Inclusion in Videos

Videos have the power to shorten sales cycles, bring your brand to the next level, and engage internal employees. To move the dial in a thoughtful and powerful way, it is important to include a diverse range of perspectives, voices, and stories.

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Specifically, by including diverse customers, employees, and followers in video campaigns, you can engage with a wider audience. According to Facebook Advertising,  64 percent of audiences in the US, UK, and Brazil said they would like to see more diversity. In addition, Deloitte reported that 69 percent of brands with diverse representation in advertisements saw an average stock gain of 44 percent. 

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Confused on where to start? We get it- taking on the complex task of creating empowering, inclusive videos that also impact your win rates, sales cycle, marketing engagement levels can seem like a daunting task. 

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And, we understand that tackling lack of representation is something that can take years within a large organization. There may be outdated hiring practices, implicit biases, and other institutional issues standing in your way. But, if you have read this far, you are up for a challenge (and we are too)! That is why we put together a few things to consider when building out your video campaign. 

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Be Thorough

When creating your video campaign, it is crucial to understand your audience as there may be certain demographics that are forgotten. Ask yourself, whom are you including in the video? Why? How do they reflect the perspectives of your audience? How do they relate to whom you are trying to target with this video?

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Creating a library of videos that highlight a diverse range of people is crucial to creating an impact with your sales and marketing campaigns. In addition, it allows you to create a company brand where your audience can see themselves reflected. 

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After asking yourself these questions, it is important to understand the even deeper question of who are you not including in your videos and why are you not!

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Be Strategic

Before creating a campaign, do you research internally and externally. First, take some time to reflect on your team. Working with diverse voices allows you to have different perspectives when creating campaigns.

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In addition, you must look externally when selecting clients to participate in video testimonials. How are you selecting those clients? How are you reaching out to them? Are you rewarding them for their time? What clients have you not reached out to for referral videos? Why not? How can you incorporate customer success stories that are not usually highlighted?

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Spending time to reflect on the past and present can allow you to make more inclusive decisions in the future! 

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Be Accessible

There are over 1 billion people worldwide who have some form of disability. That's a lot of people who are often excluded from watching videos because they are not accessible. 

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There are many ways to make videos accessible, such as adding closed captions, audio descriptions, using a large font, and adding contrasting colors. Accessible videos are important because they provide an inclusive way for everyone to enjoy videos!

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Okay, one last thought…

A key factor to creating inclusive videos is ensuring that this is a thoughtful process built out into not only your campaign but your entire organization. You must be empathetic, plan in advance, and empower underrepresented voices. Bringing inclusion to the workplace and marketing efforts takes time. 

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Yet at  rfrd, we are trying to show up as our authentic selves by honoring values like inclusion, that matter to us. Each day we are getting better, and we hope you are too! 

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Now get recording…. your customers are waiting to praise you!

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