Undoubtedly, COVID-19 has taught us a major lesson in adaptability. Part of my adjustment was dusting off my computer’s webcam and becoming Zoom-savvy overnight – and I’m not the only one. On the bright side, we’re all developing a new skill set every day! Here’s what I’ve learned about perfecting these conference calls, avoiding mistakes, and acing your next video conference. Remember the acronym BEST:

• B – background
• E – environment
• S – sound
• T – test

Background:

When taking part in a webinar, you want your audience to be focused on you, not your background. Choose a place in your home or office that has limited distractions behind you, and is as neat and organized as possible. If you’re in your office, be absolutely sure that no confidential client (or personal) information can be seen!

Additionally, never set up with a window behind you. A bring light behind you will make you look like a silhouette. Shut the blinds if possible, and adjust overhead or lamp lighting to ensure you are properly lit from all angles (this will decrease any shadows on your face).

Environment:

How likely are you to be interrupted during your video? Make sure all alarms, radios, TVs, and phones are turned off or muted. Let your family members or coworkers know you will be taking part in a video meeting and will be unavailable for some time (this includes pets, in case your fluffy coworker needs to be crated or kept in another room).

Finally, do a self-check and make sure your “personal environment” is ready to go. Just like in any meeting or interview, straighten your clothes and hair to ensure you look presentable.

Sound:

Sound is key. If you are doing a TV interview or hosting a webinar, consider investing in an additional computer microphone – or headset – with better sound quality.

If your only option is to use the computer’s microphone, no problem, but do not look away from the computer while speaking. This could cause your audio level to drop, and listeners won’t be able to hear from you. Keep the microphone directly in front of you, or attached to your shirt collar mid-chest. Avoid tapping on the desk or rustling papers, as your mic will pick it up.

Test:

It’s important to do a test run before going live! Test your internet connection, make sure any documents you need are easily accessible, and if you’re sharing your computer screen, make sure notifications are off and all other applications (and web tabs) are closed!

Set up a test meeting with a coworker or a friend to get feedback on your lighting, audio and presentation.

I hope that using these tips will help you have the BEST video call possible the next time you turn on your webcam.

Three NPS team members, each proud broadcast journalism alumni, participated in a webinar panel to share tips and best practices for online interviews. Whether it’s a live interview or recorded for later, we’re here to help you nail your next interview.

The Hollywood film industry runs on a system of expectations, standards and edicts that are probably pretty dissimilar from the work you or your company does here at home. There is one, though, that applies to everyone – from the freelance landscape designer to the CEO of a multinational corporation – return on investment. And, when confronted with the proposition of spending your hard earned dollars to produce video, you want to be sure to maximize your investment.

Look no further than Marvel’s Avengers franchise – a juggernaut that, at last check, had generated roughly a gazillion dollars globally from movies to TV shows, animated series to merchandising – it’s everywhere. We’d all like that kind of ubiquity for our product or service, but let’s be honest: the videos you produce showcasing your widget, workforce or work-of-the-day will probably make … somewhat less of a splash. But that’s OK – as there’s still a strong business case to be made for making even a modest investment in video storytelling.

Viewership continues to grow

First, acknowledge what the statistics have borne out during the past few years and what our own usage has proven during COVID-19: video is a powerful tool for driving engagement. CEO’s have used it to more effectively communicate difficult and personal messages with their employees, while non-profits are showcasing the work they do and the difference it makes in their communities. People are watching, and audiences continue to grow. According to Cisco, by 2022, it’s estimated that more than 80% of all consumer Internet traffic will be devoted to video.

Improve SEO

Including video content can increase your brand’s search engine optimization. A website is 53 times more likely to reach the front page of Google if it includes a video. That means more eyeballs, more potential customers, and a greater impact. And it’s not tied to length – you don’t need a series of 3-minute documentaries to pump up your SEO numbers (but if you’re interested in producing a few of those, I’d be happy to help!).

Increase views & engagement

One last statistic: social media posts with videos get 48% more views, while tweets with videos see 10x more engagement. This is important to remember the next time you’re considering hiring someone to help you produce video – think beyond the initial filming, and consider how that product can be broken up and repurposed elsewhere.

That last point has become more significant at a time when people have been less inclined to gather in person for video shoots or interviews. At NP Strategy (pardon the self-promotion), I’ve been fortunate enough to work with several clients who’ve built a library of material that they’ve been able to deploy during COVID-19 to aid fundraising or educational efforts. Pieces of interviews that were previously unused, or simply still frames or photos that ended up on the cutting room floor, have found new life across social media.

No matter the vendor you choose, it makes sense to establish a relationship with a videographer you can revisit during the course of a campaign or the lifetime of your company. That library of content will pay off – if you make the initial investment.

Empathy is a key element of emotional intelligence – the connection between self and others. We’re all seeing the power of empathy in dramatic ways during the COVID-19 crisis; from the heartfelt appreciation for health care workers, to the celebration of sanitation crews and delivery drivers.  While we undoubtedly see empathy’s impact, many still believe it’s something you either do or do not “have,” or don’t think of empathy as an action.  I would like to challenge that belief, and encourage all of us to be better leaders by putting empathy into action.

When Mahatma Gandhi returned to India in 1915, he was a pinstriped barrister with a high-stiff collar. But in order to lead his nation to independence, he knew he’d need the support and trust of the population living in poverty. So Gandhi put empathy into action, and began to dress, live and eat like the poor. It gave him a greater understanding of the lives and experiences of the poor of his country, and also helped him develop an extremely loyal and engaged following.

Leaders of modern organizations often operate on a different level than most of their people: their office is in a different location, they eat lunch with different people, they socialize in different circles. To be an effective leader, one must understand the entire organization, and a powerful way to do this is to prioritize empathy through your actions. Here are a couple of ideas to help you practice empathy in the workplace, as we all continue adjusting to this new “normal” life:

• Attend meetings and lunches that you may not have to attend with employee groups you don’t typically interact with – set a calendar reminder, or ask a colleague to help keep you accountable, to make this happen.
• Make an effort to reach out to every part of the organization and understand what folks do, even if it’s not crucial to your tasks that day.
• Consider who you do not know well or at all, and make an effort to engage those employees. No one is exempt from this – including the contractors who may support your organization, such as couriers, cleaning crews, etc.
• Keep a stack of cards at your desk – for any occasion – to sign with a personal note. These could express sympathy, congratulations, or a simple gesture of thanks that might otherwise go unsaid.

As you deploy these and other similar actions you will not only understand your organization better, but you will also foster the loyalty and engagement necessary to succeed.  And best of all, your life will be enriched by the variety of relationships you will build in the process.

When I was a kid, my mom would ask us that question immediately following what – at the time – seemed like a soul-crushing disappointment. You know, the kind of disappointment that ruins your young life: not making region band, missing out on a role in a play, the VCR failing to record the 3 AM showing of Godzilla Vs. MechaGodzilla, etc. No matter the scale or severity of the issue, mom was always ready with the Pollyanna-inspired rhetorical pick-me-up, “but you know what the good news is?” Typically, the answer paled in comparison to what we’d originally wanted. But there was always something.

Today, the stakes are much higher. We face a worldwide pandemic that’s killed thousands and left countless others sick and/or quarantined. We don’t know what’s coming next, but the experts say it doesn’t look good. People are unable to grieve the lost, earn a living, or just sit and talk with friends and family. Even Pollyanna would struggle with this one.

But I’m trying to find the good news in our collective resilience and ability to innovate on the fly. Like never before, we’re seeing everyone from business leaders to school bus drivers figure out how to “adapt and overcome” to ensure people are fed, cared for and loved.

I submit, for your consideration, the following GOOD NEWS:

• Online book reading sessions for children stuck at home.
• Local health clubs closing, but posting workouts online members can access and use at will.
• Designated shopping hours for seniors to keep them safe (and stocked with toilet paper).

Or, how about this one from Kershaw County (where today, you’ll find 1/3 of South Carolina’s positive cases): we’ve watched school bus drivers leverage social media to make sure school children are fed.  Drivers are posting on social media, “Listen for the school bus horn at 8:00 am on so-and-so street.  Come to the curb and pick up the meals.”  It’s an impressive (and rapidly deployed) solution to feeding children who depend on school meals, while also maintaining that all-important social distance.

Along with innovation, we’ve watched compassion spring forth in ways that rival our typical responses to a natural disaster: neighbors shopping for friends who are at an increased risk of catching the virus, residents gathering money to buy dinner for local hospital staff, a building owner telling their tenants to pay their employees instead of the rent.

The examples are out there, and although social media has been accused of “killing socialization,” I think it will ultimately be one of our greatest sources of joy throughout this experience. So, I encourage you to seek – and share – that joy. Social media campaigns are already in motion: #EncouragingTheCarolinas (on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter); WLTX’s #ShareTheLove; or #StayHome (get a look inside your friends’ work-from-home set-up across all social platforms). Jokes, video of your dogs helping you work from home, examples of compassion in the face of adversity, it’s all welcome. And these days, it’s all needed.

So, help me out – do you know what the good news is?

Silence fuels fear in a crisis, especially when the crisis is changing by the day and is something few people have experienced before.  Over the last ten days, we’ve seen a wide spectrum of communication tactics unfold with the spread of COVID-19, and some of those tactics have been truly horrible.  But the organizations that are communicating well are navigating these uncharted waters with reassuring confidence.  What are they doing?

1. Getting organized – quickly.

I watched one of our clients call together the organization’s Critical Response Team (“CRT”) long before the COVID-19 situation was urgent.  The CRT is a team outlined in the organization’s crisis communications plan, which team members adopted last year.  In response to the threat of COVID-19, the CRT met after work one night in early March and mapped out different phases of where this situation might go.  They talked through how different groups of stakeholders may be affected and what would be the best way to communicate with each group.  When the spread of COVID-19 began to rapidly increase, this team calmly deployed each phase of messaging – without internal panic or confusion.

2. Planning for worst-case scenarios.

Prepare for landfall in your back yard.  Team members who routinely manage the direct effects of hurricanes have deployed similar tactics with COVID-19.  They haven’t shied away from the fact that their community could be ground zero, and they’ve written messaging to plan for a worst-case scenario. It takes a strong leader to look ahead and acknowledge the situation could get must worse, but when you are prepared for a disaster, you are able to begin caring for your organization immediately.

3. Communicating openly – but calmly – with stakeholders.

Scrubbing your communications for words that unintentionally induce panic ensures you are calmly and effectively sharing information.  This can be hard to do in a rush, but it will save you a lot of time trying to reassure scared readers that you really do have the situation under control. We’ve seen successful teams candidly acknowledging the impending possibilities with COVID-19.  The same logic of preparing your team to communicate in a crisis applies to preparing your stakeholders to weather the crisis: tell them the truth and what they should do/prepare for, but don’t unintentionally inflate the risk.

4. Speaking up for the unpopular option.

A group may drift toward the easy option when it comes to communicating, but a focused professional will have the courage to speak up for a different, harder option if it is the right course of action.  Consider the CEO who wants a COVID-19 message to go out to employees by noon, but at 11:45 AM the communications professional determines the wording isn’t accurate because the facts have changed.  In times of crisis, an effective communicator must both stay abreast of the latest news, and in this example, have the courage to recommend missing the noon deadline in order to deliver accurate information to the company’s employees.

5. Looking inward to prepare for the long haul.

While COVID-19 feels like it sprang upon us overnight, the effects will be long-lasting.  Your crisis team will likely need to be operating at 150% for the next several months, so consider now how you staff the big projects, how you provide outlets to share personal concerns, and how you ensure everyone gets a break when possible.  Together you can navigate in this evolving situation, but it will take ensuring you care for your co-workers.

While there has already been much communication about COVID-19, it seems that we may still have quite a road ahead of us. It’s not too late to put a solid communications plan in place for the coming weeks. Meanwhile, I hope you and your family stay healthy and safe. If you are struggling, please let someone know. May we all band together, do our part and support the suffering with courage and words of peace.

As the coronavirus continues to spread and increasingly impact day-to-day operations of organizations across all industries and geographies, NP Strategy has developed resources to help you communicate with your employees and customers (read also “5 Tips for Communicating About Coronavirus“). Our crisis communications experts can help you navigate this unknown terrain as the coronavirus situation evolves.

For your efficiency, we’ve compiled a resource packet with templates that you can tailor to your company’s communications needs. This includes:

• Internal Communications – Statement to Employees Regarding COVID-19 Response and Policies
• Internal Communications – Statement to Employees Regarding COVID-19 Exposure or Case(s)
• External Communications – Client/Customer Messaging Regarding Disruption of Business Operations (including variations for diversity of disruptions)
• External Communications – Proactive Client/Customer Outreach

To find out more about the packet or to speak to our crisis communications experts, contact us at crisisteam@npstrat.com. We’re also available to provide custom communications support to your organization. Our attorneys with Nexsen Pruet law firm are also able to provide legal guidance about force majeure, employment matters and other issues related to the virus situation.

Like many of you, NP Strategy is closely monitoring the coronavirus news and making plans for various scenarios as they relate to our employees and clients. We encourage you to have an action plan and to communicate with your employees and other key stakeholders. NP Strategy’s crisis communications team stands ready to help you develop a course of action, if needed.

NP Strategy has developed 5 top-level objectives for your organization to consider:

1. Reduce transmission among employees, customers and other stakeholders

• Require sick employees or those exposed to COVID-19 to stay home or remain separated from other employees
• Encourage proper hand-washing and hygiene habits
• Increase the level of decontamination in the workplace

2. Protect people who are at higher risk for adverse health complications

• Put procedures in place to properly insulate those in your organization or care who are in higher risk categories

3. Maintain business operations

• Review or enact business interruption and crisis management plans and consider potential risk categories
• Minimize adverse effects on other entities in their supply chains, as able

4. Stay informed

• Monitor news, employee/customer/stakeholder concerns and be a source of relevant, credible information

5. Keep perspective

• Be prepared for the worst, but don’t inflate the risk
• Recognize the potential for virus-related anxiety in your stakeholder groups and be a voice of calm and reason

For more information on NP Strategy’s crisis management services email crisisteam@npstrat.com or contact Heather Matthews or Erin Sanders.

For many of us, our day-to-day activities are dictated by the services we provide to our customers – so much so, that we too often forget to think about our own companies. No matter your industry, we all tend to make our customers, clients, board members, or other stakeholder groups our first priority. In doing so, we overlook the most important stakeholder – yourself.

I know this may sound selfish, but it’s true: If you don’t invest in yourself or your company, how do you expect others to invest in you? And how do you expect to provide the best services possible? It’s easy to talk about ‘securing your own mask first’, but it’s harder to actually implement.

So what do these personal investments look like?

• Professional Development

Our team members are our greatest asset. If we fail to invest in their continued growth, we won’t retain them, and will lag behind the rest of the booming job market. This can be realized in different ways; from team-building exercises, skills-building training opportunities, or trade association memberships. While team members will find interest and value in different opportunities, you need to be willing to offer the opportunities that will allow them to flourish.

• Business Marketing

Unless you are a B2C business, you are probably not thinking about the best ways to communicate with the outside world. You may be communicating to other businesses or your clients, but even those relationships need to be marketed. Do you maintain an active social media presence? Do you have a functioning website? These things are critical when trying to build and tell your business’ story. You could answer, “Yes,” to all of those questions but still need to do more. Every level of involvement has an improvement opportunity. If you aren’t finding a way to be a better steward of your business’s efforts, how do you expect to grow and succeed? If you’re starting from scratch, it’s ok to start slowly. I always recommend our clients pick one or two platforms to focus on, and get those right before adding to your plate.

• Strategic Planning

Strategic plans sometimes have the reputation of being cumbersome and expensive but they are critical for any successful organization. These plans can help determine the best approach to building your business, launching into a new market or growing your employee pool. It gives you a blueprint for being proactive – rather than reactive – within your organization by setting long-term goals that can guide your short-term decisions. It also allows you to set a sense of direction and efficiency to make your business more resilient. It may not seem like something you need, but trust me,  it will make your business more directionally focused.

These investments aren’t easy – they demand taking the time to do serious reflection and planning, plus taking the time to see them through to execution. Sometimes, these investments aren’t cheap, either. But, they ARE effective and necessary to begin the path toward a successful 2020 (and beyond!).

For those of us in the professional services industry, clients are our bread and butter. We are constantly looking for ways to provide top-notch, memorable service to our current clients, while looking for new clients that will allow us to grow our business. It’s easy to say that good business attracts more business, but how do you make sure your current clients are not only well taken care of, but eager to recommend you to others? Go the extra mile. Consider the following:

Be Valuable
Always be mindful of putting yourself in your client’s shoes. How can you make their job easier? Take some time to visualize their businesses’ goals and landscape from their perspective. Doing so will allow you to elevate your client by providing valuable insights and strategies you know would make them successful – whether internally with their leadership team – or externally with key stakeholders.

Be Proactive
With your newfound perspective on what your client could do to achieve greater success, don’t waste time in making suggestions. Don’t wait for that weekly call or meeting – let them know you’re always trying to stay a step ahead and keep them ahead of the competition. If you see or hear about something that could be valuable to your client, share it with them quickly.

Be Responsive
Speaking of speed, remember that you work for the client, not yourself. It sounds basic, but responding to their calls and emails in a timely fashion can go a long way. Technology has allowed us to stay in contact in more ways than ever before (for better or worse), and the last thing you want your client to do is feel like you’ve put them on the back burner. Even if you don’t have the answer they are looking for immediately, acknowledge receipt of their message and let them know you are looking into it. A client always wants to be reminded that they are front and center in your mind.

Be Thoughtful
Clients appreciate having more than a working relationship, and if you’re in the business of client services, you should be interested in taking the time to get to know your clients as individuals, even if only for the fact that it makes for good business. Make note of their birthdays, hobbies, and families. Take these insights and apply them during your client interactions by asking about their recent vacation or business trip, or how their mother is doing. Send them a note on their birthday, or take them to lunch at their favorite restaurant. I’ve found that the smallest gesture – a quick, thoughtful email, or the offering of a free ticket to an event you know they’d enjoy – can make a big impression.

Maya Angelou famously said that someone may not remember what you said or did, but they will remember how you made them feel. The same philosophy applies to client services. You will never regret going above and beyond to provide a good client experience that creates a long-standing, trusted relationship.