You racked up meeting after meeting. The decision is in. Your team decides they need a video to help launch a new product. Now it’s movie time, right?
Wait a minute– have you thought about who is going to tell your story?
Who is going to share your message with the same amount of passion, energy and emotion as you and your teammates? Here’s a hint...
Your best storytellers are right under your nose: your employees.
Before you jump into your video, let’s take a moment and step back to look at the “big picture.”
Do you know the two main approaches to capture your company’s message?
There are two main approaches to tell your company’s message with video. You can tell your story through:
1. Interviews
2. Voice narration
What is the main difference between these two approaches?
In one word: trust. When we hear a narrator, at a very subtle level our brains start thinking: “I bet the marketing folks wrote that. And now someone is just reading a pre-written script. Of course they’re going to say this stuff to me.”
On the other hand, people love watching people in a video.
If you feature employees who are passionate about their work, they will come across in a believable way. You start liking them which eventually leads to trusting them. Not only that, your organization will have a “personality.”
Now your brain is going: “Yeah– I like these people. They’re clearly passionate about this idea. I’m starting to feel connected to them. I like what they’re sharing.”
How do you know your employees will appear believable?
You decided to feature several employees in your video. You even selected several people. How do you know they will share their passion in front of a camera and appear believable? It’s simple. Tell them they can speak their heart out because you will pick the best parts later. The more they share, the better they will look. And the better your video story will be!
Why would employees want to appear in their company video?
The opportunity to appear on-camera is an exciting adventure most people look forward to. For most employees, this is a chance to share their point-of-view and passion in something that is a “once-in-a-lifetime” dream.
Are employees always a perfect fit for every company video?
Employees are a great fit for almost any brand message. With the recent explosion of social media, audiences are expecting a personal experience with company videos. That means they want to see the people behind the company. Videos that are technical in nature may require a different approach such as an on-camera spokesperson or a voice narrator.
The Take-Away?
If your employees are passionate, energetic, articulate and are willing to share their experiences to the world, then your message will not only come across as being highly believable but chances are it will beat the socks off a script written from the ivory tower.
Your next step– get talking.
Your video story is nestled in the heart of every employee. It’s easy to over-think and over-plan what you want people to say on-camera. Be open and you will be amazed at what people will say.
Yup. It’s time to get talking.
---Tom
Since When Are Employees Not Storytellers?
Thursday, September 10, 2009 at 07:10AM 
