice for creating winning C-suite video content includes:

‍Do’s

1. Balance thought leadership with other content. It’s easy to conflate the two, but true thought leadership is rare, according to Jon. While content should be entertaining, thought leadership is often provocative and contrarian. Both are essential to the modern executive’s toolbelt, but they often require different video strategies.
2. Leverage third parties. Real thought leaders recognize the value of other ideas. Consider referencing trusted sources and partners in your video content, or inviting guests outside the organization to share the virtual stage.
3. Distribute your content. Creating engaging videos doesn’t do your organization any good if no one watches them. It may sound obvious, but too many leaders fail to meet their audiences where they are by distributing content across multiple channels.

Don’ts

1. Be self promotional. Your ideas should speak for themselves. And if you have something worth listening to, your audience will be compelled to follow you — and your company — wherever you go.
2. Focus on quantity over quality. It’s always better to create fewer video assets that actually tell the story you want to tell than it is to create lots of content that doesn’t tell the right story.
3. Be boring. Today’s audiences expect highly engaging and snackable video content. And as “Zoom fatigue” continues to burden viewers, your average video conferencing call simply won’t be enough to keep them entertained.

Looking for more do’s and don’ts of video content creation for the C-suite? Check out Part 2 and Part 3 of our blog series for even more expert tips.

For marketers, video can no longer be considered a trend. In a 2021 State of Video Marketing report, 86% of businesses said they use video as a marketing tool. And 93% of respondents say it’s a critical part of their strategy. So how can your organization differentiate its video marketing strategy from the rest? We asked Socialive VP of Marketing Jennifer Burak to share her biggest predictions.

Trend 1

Highly interactive customer experiences that can be recorded and repurposed will take center stage for marketing

‍Until recently, marketing was driven by the attention economy, meaning initiatives were primarily meant to drive awareness and generate demand by fighting for and winning customers’ attention. Now, the marketing landscape is rapidly evolving in response to consumer platforms like Instagram, Twitch, and TikTok. These have led to the ascent of a new “creator economy” where the ongoing creation of authentic video content is ubiquitous. Just as Twitch captures the spirit of live video and makes it available on demand, today’s consumers want similar experiences from their brand interactions. Increasingly, businesses will adapt to meet this shifting demand; traditional digital touchpoints — including company websites, e-books, and webinars — will no longer suffice. I predict that 2022 will be the year when CMOs and heads of marketing refocus their efforts on creating highly interactive, live customer experiences that will be recorded and repurposed for on-demand content, including snackable clips. Humans are inherently drawn to the authenticity of a live experience, even if we’re not watching it in real time. Digital customer experiences will need to be done in a way that inspires, engages, and invites interaction that is much more dynamic, so consumers and businesses can take the authenticity of their video experiences to the next level.

Trend 2

Self-serve video content creation will become the primary way video is created in the enterprise

‍According to recent research, 94% of enterprise marketers see video as an effective tool to engage external audiences of customers, prospects, and partners. Marketers also face high volumes of video content requests, with 85% of teams needing to create new video content monthly. As the demand for authentic video increases, businesses need to provide a way for marketing professionals to easily create, broadcast, and distribute studio-quality video content at enterprise scale. I predict that video content creation will become fully democratized in 2022 through self-serve video technology. Every marketing professional will become empowered to create high-quality video content — regardless of their experience, expertise, or location.

Trend 3

To meet demand for video, enterprises will slash their video tech stack and consolidate into all-in-one video content creation, broadcasting, and distribution solutions

‍The video technology landscape is crowded with so many different software technologies and tools, and enterprise marketers are left wondering what’s best for their needs. Additionally, the complexity of these solutions made creating authentic, high-quality video content a time-consuming, high-cost process reserved for video professionals. In 2022, enterprises will move away from expensive niche solutions for hosting, managing, and distributing videos the traditional way, which requires full production teams, post-production studios, and extensive editing technology. Instead, I anticipate that organizations will evaluate and increasingly use all-in-one, cloud-based solutions that make the video content creation process not only massively easier and faster but also infinitely scalable, with broadcasting and distribution capabilities built right in.

Trend 4

Marketing professionals will move away from consumer tools in favor of enterprise-class solutions to securely create, broadcast, and distribute video content

‍Historically, organizations had two choices for video creation: hire a third-party consultant or work with their internal video services team. With the rise of video content options originally built for consumers like TikTok and Instagram Stories, a third option emerged — marketing professionals could create some types of video content themselves to communicate with their audiences. However, the consumer tools available on the market lack the high levels of quality and security needed for the enterprise, and their broadcasting and distribution capabilities are vastly limited. In 2022, I predict that many marketing professionals will move away from using consumer tools for business use cases they are not designed for. They will also either augment or replace consultants and internal video production houses with enterprise-class tools that let them securely create high-quality video content at scale — with the simplicity of consumer tools. The rise of a new class of enterprise-level video content creation solutions will fill in the gaps left by consumer tools.

Trend 5

Audio content will take a spot on center stage in 2022

‍2020 saw the rise of Clubhouse, a social audio app built for users to communicate in audio chat rooms. In the span of several months, it amassed millions of users. Its popularity spawned an avalanche of similar audio-based spaces from social media platforms, including Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. The growth of audio-based platforms highlights consumers’ thirst for more audio content, also evidenced by Edison Research’s March report, which notes that listening to audio content is at an all-time high. The number of people who consume audio content will continue to grow, and I predict that all or most video content will also be available as audio in 2022. Consumers will want the ability to shift seamlessly between audio and video content, and businesses will seek to provide a fluid listening experience to meet those demands.

Trend 6

Hybrid events will require both digital components on-site and short-form video content online to deliver engaging experiences for both in-person and virtual attendees‍

A hybrid event offers both virtual and in-person options for attendees. Companies have adopted this model as an effective way to engage prospects and customers at a time when not everyone is comfortable with in-person interactions, and virtual interactions have gone mainstream. However, hybrid events are challenging to host and for most organizations, execution will be uneven — either heavily favoring in-person attendees vs. virtual, or vice versa. Companies will be motivated to establish strategies and find the right tools to deliver equally engaging experiences for both audiences. Hybrid events in 2022 will prioritize having a strong digital component at in-person events and incorporate short-form video content throughout the virtual portion to create a deeply engaging experience.

Trend 7

Marketing professionals will prioritize smaller, more niche virtual events to truly build community

‍B2B marketers had to drastically pivot their event marketing strategies given the pandemic-induced restrictions on live, in-person events. Many marketers turned to virtual events, which, due to their accessibility and cost efficiency, quickly became a staple for driving awareness and connecting with external audiences. However, when you’re watching someone present a live talk to a camera rather than being face-to-face with a room full of people, it can make it harder to connect on a personal level. In 2022, marketers will incorporate smaller and more niche virtual events as part of their marketing strategy to offer more engaging and intimate experiences for attendees to truly connect with customers, share stories, and build community.

Key takeaways:

• ‍‍Video marketing drives new and repeat business
• Long-form video content is ripe for repurposing
• Creating new content extends the value of each asset

B2B marketers, take note: video is here to stay.

Beyond serving as brand messaging and awareness play, video is helping businesses globally generate leads and drive sales. In fact, 89% of marketers say video gives them a good return on their investment.

This guide shares key video trends and statistics, video ideas to help businesses drive conversions, and B2B video marketing best practices.

In other posts, we'll go over some cost-saving methods in video creation — this ROI guide is all about how to do more with each piece of content without spending money to boost its effectiveness.

Read on to learn how to maximize the value of your video content.

Benefits of B2B video marketing

Many are reluctant to dive into the world of video for reasons such as the perception that video is too expensive, complex, or time-consuming. It’s simply not true — recording professional video is as easy as jumping into a virtual meeting.

Our end-to-end video creation platform and those who shifted to remote work in 2020 prove that video creation is easier than ever, and the proof of ROI is in the pudding.

1. Video consumption continues to soar

Amidst a pandemic, there is no doubt video consumption continues to rise since it is the next best thing to communicating in person. People’s schedules have been disrupted by COVID-19, resulting in more time spent consuming video at home.

A 2020 study showed that the daily time consuming online content has doubled globally from an average of 3 hours to about 7 hours in 2020.

Video isn’t slowing down anytime soon, so if your business does not have a video marketing strategy, now is the time to get on board before you risk falling behind. Case in point: Cisco forecasted that by 2022, video will account for 82% of all Internet traffic.

2. People prefer video

Video content is king for a reason.

When asked how they’d like to learn about a product or service, two-thirds of people (66%) said they’d prefer to watch a short video in Wyzowl’s 2020 Video Marketing Report.

This compares to 18% who would rather read a text-based article, website or post, 4% who would like to view an infographic, 3% who would rather download an ebook or manual, 3% who would rather attend a webinar or pitch, and 2% who would like a sales call.

3. Video improves lead generation

Videos are effective tools for generating leads. In fact, 83% of video marketers say video helps them with lead generation.

There are several video marketing tactics that can be used to generate leads, such as:

• Producing gated content

• Adding a call-to-action to videos
• Including contact forms
• Building a video post-click landing page

Social media channels such as LinkedIn can help your business drive quality, accurate leads with features such as Lead Generation forms.

4. Video increases conversion rates

Video is one of the fastest, easiest, and engaging ways to communicate with your audience as well as build a sense of trust. Not only are videos helping consumers better understand a product or service, but also improving conversion rates.

More than 80% of video marketers say video has increased traffic to their website, and the average time visitors spend on their page. Additionally, publishing video on your sites can contribute to improving your search engine ranking.

Video can also be persuasive in purchasing decisions, with 80% of marketers agreeing that video has directly helped increase sales.

5. Video humanizes brands

Video conveys emotional connection in a way that static press releases and corporate memos cannot. That’s why video is one of the most effective mediums to humanize your brand and boost engagement.

To squash the disconnect between a brand name and the people behind it, why not feature videos with executive leaders who work at the company? By showcasing personality and authenticity in videos, customers can connect with your brand on a new and interesting level.

6. Video reaches wider audiences

Audiences are consuming video like never before, so there is no question as to why social media channels like Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn are heavily prioritizing video.

For example, Twitter launched its own version of Stories called “Fleets,” while LinkedIn recently launched LinkedIn Stories. LinkedIn publicly shares how LinkedIn Live videos receive an average 7x more reactions and 24x more comments than native video.

Plus, each video that you create to drive brand awareness can easily be repurposed into demand-gen content. But more on that later.

Social media channels will continue to favor video by making it more visible in feeds, since it tends to outperform static posts. This gives businesses the opportunity to be creative and find new ways to stand out digitally.

Formats to improve video ROI

When planning to maximize the video’s ROI, first define the metrics you want to move and make a solid plan to track it. To determine the ROI video produces depends on your organization’s needs, goals, and budget.

Whether it is to drive more subscribers, leads, or sales, let’s dive into video formats commonly used by companies to help sell more.

1. Customer testimonials

More than 80% of people say that they’ve been convinced to buy a product or service by watching a brand’s video. So, why not let your customers drive sales for you through video testimonials?

Video testimonials are a powerful way to showcase product benefits to prospects. It not only shows a face to personalize your business, but also features real-life use cases reflecting the challenges your customer overcome. A persuasive case study includes specific numbers and successful outcomes.

Once you have a few customer video testimonials under your belt, you can use specific videos to target specific campaigns and gain lookalike customers.

‍Using Socialive, Boston Consulting Group’s Marketing team accelerated the creation of branded video content for its digital channels. After seeing successful results, Socialive conducted a video testimonial with BCG.

2. Product tutorials and demonstrations

If you are selling software or an app, tutorial videos and product demonstrations are an effective way to show your product in action. 74% of people say they’ve been convinced to buy or download a piece of software or app by watching a video.

Product demos can include unboxing the product as well as product reviews and comparisons.

Vave Health, a healthcare technology startup, hosted a 45-minute live demo of its product, the Vave Wireless Ultrasound Solution. The demo showcases the solution and features a Q&A with their own Founder and CEO.

3. Virtual Events and Webinars

Virtual events are a tried and true marketing tactic to garner new sales leads. With video, you can host a wide range of events such as webinars, conferences, trade shows, and conventions — no matter where your audience is in the world.

When executing your event, it is important to consider which format will resonate with your buyer. Is it educational and informative, or covering a specific case study?

Then, make sure you create an opt-in page to encourage people to register and publish an email reminder sequence. Promote your event in advance, add CTA’s when relevant, and follow up post-event to nurture your audience.

https://youtu.be/LleA8n3OlAsDue to the pandemic, Flipside Group’s client Oppo, a Chinese consumer electronics company, was forced to cancel its in-person press conference in Germany. In a short turnaround time, the team executed around a successful hour-long virtual press conference featuring interviews, product demos, and a live Q&A using Socialive.

4. Influential interviews

Providing insightful and valuable information in an engaging format is key to a winning video strategy.

Record snackable bits or livestream discussions with company leaders, industry figures, experts, and influencers, to share compelling stories and establish your organization.

Pro tip: It is a good idea to choose those who have a large social media following and who are likely to promote your videos through their own digital channels.

POLITICO creates high-quality live and live-to-tape virtual interviews for its digital channels, particularly for its website and social media channels. The team has produced a wide range of influential interviews such as this one with Bill Gates. Gates discusses his philanthropic efforts to contain the pandemic.

5. Interactive videos

Video isn’t just a one-way street. Why not get your prospects and customers involved?

Interactive videos invite viewers to engage and participate. Examples include live auctions, contests, or game shows. Make it a memorable experience for prospects.

Walmart innovates with live video by hosting a weekly game show called “Price Check Live.” Beyond its entertainment value, “Price Check Live” represents well-conceived content marketing that advances objectives across the marketing funnel.

B2B video marketing best practices

Whether your videos are recorded, livestreamed, or you send a piece of content through the entire record, edit, publish, and livestream lifecycle, here are some best practices to maximize the ROI of your video content.

Calculate your campaign costs

Before creating video, you need to calculate the total projected costs for the campaign. This includes the cost to make videos and promote them.

Define your KPIs

Nail down your success metrics, which can be a goal for the number of subscribers, website traffic, leads, or sales you’d like to achieve. For example, how many leads or sales do you need from your video content to call it a success? Take into account the total amount of money you are putting into producing and promoting your video, and the cost of each sale.

Add strong CTA’s

In addition to adding branded intro and outros to your videos, be sure to include clear, specific calls to action when relevant. You can link to product demo sign-up forms, or valuable content on your website.

Make sure you have a distribution strategy

If you are hosting a digital event, be sure to promote the livestream in advance by posting to your social media pages, and announcing it on other distribution channels like email newsletters.

Use tracking links

Using tracking links such as UTM links in Google Analytics can help you understand the value of your videos. Specifically, you can track which videos were able to drive the most leads and conversions.

Measure and analyze

Stay focused on conversions. Beyond the engagement numbers, pay close attention to these video-related KPIs:

• Click-through rate (CTR, especially important for generating leads)
• Total video views
• Total video embeds
• Ad clicks and skips
• Number of plays
• Total video completions (this is helping in seeing where viewers dropped off)
• Time spent watching

Optimize videos for each platform and audience

Video isn’t a one-size-fits-all all deal, which means what works on LinkedIn may not work on Facebook. Tailor your content to the platform’s audience and be thoughtful about their viewing experience. This includes choosing an optimal video length for each channel and optimizing for mobile.

Add subtitles

Include subtitles when you can as many viewers may be watching with the sound off. Including subtitles can help ensure your message does not get lost, which can be done quicker than you think.

Reduce costs by repurposing videos

After a virtual event or livestream, edit snackable snippets of the recording and distribute it through organic and paid channels. If you're using LinkedIn Live or creating other livestreams, Socialive makes it easy to create new content for demand-gen campaigns.

Reduce costs by crowdsourcing content

Your biggest cost and roadblock to creating tons of revenue-driving content will likely be scalability. Either your internal video team can't handle all the demand or you're paying a third-party high fees for each piece of content. Instead, empower team members to record and edit portions of your content with a video creation platform to boost the ROI of your video content.

Be authentic

Video humanizes us. By being authentic, you can establish a personal connection as well as foster openness and transparency. Plus, creating authentic video can be fast and easy.

Ask questions and interact with your audience in real-time

During a live broadcast, it’s important to engage with your audience as they are reacting to you. This will help build a stronger relationship with your viewers, and will give them more incentive to tune in to future livestreams.

Nurture relationships with viewers after a virtual event

After the livestream, ask attendees for feedback.

Remember, there is often no one right answer when it comes to content and video marketing. Be sure to try things out, experiment, and never be afraid to share your work and look for opportunities to reuse it. Create, repurpose, and repeat!

2019 saw two game-changing developments in the live-video space:

First, Amazon quietly launched Amazon Live, a channel that will feature live content from in-house talent as well as individual brands. (Think QVC for online shopping.) The emergence of live commerce in North America was one of our predictions for 2019, and Amazon Live is an inkling of what’s to come.

Second, LinkedIn rolled out LinkedIn Live, which will allow individuals and organizations to broadcast live video on the professional-networking platform. As a LinkedIn Live partner, Socialive maximizes brand awareness, while also helping create impactful demand-generation video content.

Together, these moves from two of tech’s dominant players underscore that live video is fertile ground for growth – particularly when it comes to brand-building and commerce.

In this primer, we explore what LinkedIn Live means for organizations and how to avail yourself of the novel opportunities it presents.

What is LinkedIn Live?

After LinkedIn launched video in mid-2017, video quickly became the fastest-growing format on the platform, notching the highest rates of user engagement.

So it comes as no surprise that LinkedIn is venturing into live video  —  a format that outperforms regular video by a factor of 10.

As a LinkedIn Live partner, Socialive enables users to create polished livestreams for the platform  —  with multicam options, branded titles and graphics, and dynamic split-screen layouts.

Why LinkedIn Live Is Different

To be sure, live video has been a part of the social-media ecosystem for nigh on a decade.

YouTube Live launched in 2011, Periscope (acquired by Twitter) in 2015, and Facebook Live in early 2016. (That’s not to mention live-ish video apps like Snapchat and Instagram.)

Among social platforms, however, LinkedIn is distinct as a professional, career-based community. It engages a different audience — and engages it differently:

> An audience of peers: While social platforms like Facebook and Twitter have evolved over their lifespans, they remain spaces where people participate largely in their personal capacities. Consequently, on these platforms, brands communicate to a predominantly consumer audience.

As a professional community, LinkedIn engages people and organizations around career growth and business development. On LinkedIn, your brand’s audience, then, is as often peer entrepreneurs and organizations, investors, and current and potential employees, as consumers.

> Community-building ethos:  In many ways, social channels are still a Wild West for marketers. Because they are broad-based consumer platforms, there are no settled rules for what to message. As a result, brands use these channels liberally, for all manner of messaging, from upper-funnel affinity- and awareness-building to direct sales.

LinkedIn has a more defined ethos that shapes what constitutes good and appropriate messaging on the platform. As a space where people and organizations find professional opportunities, collaboration, and support, LinkedIn is more a space for nurturing a professional community  —  via stories, insights, and conversation  —  than one for overt promotion.

> Elevated tone:  There is a difference between how you speak to friends and how you speak to colleagues. Whereas organizations can communicate more informally, even playfully on consumer-centric social channels, the conversations on LinkedIn occur at a more elevated, professional register.

By incorporating what has hitherto been a social, consumer-spirited feature into a professional context, LinkedIn Live is an altogether novel medium  —  unlocking a new audience  —  and, for all brands, a wellspring of opportunity.

How LinkedIn Live Can Benefit All Brands

The revolution in online live and live-like authentic video is also an aesthetic one.

YouTube vlogs, Facebook livestreams, and Snaps have evolved our expectations for how online video should look, especially live video. Typically, this content has a stripped-down look, with minimal bells and whistles, and featuring only one or a few subjects in-frame, speaking directly into camera.

There are several reasons for the emergence and codification of this new video aesthetic. It communicates a directness and authenticity on the part of the speaker. It’s suitable for viewing on smaller screens. But, above all, it’s inexpensive.

For brands, what that means is that creating online video — and, now, live content for LinkedIn Live  —  is accessible. You don’t need the six- and seven-figure ad budgets of yesteryear to produce watchable content. (In point of fact, slickly produced videos can seem out of place on social and digital platforms.)

Whereas a live-like video style allows a brand to capitalize on ease of production as well as an aesthetic that connotes authenticity, real-time broadcasts for LinkedIn Live offer further advantages:

> Foster engagement & community:  Live broadcasts on LinkedIn Live enable a brand to engage its audience in real-time. Viewers can ask questions and provide feedback during a broadcast, allowing them to shape the conversation. By creating opportunities for viewers to become stakeholders, a brand can build affinity and interest, while gaining valuable insights about its audience.

> Humanize your organization:  The live aesthetic and the real-time access of live content communicate transparency and authenticity. Today, audiences are savvier and more skeptical of self-serving, manicured messaging. Live allows for more unvarnished, human storytelling, especially when you spotlight the people —from leaders to employees — who comprise your organization.

> Establish thought leadership:  Live video is well-suited for Q&A sessions, roundtable discussions, and keynote speeches that explore ideas, innovations, or industry developments about which your organization may have particular and valuable insights. Conducting a conversation in real time — and opening it up to a professional community on LinkedIn — can both build goodwill for your brand and cultivate its reputation as an authority.

> Attract collaborators & professional connections:   Ultimately, an effective live strategy — which nurtures a LinkedIn constituency, shows the human side of your brand, and delivers expertise — can expand your LinkedIn audience and generate opportunities for business development, partnerships, and recruitment of top talent.

How To Approach LinkedIn Live Content

As explored above, LinkedIn Live is a distinct platform, with a niche audience, defined ethos, and professional decorum. It follows, then, that the content your brand creates and curates for LinkedIn Live should match that environment.

Practically, that means a content strategy that incorporates certain best practices:

> Give, don’t take:  LinkedIn is adamantly not a venue to trumpet deals, push promotions, or make emphatic appeals for sales. Given the distinct nature of the LinkedIn community, this sort of messaging comes off as tone-deaf and can actually cut against your brand  —  painting you as an ill-mannered gate-crasher.

Rather, LinkedIn is about building and nurturing professional community  —  by connecting with like-minded professionals and peer organizations, contributing insights and ideas, and turning the individual journey into a shared experience. Generosity is the key to compelling LinkedIn Live video.

Produce content that benefits entrepreneurs, investors, business leaders, experts, and workers  —  such as interviews with company insiders, expert commentary, even entertaining episodes about what goes on behind the scenes at your company.

Think of LinkedIn as a highly effective upper-funnel channel, an opportunity to generate goodwill and affinity for your brand among a community of peers and professionals. Doing this well can lead to business opportunities and help attract great employees.

> Encourage conversation:  Relatedly, craft live content with an eye toward interaction and engagement. Other channels — with perhaps a more homogeneous, consumer audience  —  may be better suited to a one-to-many broadcasting model.

The LinkedIn ethos, however, favors conversations — where multiple parties can participate in a discussion, share unique insights and feedback, and thereby elevate understanding for the benefit of the larger LinkedIn community.

LinkedIn Live enables real-time exchanges between the creators and consumers of live-video content. Prompt your audience to use the comment feature to submit questions and share experiences, and follow through on opportunities to carry a conversation forward post-livestream.

> Polish your content:  A key challenge for organizations is to balance the authentic aesthetic of live video with the imperative to preserve brand equity.

Raw livestreams — the sort broadcasted by individual users on social platforms  —  are not well-suited to brands, nor are they in-tune with the more buttoned-up, professional context of the LinkedIn community.

By enhancing the production value of your content, you can give it a professional veneer, while maintaining the spirit of authenticity and transparency that gives live video its impact.

Instead of smartphones or webcams, for instance, you can use pro-grade cameras. Taking inspiration from live-TV broadcasts, you can deploy multiple cameras or switch between live feeds and pre-edited video. You can also add branded title cards and on-screen graphics.

As part of its LinkedIn Live rollout, LinkedIn has partnered with Socialive for this very purpose: to enable brands to easily produce elevated, professional live broadcasts.

> Repurpose & tailor:  As intimated above, a fundamental precept of communication is that context shapes what you say and how you say it. The ideal of crafting bespoke messages for each channel, however, clashes with the need to create content efficiently.

Instead of producing single-use video for LinkedIn Live, consider how you can reshape, reframe, and repackage existing content to match the audience, ethos, and tone of the LinkedIn community and the inherent advantages of the live video format.

For instance, take a blog post exploring a news development and repurpose it into a live discussion between two brand reps about the same news item. Invite your audience into the conversation by soliciting their thoughts and have your brand reps respond to viewer insights. Then take the recording of that discussion, edit the best moment, and create new sponsored content to promote the next event.

Considering the distinct nature of the LinkedIn community  —  its unique audience, ethos, and tone  —  the launch of LinkedIn Live is not an instance of just another social platform adding live.

Instead, it introduces a novel opportunity for brands to forge professional relationships that can amplify and accelerate growth  —  and to do so more reliably, given the persuasive power of live video.

During this time of uncertainty, many businesses are experiencing disruption and feeling disconnected from their audiences.

Utilizing the most effective advocates that many organizations have, executive messaging is an opportunity to reforge that connection. Despite the changed environment, it’s still essential to be responsive and to take control of the messaging around your company.

Why use live video for executive messaging?

Thanks to video, especially live video, executive messaging can be delivered in a powerful format. With its instant visual and audio impact, video is the most engaging format online.

Video conveys emotional connection in a way that static press releases and corporate memos cannot. Specifically, for executive messaging, live video is the ideal medium and is often preferred to traditional approaches.

At this unprecedented moment, it’s necessary for leaders to speak openly to their customers and employees, and to demonstrate empathy. With social distancing and remote work arrangements in place, there is a greater need for management to have a voice.

This is the time for executives to showcase resiliency, highlight how their organization is contributing to the greater good, and announce any changes to company operating procedures, such as work-from-home or sick pay policies.

Live video, by its very nature, is a format that humanizes your brand and emphasizes transparency. Rather than a monologue, live video allows for an authentic dialogue in real-time and gives audiences the opportunity to be heard.

How executives are using live video

Whether you’re broadcasting a memo from the CEO or streaming a virtual town hall, live video offers executives a wealth of ways to reach internal and external audiences. Below are examples of executive messaging through live video in action.

1. ELLEVEST

Use case:  Thought leadership series on LinkedIn

On a mission to close the gender money gaps, Ellevest brings its LinkedIn page to life with a stream of live video content on its feed.

Ellevest’s CEO and co-founder, Sallie Krawcheck, hosts a live video series on relevant topics such as investing, the economy, and career development. While broadcasting, she is able to interact with her viewers and answer questions in real time.

Along with sharing her expertise, she brings in guests such as career coaches, financial planners, and investment professionals. By giving their audience access to experts, the LinkedIn Live series has become a go-to resource for those with money and career questions.

2. HEADSPACE

Use case:  Acknowledges current events and offers a solution on YouTube, Facebook, and LinkedIn

On World Meditation Day, Headspace invited its social media followers to experience a special live meditation hosted by its co-founder Andy Puddicombe.

Headspace’s use of live video illustrates how a business can take its product and adapt it to a moment in which mental health is top of mind. By recognizing World Meditation Day during this stressful time, the company showcased awareness of the COVID-19 crisis, and provided a solution for its viewers.

In addition to being timely, the live stream leveraged its co-founder to host the meditation, which strengthened the humanity of the brand. Audiences want to know the person behind the title, and want to connect a face to the name. Showing the leader behind Headspace’s efforts is an effective way to build trust and connect with viewers.

3. BOSTON CONSULTING GROUP

Use case:  Commencement speech on LinkedIn

In-person graduation ceremonies were one of the many events cancelled amid the pandemic. In response, Boston Consulting Group CEO Rich Lesser delivered his first-ever commencement speech. He congratulated the class of 2020 and shared reassuring words of wisdom.

Rather than letting the momentous occasion go unnoticed, Boston Consulting Group leveraged a firm head in their organization to participate in a cultural moment and contribute to the trending conversation.

This broadcast is an example of how to boost brand affinity and establish an emotional connection with your audience.

Live video best practices for executives

Even though the broadcast is live and in the moment, you want to be as prepared as possible. We’ve rounded up a few tips to help you get started.

• Create a live series: To maintain engagement and viewership, create a live video series instead of stand-alone or one-off videos. When you have episodes streaming on a consistent schedule, your audience will be able to plan around new broadcasts and know when to tune in.

• Pick a theme for your series: Decide what topics you want to cover, and what type of conversation you want to have with your audience. Sticking to your theme is important because it lets your audience know what to expect.

• Feature guests: For a dynamic conversation, bring in guest speakers to add insight and expertise to your regular programming. This will help ramp up engagement, views, and reach.

• Respond to your viewers in real time: During the broadcast, it’s important to engage with your audience as they are reacting to you. This will help build a stronger relationship with your viewers and will give them more incentive to tune in to future live streams.
• Be yourself: Video humanizes us. This moment is about showing your human self, not overly manicured communications. By being authentic, you can establish a personal connection as well as foster openness and transparency.

Now more than ever, ensuring that your business has an effective executive communications strategy is essential. That’s why more executives are embracing the power of live video to connect with employees and customers.

Beyond delivering executive messages, live video humanizes the brand, increases brand affinity, and changes the way people think about an organization.