As 7video launches #LoveWhatWeDoInHousing, looking at how digital transformation during the pandemic is presenting the sector with opportunities for better content creation, its Business Development manager, Ben Payne, looks at solving some of the challenges that may lie in the way
We’re in the midst of a digital communication revolution, where new patterns have emerged, including more people of all ages and backgrounds adopting and embracing digital than ever before.
This in turn will lead to a long-term preference for new approaches with direct impacts on housing.
And along with recommendations made in the Social Housing White Paper, effective engagement with colleagues and customers has never been so important.
As well as the key areas highlighted in the showreel, some of the expected impacts of the digital revolution include:
- A huge uptake in video conferencing like Zoom and Microsoft Teams, transforming the way we engage and connect
- A widening of talent pools for recruitment as the commute becomes less important
- Digital ways of communicating key messages and supporting learning becoming even more normalised
- Increased number of people expecting to be engaged, entertained, and informed through digital communications
- More customers wanting to go online to access services, key information, or raise questions or concerns
- A desire to see more human interest stories online instead of being bombarded by brands
- Widening gap between those who are digitally able and those who are not, increasing the need for more support
- Shift of internal cultures, transforming the office environment and the way people work and are supported in work
- Need to more effectively showcase new developments during an ever evolving housing crisis
Microsoft estimates that two years of digital transformation were compressed into just two months during the pandemic.
Habits may have changed forever, so it’s crucially important that all sectors, including housing, utilise the opportunities this transformation has created.
Customer experience
Before COVID, associations were on their own digital journeys as they investigated and implemented ways of best reaching their own customers, colleagues, and stakeholders.
And it has been a bumpy journey, in part as they wrestle with internal and external pressures to find the best solutions according to different needs, demographics, and skills – as well as supporting those who are in danger of being left behind.
“Where there may have been those happy to delay work on digital transformation, COVID may have just accelerated the need to fully embrace it”
Managing customers’ expectations and improving customer experience has been a major focus, with housing exploring and implementing plans to engage in the best places and on the most appropriate platforms.
The self help/self serve agenda has been at the forefront of many campaigns, with a drive to not only support customers better but give them opportunities to report online, with the knock-on effect of reducing costs and the number of calls contact centres receive.
There has been varying success in the sector, but with a widespread recognition that everyone needs to get on board. Where there may have been those happy to delay work on their own digital transformation, COVID may have just accelerated the need to fully embrace it.
Power of video
A big part of any digital transformation is video, which people are increasingly using to communicate. No area of communication has grown faster than video production:
- 80% of people have engaged with more video content than they did before COVID
- By next year, 82% of all content created will be video, 15 times higher than in 2017
- Video generates 12 times more shares than text and images combined
- By 2025, a massive 76% of mobile traffic will be video
So, armed with this knowledge and the fact that there has been a COVID revolution, it should be at the forefront of any digital marketing strategy.
Discover more about how the digital transformation is affecting housing and how video is effectively supporting marketing and communication strategies:
- Improving customer experience and support
- How to better engage with customer colleagues and stakeholders
- Showcasing developments during the housing crisis
Housing Digital Stakeholders 7video are video experts in housing and have worked with associations across the UK for more than a decade, bringing stories to life with film, animation, drone, and timelapse.
Read next: How Halton Housing claimed the #HDTop30 title
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