It’s undeniable that 2020 was a year that accelerated the adoption of video by enterprises and consumers alike. Whether for news, sports, and entertainment, or across the enterprise, there was a seismic shift in how video was used to keep people connected and engaged.

As employees looked for clarity and direction from employers, and consumers shifted to digital, video became a mainstay in our everyday lives. Whether keeping people connected via team meetings, live streaming events, or communicating with a distributed workforce, to sharing brand content, shoppable content, and entertainment, video was the way we engaged. It became a key driver for business continuity and consumer engagement.

In 2020, Australia and New Zealand enterprises engaged with video on a never-before-seen scale. According to Brightcove’s Global Video Index, time spent with corporate communications video saw the biggest growth worldwide, and video views for Marketing and Sales customers increased 39%, with time watched up 41% year on year.

So, what does the future hold? With the shift to ‘newer’ ways of working, and how we engage and convert customers in this new hybrid world, what role does video play in driving business continuity and customer engagement moving forward?

Driving the Employee Experience

While there is no doubt that the pandemic caused organisations to look at how they work during times of crisis, for many, there was a particular focus on how to keep employees engaged, collaborative and productive.

The digitisation of the enterprise, with particular use of asynchronous video, meant that organisations uncovered new ways of delivering information to their workforce. Across the board, enterprise video is being used to deliver consistent, aligned and authentic communications, and drive new employee experiences. Whether to align employees or corporate messaging, recruit and onboard new employees, deliver training or self-paced learning, or host internal conferences and events, video has enabled organisations to become more agile and deliver a consistent stream of information with a personal touch.

Employees have also embraced video. Workforce flexibility – from where, when and how we work (as well as the fact that people work very differently) has changed dramatically, and video has offered a way to cut through and give employees more control. They have the flexibility to choose when they engage, allowing for greater bursts of productivity, as well as having an easily referenced asset, and the ability to engage at the time and place of their choosing. Simply put, video empowers employees by giving them greater agility and efficiency – which benefits the business in the long run.

New Ways of Delivering Customer Connection

2020 was also the year that enterprises reimagined their front-line customer engagement, using digital channels to attract, communicate, retain, and serve customers from anywhere.

Using video to enhance customer interactions, leading organisations used both live and on-demand video to drive increased access to products, develop stronger relationships with audiences and resolve issues quicker.

While organisations have focussed on leveraging video as a substitute for face-to-face interactions, many businesses have recognised the power of video, and are looking to the future to embrace video as its own unique channel as a way to augment ways to drive the customer connection.

It’s All in The Numbers – Why the Future Is Video

For organisations that have embraced video, they are starting to recognise its potential. From cost savings – both in time and money, improvements in efficiency and reduced dependency on resources, and increased reach and engagement, video has evolved as one of the most effective ways to deliver business continuity and consumer engagement.

More importantly, enterprises have recognised the analytics that video delivers. Metrics such as video watched, time engaged, and preferred content – are increasingly giving them data-driven insights to shape future communication strategies to fuel organisational growth.

Whatever the future holds for how our workplaces are shaped, or how we attract, engage and retain customers, one thing is certain – video is here to stay.