You’re responsible for your team’s technology adoption and need them to start incorporating video messaging into their workflow with new software. But the response is a collective sigh. So how do you get team members on board? How do you best equip them to implement something new and unfamiliar?

There’s a chance you were a part of the decision-making process in selecting a video messaging solution. Maybe you even tried out the product during a pilot.

But you might also be learning about it for the first time along with your team. And adopting new technology can be intimidating. People don’t like change, and there’s a reason for that.

In fact, according to Forbes, employees who resist change in an organization often do so because they feel they won’t be successful at implementing something new. And this feeling is a result of a lack of confidence in themselves. What’s the secret to getting your team to embrace change? Work side-by-side with them, and build them up as they learn and adapt.

We’re here to help you navigate through this and teach you how to get everyone on your team bought into using video.

How to Drive Technology Adoption Within Your Team

We’ve rounded up some proven ways to get your team using (and excited about) video. These methods will help you encourage them to rethink how they communicate.

Once your team starts to see the results, they’ll truly begin to understand the power of video. (And they’ll want to continue using it every day!)

Get Your Team Behind Video

Before you can even start implementing video, everyone needs to get behind the new technology. It’s up to you to help your team understand how video can help make communication personal, clear, and effective.

You can start getting your team on board by using video yourself. Any time you’d send an email to someone on your team, try sending a video instead. Doing this helps them see how easy it is to incorporate video into their daily workflow.

It’s also important to talk to your team about the reason for the new technology adoption. Explain how video is so much more than just a way to save time. It’s an opportunity to get face to face with prospects, customers, and colleagues every day in a human-centered way that builds trust.

Video also gives your team the power of authenticity. And it’s this version of their true selves that attracts clients, improves the customer experience, and, in turn, lands more deals.

Tip: Ensuring company leaders are on board is key to your user adoption strategy. Encourage and work with them to incorporate video into their communication as well. Getting buy-in from your team will be a lot easier if they see that everyone is ready to embrace video messaging.

Use Your Customer Success Manager as a Resource

Your Customer Success Manager (CSM) is your biggest supporter. They want you to succeed with video. They’re a resource to equip you with the tools you need to thrive during the initial technology adoption phase and beyond.

They already know and understand your pain points and specific goals for video messaging, and it’s up to you to take full advantage of everything they have to offer.

So how can you use your CSM as a resource?

• Ask them for specific video messaging use cases (like these) that will help your team meet their goals.
• See what type of personalized video training they can provide you.
• Request information about relevant and beneficial webinars for you and your team.
• Ask them to help you focus on features that’ll help you meet specific goals quickly.
• Have them teach you how to set up integrations.

Get Video Integrated into Current Systems

Integrating a video messaging tool within the systems your team members are already familiar with will put them more at ease with using it. And because they’re able to continue working where they’re comfortable, it’ll be easier for them to adapt and use video.

Most video messaging tools have integrations with many of the software solutions your team already uses. BombBomb, for example, works hand-in-hand with systems like Salesforce, Outreach, Zendesk, Outlook, Gmail, and more. (Click here for a list of all BombBomb Integrations.)

Incorporate them into your user adoption strategy to make adding video into your workflow as easy as possible. And you can learn more about how these integrations work within BombBomb below:

• Salesforce
• Outreach
• Zendesk
• Outlook
• Gmail
• Google Chrome
• Microsoft Edge

Learn What to Say and When to Say It Together

Half of the battle when adopting video is knowing what to say and when to say it. Start by asking your team to think about some occasions that they can send a video instead of a plain-text email. What are some emails they often send that could be easier to understand if they were face to face?

Then, have them spend time creating three videos that they can reuse over and over again and send out alongside their plain-text emails. They can record simple videos, like:

• Introduction videos to automatically send out to a new inbound lead
• Instructional videos on how to use a specific product or feature
• Videos using a screen recorder (like this one) to walk through digital documents

In most cases, all your team needs to see is the results of their videos, such as:

• The first time they receive a response from their clients about how much they loved the video they received
• When a deal closes as a result of video messaging efforts
• When a client understands a complex situation

These video victories will help your team members see the benefits video messaging can offer.

Get Everyone Comfortable on Camera

The number one reason people struggle with adopting video? Because they feel uncomfortable showcasing their authentic selves.

Having confidence on camera is difficult, especially when using video is new. Being vulnerable and authentic can feel overwhelming. But in truth, it’s your genuine humanity that connects you to other people and lays the foundation for meaningful relationships. Imperfections, misspoken words, interruptions — these things make you more relatable.

So what are some ways everyone can find confidence and become more comfortable? Here are some tips to share with your team:

• If you can’t watch yourself on camera without negatively critiquing yourself — don’t watch.
• Quiet the negative and critical voices in your mind. The best way to do this? If you wouldn’t say something to a colleague or friend, you shouldn’t say it to yourself.
• Focus on the value of what you’re providing.
• Practice, and then practice some more.

If you’re looking for more ways to help everyone get comfortable on camera, this article can help.

Bring on Your Top Talent

When you’re starting to implement video into your team’s everyday workflow, begin with a small group of users. These users should also be some of your top performers. And if possible, they should be the ones that have a strong influence in your organization, too.

These influencers don’t have to be tech-savvy either. It’s probably more helpful if you choose a few people who need to overcome a little hesitancy to use video successfully. That way, they can speak to pain points that your other team members feel from direct experience.

Celebrate and Incentivize Small Wins

When your top tier starts seeing success, celebrate their wins and share them with the rest of your team. Acknowledging success will help team members who are still hesitant about the video messaging software adoption process to see that getting positive results is easy.

Incentivizing these wins with a small prize (like a gift card) is a simple way to get your team excited about video. And while this takes some additional resources to be successful, once your team is using video, seeing results, and saving time, it’ll be well worth the investment.

So what are some small wins you can celebrate and incentivize?

• Number of videos sent
• Positive replies
• Number of video opens and plays

Tip: When celebrating wins, introduce the video analytics feature of your video messaging software to your team. By doing this, your pilot users will be able to see the success they’re having with video for themselves.

Get Everyone On Board

After your first users start to see tangible and positive results, it’s time to bring the rest of your team on board. But before you do this, make sure you’ve prepared ahead of time.

Meet with your top talent and review the videos they’ve sent. What kind of videos are they sending the most? Which videos have the best response? Then, create a use case library of these videos the rest of your team can easily access as they start recording their own videos.

It’s also helpful to create a place for everyone to share videos and replies they receive from clients. Consider using a private messaging space, like Slack, so your team can share their big wins, best videos, and find encouragement.

Fine-Tune Email Structure

Video software adoption doesn’t end once everyone is on board. Even if your team is creating the best videos, not everyone is going to click play. So you have to help your team find the right balance between the videos they’re sending, a persuasive subject line, their animated preview, and the text that accompanies them to get viewers engaged.

To work on improving engagement, when you and your team send videos, let people know in the subject line and the plain-text body of the email what’s in it for them. This is the key to getting them to listen. Focusing on the value of what you’re providing upfront will help create a more compelling video message they’ll want to hear.

Another way to encourage recipients to click play? Focus on your animated preview or GIF. These are the first three seconds of your video that reside in your email. This is what people see first and helps you stand out as an actual person in a crowded inbox.

(You can find more ways to get video plays here.)

Make Video a Habit (For Everyone)

Once your team has started using video regularly to find long-term success, they have to make it a habit.

Occasions when people send videos, when they don’t, where they record, and how they make time to do so will vary. But to make video messaging a habit, it needs to become part of your team’s daily process — like making a phone call or sending an email.

Encourage your team to document the instances they feel most comfortable using video and when it works in their daily processes (and the times that it doesn’t). Have them continually monitor their progress and help guide them through what they think needs work.

Want to Learn More About Video Adoption? Check Out The Guide!

You have some proven ways to get your team to implement and use video messaging software. But don’t stop here!

Get “The Video Adoption Guide” to dive even deeper into how to lead your team through video messaging technology adoption successfully.

And if you want to make sure video is the right solution for your team, request a demo today and see how video can rehumanize how you all communicate.