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.