Moving Pictures: How organizations can capitalize on employee generated content

There are two ways for companies and organizations to look at today’s video-obsessed, content-ravenous world.

The first is that it’s easy for companies to lose control of their brands and quality standards as departments and individuals crank out a flood of company-related video shot on smart phones and tablets and produced on personal computers.

The second and brighter tack is that the proliferation of high-quality, inexpensive recording devices and digital distribution channels is a rich vein of valuable content to be tapped by companies who understand the competitive advantages in this new video-centric world.

We’re coming down squarely in the second camp after a HughesON webinar discussion with Randy Palubiak, media business strategist with Enliten Management Group.

Randy has been working with companies, professional associations and government agencies on video communication strategies for more than 35 years. He built a persuasive case during the webinar that organizations can exploit the advantages of employee-generated content (EGC) while protecting their brands and maintaining quality standards in enterprise-wide video ecosystems.

“Employees can use less expensive technology to be everywhere,” he said. “They may not be pros, but they can capture content valuable to the organization. EGC is out of the gate. You’re not going to stop it; it’s like a freight train. Employees want content, and they want it visually. If you aren’t going to stop it, you have to take advantage of it. Tap into your large base of corporate storytellers, particularly subject matter experts and people on the scene who know the topics. It might be too expensive or (impractical) to have your corporate staff go to all of these places, so take advantage of your expanded base.”

The key is for organizations to create frameworks that encourage eager employees to participate while maintaining brand integrity and quality standards. To start building an EGC-powered enterprise video ecosystem that accomplishes all of those objectives, Randy recommended:

• Benchmark against other organizations for best practices. What are other people doing to encourage and support the use of EGC? Engage with industry providers for guidance and support. They will have the breadth of experience to help you evaluate your situation and needs.
• Implement an enterprise-wide content management system with automated workflows with as many authorized contributors and users as you feel is appropriate. Make sure it’s flexible enough to accommodate more contributors and viewers.
• Develop standardized guidelines and processes and a governance team to protect your brand. The governance team should include representatives from every stakeholder group – contributors, corporate communications, brand management, etc.

To hear Randy’s full comments, you can find the full webinar here. In addition to developing the points covered in this blog, he also addressed questions from the audience on a wide range of topics, such as who owns content and how to properly deliver content across the organization. Randy also gave historical perspective on the legal and technical changes that created today’s EGC culture.

Randy’s LinkedIn profile provides more detail on his expertise and information on the book he authored on this subject, ““Digital Touch Points: How to Gain A Competitive Advantage Using Video and Dynamic Media.”