Since the first internal corporate note was sent—probably reminding employees about casual Friday—companies and organizations have relied on written communications to keep employees up-to-date on company policies, procedures and changes happening within. These days, though, more companies are switching to videos to relay information to their staff.

In a lot of ways, video is more effective than written communications. It grabs peoples’ attention, conveys important information quickly and is usually memorable. It’s also practical. Consider that when someone needs help with troubleshooting, it’s often easier to watch a video than it is to email someone with a question or read a document online while trying to fix the problem.

Video also offers a more personal connection than emails or newsletters do and can be more engaging.

Here are some tips to creating effective videos for your internal communications.

1. Keep it short

Your employees and customers are busy, and so are you. They don’t have time to watch long videos and likely won’t stay engaged for an extended period. You, meanwhile, don’t have the time to put into creating a long video script and then filming it. So keep your videos short. Don’t be tempted to be long winded or include a lot of extraneous information.

Any more than about four minutes runs the risk that they will not watch the whole thing or will lose focus and miss the important message.

2. Make sure the message is important

Speaking of important messages, make sure what you’re saying is important for everyone—or at least numerous people—to know. You might not need a video if only one person is affected by the content in it.

Create videos that have information that is important to your employees and make sure the content is focused on that vital message. Remove anything unnecessary from your script. If your video is about a new computer system, don’t speak about issues with human resources. Keep your message focused.

This will help keep your video short and will further ensure your employees watch and retain the information included.

Information that might only be important for a few people but has lasting value—such as training information or troubleshooting common issues—can also be put in video. This way, you only have to record the presentation once but viewers can benefit from it in the future.

3. Be engaging

Your audience will be more invested in your core message if you are an engaging and personable speaker. Use stories and anecdotes to convey your core ideas. Give examples of the issues or solutions you’re talking about.

If you’re nervous, self-conscious or camera shy, perhaps ask another team member at your company to do the talking.

What should you use

We recommend trying Loom or Soapbox to record your videos.

Final thoughts

Even if you’re hesitant to give up written communications, videos can be a great way to enhance your emails and newsletters. They can say in a short time what long paragraphs take forever to read. So while you might want to stick with your written communications, consider adding videos to your content. Your employees and customers will thank you for it.