June 3, 2020

CloudApp’s Joe Martin on how video helps align teams from wherever they are

Marilyn Napier
Content Marketing Manager at Ally.io

Joe Martin of CloudApp recently joined Ally.io for a webinar on how to align and inspire teams from wherever you’re working. Here are some takeaways from what he had to say. 

Joe Martin, the VP of marketing at CloudApp, says remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic is far from any remote experience he’s ever had. 

That being said, Martin and his team are making adjustments to the business to make the remote work shift a little easier. 

Martin says asynchronous work is a huge part of successfully working remotely in his experience.

“Two years ago I started managing resources in India…living in Utah, India is exactly 12 hours ahead, so no one was ever happy on a phone call,” Martin says. 

Before even working at CloudApp, Martin discovered the tool as a way to help asynchronous work. 

CloudApp is an instant video and image sharing platform. Its screen recording software can capture and embed video, screen recordings and more. 

The tool allows teams to save time by sharing quick, visual assets instead of scheduling meetings for every need. 

“We would still try to meet in real time every other week, but we could record videos, record our screens and mark up presentations…was really a great connecting point.”

Martin says CloudApp has seen a lot of growth in the last month, with a 2.5x increase in video usage. 

He found that there was a 2x increase of video usage during the morning commute time, and also a 2x increase after normal working hours. Meaning it appears that more people are working outside traditional 9-5 hours while working remotely. 

CloudApp also has seen a 2x increase in communication from executives, according to Martin. 

Martin’s advice: Keep it casual when doing recorded videos for work. 

“Let’s remove the stigma of video…just do one take. Sometimes it’s terrible, it’s one take, don’t worry about mistakes, we are all human…make video just like you would a real time call.” 

When it comes to keeping the business aligned and focused, CloudApp uses the objectives and key results framework through Ally.io. 

CloudApp is focusing on three OKRs: acquisition, retention and revenue. 

Martin says they try to align their OKRS both at the company level and down to the individual level. 

“It’s been really helpful. I get behind sometimes…but I get a nice reminder every week to update my OKRs.”

CloudApp has also been working on virtual replacements for “water cooler conversations” for their teams. 

“We’ve tried to be proactive in connecting people together,” Martin says.

Some of those ways include having “Zoom lunches” as a company and a virtual scavenger hunt. 

Check out more from CloudApp here and more on OKRs here.‍