Social Video creation is a hot-button topic in the consumer market, but what about implementing it as part of a regular team building exercise in your business? Should your team set aside a lunch break here and there to make and watch social videos?
I say yes! You should consider it for several reasons:
- Storytelling is empowering
- Storytelling is fun
- With social video creation tools like WeVideo.com, it’s very affordable.
If you need proof that you can make a fun video on a lunch break, check out my latest video here.
The Benefits of Exercising Social Video for Your Company
- Digital Storytelling Can Empower Employees: Making a video helps people think more objectively about characters, story, themes and, eventually, work and life in general. Humans are natural storytellers; it’s something that our species excels at. Providing a platform to help people tell their stories offers a powerful opportunity.
- Identify New Strengths in Current Team Members: Making social videos provides a safe place where employees can test their storytelling skills, and in doing so, will automatically reveal talents in themselves and others that could otherwise go unseen.
- Making Social Videos Creates an Ecosystem of “Possibility”: Humans are often driven by pleasure or pain. Creating social videos is typically a pleasurable experience where employees can see the results of their work in a relatively short amount of time. Video storytelling, by nature, forces people to think about possibility, and not about limits. Use this exercise to encourage your employees to make a video with a story that they will be proud of.
- Great Content for Your Company “Career” Page: When job seekers think of their “ideal place to work,” they’re probably looking for company that offers a position that fits their experience and skill set, but they’re also looking for a company with a team they would actually want to spend time with. If nothing else, company-created social videos make your work environment more approachable to anyone who sees them. Whether you’re showing a social video from the team barbecue, a company bowling outing or the annual holiday party, you’re sending a message that your company respects the stories told by its employees, enough to make it part of the company brand.
Tips for Getting Started
- Host a Monthly, Company-Wide Social Video Contest. Split your employees into respective teams. Each team can pick a name, a mascot, etc. Depending on your company, teams may get carried away, but that’s okay! Each team is responsible for creating a fun video that will be shown at the end of the month. On the last Friday of every month (for example), your company could sit down and have a “screening” of the social videos made by each team. Bring lunch, snacks and drinks, and set aside a half hour or so to watch the videos.
- Have a Prize for the Best Video. Employees can each vote on the videos they like best. The winning team gets a prize and bragging rights. The prize doesn’t have to be expensive; a colorful trophy that sits with that team for a month is a good start.
- Set Guidelines: Encourage employees to make videos that tell a story in under three minutes. Employees can only work on their team videos on lunch break (or after-hours, if they’re really ambitious). The final video should be created only by team members (no outside help).
- Share the Videos: The best videos may (if management approves) be shared on your company’s Facebook page, YouTube account, or Twitter feed.
Social Video Just Feels “Honest”
With so many “fake” viral campaigns in the media, it’s high time digital storytelling was unleashed to the masses. Social video can be a powerful tool for your company. Are these videos created by a production crew? No. Are they scripted? Probably not. Are they effective in empowering your employees and showing the outside world that your company supports an active work-life balance? Yes!
Put this Social Video challenge to your employees today. Give them a little encouragement and support and be amazed by the stories they create!