Video for crisis communication: different crisis stages

The recent Corona crisis is regarded by many as a pivotal event: it marks the unprecedented acceleration towards digitalization.

The crisis can be divided into three stages:

• initial impact stage, during which a company is at its most vulnerable and is not yet responding,
• the new normality stage during which a company is adjusting its processes for the sake of its business continuity
• and the positive outcome stage which follows as economies are recovering

Based on this model, we can cautiously conclude that a) by this point, many businesses are already in the midst of the second stage, and b) video plays a crucial part in maintaining organizations’ business activity.

Since mid-March, a whopping 340% increase in video traffic has been registered, out of which 200% increase can be ascribed to Corporate Learning activities, 40% in internal communications, and 100% in livestreaming. Let’s break that video activity into video use cases:

Video use cases for crisis communication

As mentioned above, video communication is booming. Businesses have more than tripled the use of video for various business purposes. But what are these purposes exactly? One of the more predominant video use cases during this last crisis appears to be Corporate Learning. It’s no surprise that, in times of uncertainty, remote video training has become a powerful tool that supports remote working and allows employees to familiarize themselves with new tools and systems.

Another popular video use case these days is live streaming as organizations seek to virtualize their all-hands and investor relations meetings, reassure employees, and connect between leadership and worldwide teams in a personal, more emotional manner. Such events also present the opportunity to alleviate employees’ concerns and address their questions, for example, via video Q&A.

Finally, video for internal communications has become much more prevalent. If only a few months ago, only a certain percentage of the workforce would fall into the “remote” category, by now, we all have become remote employees overnight, requiring employees to convert their in-person communication into the closest medium: video.

Naturally, those examples only represent a fraction of video’s potential. Video can be used for a plethora of business purposes.

Video crisis communication tools

It’s important to note that different video use cases often require different video capabilities and hence, video tools.

For example, video management and sharing can be regarded as one use case which requires a certain set of features while live streaming requires a very different set.

The good news? An enterprise video platform covers a vast number of business video use cases, including secure viewing, sharing, and storing. Here, at movingimage, we cover a variety of enterprise video use cases using three powerful products, VideoManager Pro, CorporateTube, and Webcast:

1. VideoManager Pro is a video content management system (CMS) and offers extensive security features as well as API, automated transcoding, and configurable metadata.
2. CorporateTube is a web-based video portal for internal and external corporate communications. Think of it as an enterprise YouTube. It offers features such as eCDN and CDN delivery, and the ability to rate, comment, or share a video.
3. movingimage Webcast is a livestreaming and slide-synchronization tool that allows you to extend your broadcast to all employees, business partners, and stakeholders. It offers features such as live streaming statistics, Q&A, and video chapters.

Final thoughts and key takeaways

• Based on business video use—it appears global organizations are beyond the initial phase and that their focus has shifted from “survival” to business continuity.
• Video use is not expected to drop any time soon. In fact, the “new normal” will require remote communication in the foreseeable future.
• The most popular use cases of video for crisis communication are corporate learning, live streaming, and internal communications.
• In order for any enterprise to fully-realize its video potential, it must use a capable video platform, preferably with an enterprise focus.