An internal email gets opened, rarely read to the end. An all-hands never gathers everyone. A short video can reach every employee with the same message, at the same time, on every site. Provided it has a clear goal and is released in the right place.
Here are ten uses of video in internal communication, then what makes it seen and understood.
Ten ideas for internal videos
| Idea | Goal | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Strategic announcement | Make a direction clear, and everyone's role in it | 1 to 2 min |
| Annual results | Make figures speak | 1 to 2 min |
| Reorganisation | Say what changes and what does not | 1 to 2 min |
| New tool | Make people want to use it, show the first step | 1 to 2 min |
| Process or procedure | Get the right practice applied | 1 to 3 min |
| Safety | Make the right reflexes stick | 1 to 2 min |
| Onboarding | Welcome people, explain the company and how it works | 2 to 4 min |
| Values and employer brand | Make what the company stands for concrete | 1 to 2 min |
| CSR approach | Explain a commitment, and what it changes day to day | 1 to 2 min |
| Product launch for the teams | Prepare sales and support before customers | 2 to 3 min |
Strategic announcements and results
A strategic plan often runs to a fifty-page document. The video keeps the essentials: where we start, where we are going, and what it changes for each job. For results, motion design makes figures speak: a rising curve, a map lighting up, a comparison with last year.
Reorganisation
The most sensitive announcement. The video guarantees everyone hears the same thing at the same time, but it is prepared with HR, legal and managers. Our article on announcing a reorganisation on video details the timing and precautions.
New tools and procedures
A new tool is only adopted if the first use is simple. The video shows that first step, not every feature. For a procedure, it shows the right practice in a real situation rather than describing it.
Safety
Safety instructions read poorly and are quickly forgotten. A short video focused on three reflexes sticks better, and also plays on site screens.
Onboarding
New joiners ask the same questions: how the company is organised, who does what, where to find information. A welcome video answers them once and for all, for every arrival, in every language. Our article on the onboarding video details what to put in it.
Values, employer brand and CSR
Values on a wall say nothing. A video that makes them concrete, through real situations, says what they change day to day. The same goes for a CSR approach: the commitment, then what everyone can do. For the employer brand, our article on the employer brand video goes further.
Product launch for the teams
Before customers, sales and support teams must understand the new product and be able to answer the first questions. An internal video prepares them, and can later be the basis of the presentation video for customers.
What makes an internal video get watched
One message
An internal video is watched by everyone, including those who do not feel concerned. One message, said simply, in one to two minutes. If you have more to say, make a series. Our article on corporate video length gives the benchmarks.
Made to be watched without sound
Many employees watch in open-plan offices, on a shared screen or on a shop floor. On-screen text carries the message, and subtitles are planned from the script.
Released where people are
- on the intranet home page, on announcement day;
- in leadership's email, with a poster image that makes people click;
- in the company's messaging tools;
- on site screens, in a short silent version;
- at the start of team meetings, with time to talk afterwards.
Approved before it is animated
An internal video goes through leadership, HR and communications, sometimes legal. Have the text approved in writing before any animation: that is where a comment takes ten minutes to fix.
Motion design or live action?
Motion design is ideal to explain: an organisation, a process, a tool, figures. It adapts easily into several languages and updates if information changes. Live action is better to embody: a leader speaking, an employee's testimony. The two combine well.
Measuring what it changes
Views say a video was opened, not that it helped. Measure what it was meant to change instead: fewer questions to HR or support, a tool adopted faster, a procedure applied better. Our article on what an internal video delivers suggests useful indicators.
Price and timing
Our internal video costs €1,750 excl. VAT and is delivered in 21 days; what drives the budget is detailed in our article on internal communication video prices. It includes a short script approved by leadership and HR, animation in your brand guidelines, voice-over, music, subtitles and exports for the intranet, screens and internal networks.
In short
A successful internal video carries one message, makes sense without sound, is approved before it is animated and is released where employees really are. Pick the idea based on what should change after the video. For the big picture, read our guide to corporate motion design video.
