Video is a powerful tool, and an increasingly necessary one for businesses of all sizes. From the marketing department to the sales team, human resources to consultants, video can be used to automate processes, set yourself apart from competitors, and tell stories that would be difficult (or worse – boring) with just text.
If you are an Office 365 user (and if you’re not, click here), you have several video tools at your disposal already. We use Teams and Stream VERY often here at Crestwood. Our consultants use Teams to record client training, and then we send the link to the client afterwards so they can revisit. We now host our large company call via Teams meetings, so that we have an easy-to-access archive on Stream. All internal training and new employee onboarding is hosted in Stream, as well.
Note: the biggest limitation of Stream currently is that it only works for sharing videos internally – that is, other people with your company’s email address in your Microsoft Exchange account. There have been rumors that external sharing is on the roadmap, but isn’t available yet.
So what better way to explore using Stream for video than to use a video! Click the links below to see each topic. This is a recording of a recent webinar, which begins with a quick overview of why you need video and what types of video you may want to produce, then a few best practices for making great content. For this blog, though, we’re going to focus on Stream.
Getting Started with Microsoft Stream
There are three main methods of getting content into Stream: a Teams meeting, recording right from Stream, or uploading an existing video file.
Teams Meeting
You likely already know how to schedule and run a Teams meeting. Teams gives you the option to record the meeting at any point, and then that meeting recording is automatically stored in Stream. The benefits of this include using custom backgrounds, and adding as many people as you want.
Screen-Record within Microsoft Stream
If you’re recording something quickly and don’t want to go through the process of scheduling a quick Teams meeting with yourself, Stream allows you to record directly from the app. A pro for this method is being able to pause the recording to collect your thoughts or organize your window; a con is a 15-minute time limit.
Upload a File
You have the option to upload a file, whether that’s a fully-produced feature film, or a quick iPhone recording, and that allows you to share it with anyone in your organization.
Video Details in Stream – Setting Permissions and More
The biggest benefit of Stream is being able to set permissions on a very granular level – allowing whomever you’d like to view it, or edit it.
The Difference Between Channels and Groups in Stream
The main takeaway you should remember for Channels and Groups in Stream: Channels group VIDEOS while Groups group PEOPLE.
Enhancing Your Content
There are a few things you can do to polish and make your video more effective.
Adding Forms
You can collect opinions, make a quiz, or simply ensure that someone in your organization has watched the video by adding forms.
Trimming
If there is dead space before or after the start of your video, you can trim it within Stream.
Captions for Searchability
Setting the language (as either English or Spanish) will automatically generate a caption file. This allows users to search for a certain topic in the video. This is especially useful if you need to recall certain information later with a keyword.
Uploading to YouTube for External Sharing
YouTube is still the world’s second biggest search engine. We like to upload any good content there, or even use private channels for sharing to clients.
Utilizing these tips will have you working in Stream like a pro. Microsoft is continuously improving the product, so features like added caption language and external sharing are on the horizon. For more information, view the full recorded webinar, and as always, feel free to reach out to us for questions!
