The Power of Video Applications in Business and Education

The business landscape is becoming faster in pace and increasingly complex. To adapt, businesses are increasingly turning to video applications in both training and education. Training videos are a popular and convenient way to train employees because videos are cost effective, engaging, and improve information retention.

Video-based e-learning has more of a role to play than ever before to empower employees and drive business success. Video content has become one of the most popular formats for use in corporate training. Let's break down the benefits of incorporating training videos in business and education.

Benefits of Video-Based Learning

1. Cost-Effective Training

One of the biggest benefits of creating training videos as a business is that they allow you to save both resources and money. Using video for employee training is often more cost-effective as videos are easy to make and distribute. By centralizing video e-learning content on one platform, it becomes measurable, and cost-effective.

For instance, research has shown that businesses can “save between 50% and 70% when they replace instructor-based training with eLearning,” highlighting how much money you have the potential to save by utilizing training videos as opposed to in-person courses. It reduces the need for expensive in-person training which can incorporate venue hire, travel expenses, accommodation, etc.

This comes down to the fact that instead of hiring an instructor and purchasing typical materials for an in-person training, you can replay training videos when you need to train new employees, and a large portion of the cost of training ends once you have produced the training video. Training your employees through video means that you can reinvest the money that you save back into the business and better utilize the resources you already have.

2. Enhanced Engagement and Retention

Another benefit of using videos for training is that they can better engage learners. Incorporating training videos offers various benefits to your business because they are cost efficient, engaging, customizable and they help employees retain more information. In fact, studies show that learners retain visual information better than written, emphasizing how effective training videos can be in helping employees to retain what they learn.

In fact, when you consider that 73% of people said they prefer to watch a video than read print when learning about a product or service, it’s very clear to see why so many businesses choose to invest in videos as part of their training efforts. Engaged workers are more likely to learn and retain the information in your video if they’re genuinely interested in the video. Since 65% of people are visual learners, it’s not surprising that the majority of businesses are opting to use training videos as part of their learning strategies.

• Text-based learning has benefits but studies show that the brain processes visual information faster than text.
• Videos can be up to 83% more effective than non-visual formats.
• They have visuals, sound effects, and movement that text alone can’t provide.
• E-learning videos can capitalize on this with the use of animations, screen recordings, etc.

When using videos employees can observe real-time scenarios and situations. They can solve challenges they actually have to face when doing daily tasks. Many businesses use scenario-based videos for training because they resonate with employees and encourage them to imagine how they would respond in a real-world situation.

3. Flexibility and Accessibility

Video-based learning doesn’t rely on trainers and can fit in better with employee schedules. Employees can access videos at any time and from anywhere as long as they have an internet connection and a computer or mobile device. It doesn’t matter what language they speak or where they are located.

Learning can be employee-driven when hosting videos on a centralized platform. Teams are able to access training videos at any time, revisit concepts, and continue learning. Using video content makes it possible to scale messages across multiple platforms at the same time. It is possible to reach a wide number of employers, including those who work remotely.

4. Customization and Branding

Another benefit of creating training videos as a business is that they’re highly customizable and can be created in numerous formats. Customization with branding elements such as logos and fonts makes learning materials look more professional.

Many businesses opt for animated training videos, for instance, as the medium of animation is linked to entertainment in our brains and helps to keep people engaged while also educating them. This increases the chances of creating a memorable video that your employees are sure to remember. That said, the point remains that regardless of whether you want to create a live-action training video or an animated video, they’re highly customizable. As such, you can tailor your video to your target audience and specific training program.

Additionally, the fact that videos are so flexible means that you can chop and change certain aspects of your training video when you wish to add or alter information.

5. Variety and Interactivity

Video can come in different formats that add variety to the learning experience. Creating different kinds of videos helps to increase engagement and offers flexibility when it comes to meeting different needs. Offering employees different types of videos can make learning more engaging. Tutorial videos can provide step-by-step instructions on how to complete tasks.

Employee e-learning videos should incorporate interactive elements such as subtitles, quizzes, polls, and annotations to create a more immersive learning experience. Additionally, if you add an interactive element to your training video, such as various quiz questions, then this puts the information that they’ve learned from the video into practice. In turn, then, you’ve not only captured their attention with the video, but you’ve also engaged their brain by adding a practical element to the training that helps them better understand and remember whatever information you’ve given to them.

The use of AI allows for the personalization of e-learning videos and helps to increase engagement. Personalization addresses the needs of individual employees, their context, and their goals. AI algorithms can analyze their intentions and adjust content delivery in real time. Bite-sized videos of three to five minutes are highly digestible and enable employees to immediately apply their learning in specific situations. For example, subtitled bite-sized product demo videos could help employees during customer interactions.

Storytelling and the use of characters in e-learning videos can increase engagement and create connections.

How to Create Engaging Training Videos

Examples of Video Training in Action

• McDonald’s Hamburger training shows the use of step-by-step demonstrations to create video content. A new employee can watch a how-to video to learn how to make a McDonald’s burger.
• An Asana training video shows employees how to integrate Asana and Salesforce. It uses a screencast video with clear narration.
• Square is a financial services and digital payments company. Its training videos focus on how management supervises and tracks employee schedules.

Here is a table summarizing the benefits of video applications in business and education:

Benefit	Description
Cost-Effective	Reduces expenses associated with in-person training.
Engaging	Captures attention and improves information retention.
Flexible	Accessible anytime, anywhere, fitting employee schedules.
Customizable	Tailored content to meet specific training needs.
Scalable	Reaches a wide number of employees, including remote workers.

Leveraging Video Hosting Platforms

Hosting your video on a high-performance platform helps you track and assess engagement and performance. Analytics provide actionable insights from data that can help to optimize video e-learning. A video hosting platform like Cincopa offers a way to host and share e-learning videos from a centralized portal. Businesses can streamline the learning process with interactive tools and use analytics to gain insights into what keeps employees engaged.

Visit the Cincopa homepage to find out more about what it offers as a centralized video hosting platform.