Cisco predicted that 80% of all Internet traffic this year will be video content. And nearly all organizations will plan to use video content as an integral part of their learning and development (L&D) strategies this year, as well.
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Read “Why Your Training Materials Must Include Video Content in 2018” and “Embracing Video-Based Learning Content in the Workplace” for more details and insight as to why.
Not all L&D videos will yield a positive return on investment (ROI) for your organization this year, however, if they don’t contain the right elements. Here are five elements each training video should have if you want it to yield a positive ROI.
1. High-Quality Visual Content Optimized for Any Mobile Device
In 2019, most of your learners will access learning content on their mobile devices, and you’ll want them to because mobile learning helps them stay motivated to learn and helps them retain what they learn.
So, you’ll want to make sure that all videos are compressed and optimized for mobile devices. And you’ll want to make sure that learners can easily access all video content from a mobile device and that it doesn’t buffer too much or look too pixelated.
2. Storytelling
To keep your video-based learning content engaging and continually yielding a high number of learner views and a high volume of participation, you’ll want to incorporate storytelling in your video content. You can use a central mascot or character in your videos. Or, you can use pictures and stories to illustrate something you want your learners to grasp better.
Read “Using Narrative and Storytelling in E-Learning” to see why storytelling is so important for your video-based content.
3. Interactive Features
To keep your video content engaging, have learners answer questions or respond to polls as they view the videos. Or, have them click on different icons or buttons to interact with the content they’re viewing.
When your training videos are interactive, you will get higher rates of learner participation while also gathering data that you can use later regarding what they’re learning and how they learn best.
4. Share Buttons and Other Social Learning Features
Over 70% of organizations want to increase their investments in social learning, if they haven’t already, and you should, too. And as a part of your social learning strategy, you’ll want to offer video-based learning content that is easy to share with others.
Make sure that your learners can easily access a video and then click on a button to share it with their colleagues, networks, managers, etc. Also, make sure they’re able to leave comments on their learning videos for others to view and comment on, as well.
5. Connections to In-Person Materials and Scenarios
While video-based content has many benefits inside the workplace for both employees and employers, it will still only keep learners engaged long term if you make sure it’s relevant to their own everyday work experiences or learning materials that they’re covering in their in-person classrooms. Otherwise, the videos will just be irrelevant and too abstract and won’t serve a real purpose.
If you want your L&D videos to continue to yield a high ROI, make sure they include the five elements listed above.