5 Ways Leaders Use Video

[Alex Ferguson]

In any organization - for profit, non-profit, large or small – effective leaders, those who communicate well, will influence direction.

“Leadership is influence. Nothing more. Nothing less.” quote by John Maxwell

At Your Local Studio we’re not leadership experts, but we do notice when a leader makes an impact. And because our business is video production, we have a collection of examples where leaders have used video to influence.

Looking through all the various videos created by leaders, we've come to the conclusion that there are 5 main ways a leader uses video to influence those around her or him.

Leaders use video to

• highlight how the organization has grown or is growing
• introduce initiatives, promote ideas and events
• convey passion and differentiate themselves
• teach
• be social

To demonstrate we can look at some video examples from large companies such as Thomas Nelson Publishing, Xerox, Virgin Mobile, Campbell Soup, Avon and Dodge. And there are also examples from thought leaders like Keith Farazzi, Jack Canfield and Jon Acuff.

To talk about all five points in one article would take too long – so we’ll divide the examples into five articles.

The first of five ways leaders use video is to highlight growth.

First - Leaders use Video to Tell the Story

History and growth has impact. “Story” is powerful.

By creating a historical narrative video, a company has a cohesive story which employees, vendors and customers can share. And a leader who communicates well can convey a compelling story.

Michael Hyatt, the Chairman of the Board of Thomas Nelson Publishing, (president when he made this video) talks about the history of the company in this video:

But this is more than just a video about the history of the company – it’s a story to inform, inspire and set vision for the future.

In less than 8 minutes, Thomas Nelson Publishing has created a story that can be understood and adopted by everyone.

The video is set up as a narrative/interview style combined with photos and b-roll footage. (B-roll footage is video without sound, with the narrative being voiced.) Great sound quality is key for this kind of video. In addition, different styles of music keep the mood of the video to a good pace.

In the narrative, Michael Hyatt talks about overcoming setbacks and tragedy, innovations over time, leadership issues and setting vision for the future.

Do your employees, vendors and customers know the story of your organization – the history, the strategy, the vision?

Often marketing experts and copy editors can work with you to create compelling stories from the bare bones facts. Communications experts can hone your delivery. If you need recommendations, Your Local Studio has trusted partners who do this well. (At Your Local Studio our job is to make the videos.)

As a leader, or as part of the leadership team of your organization, perhaps it’s time to tell your story.

Next time we’ll give examples of how “Leaders Use Video to Inspire Action” - where leaders talk about initiatives and ideas, and promote events with video.

Stay tuned!

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Alex Ferguson is the founder of Your Local Studio - a video production company in the Raleigh area with quick, simple and affordable video content for the web.

This post is part of the foundation for a presentation "How Leaders Use Online Video". If you're interested in having Alex present this interactive piece to your group - just send him an email!