How to Create Employer Branding Videos: A Step-by-Step Guide for Success
Learn how to create authentic employer branding videos that attract top talent. This step-by-step guide covers everything from defining objectives and tailoring content to production tips and platform optimization. Discover best practices, video formats, and strategies to craft engaging content that showcases your company culture and inspires candidates to join your team.
Employer branding videos are one of the most effective tools for attracting top talent and showcasing your company culture. However, creating an impactful video requires more than just hitting the record button. This step-by-step guide walks you through the entire process—from planning to production and distribution—so you can craft videos that resonate with your target audience and drive results.
Looking for a refresher on what employer branding videos are, their benefits, and best practices? Have a read through our article here!
Step 1: Define Your Objective
Before you start filming, take time to establish what you want your video to achieve. Clear objectives will guide your content and ensure your message is focused. Ask yourself:
Are you looking to raise awareness about your employer brand?
Are you promoting specific job roles or career paths?
Do you want to emphasize core values like diversity, innovation, or teamwork?
Your objective should reflect your company mission and align with the long-term goals of your employer branding strategy. If your aim is to boost awareness, your video might highlight your workplace environment or employee benefits. For roles requiring niche skills, focus on the work environment or tools your team uses.
Pro Tip: Link your video objectives to your broader employer value proposition (EVP). For example, if your EVP highlights career growth, your video could focus on mentorship or internal development opportunities.
Step 2: Understand Your Target Personas
Every employer branding video should speak directly to a specific audience. Tailor your message to resonate with the candidates you want to attract:
Early-career talent: Highlight growth opportunities, fun workplace culture, or mentorship programs.
Experienced professionals: Showcase leadership opportunities, impactful projects, and flexibility.
Incorporating insights about your target candidate personas ensures that your message will resonate and attract the right audience. For example:
Include elements that appeal to values-driven candidates, such as your company culture or commitment to sustainability.
Appeal to professionals by showing how your company supports career development and work-life balance.
Gather insights from current employees in similar roles to understand what attracted them to your company. Use this feedback to refine your message and tone.
Step 3: Develop Your Concept and Script
A compelling concept and script are the backbone of a great video. Start by crafting a clear narrative that aligns with your objectives:
Create a Storyboard: Visualize the structure of your video to ensure a smooth flow.
Focus on One Core Message: Whether it’s teamwork, innovation, or inclusivity, keep your video focused on one main idea.
Write a Simple, Authentic Script: Avoid corporate jargon and prioritize authenticity. Employees speaking in their own words often feel more genuine than overly polished speeches.
Your promotional video should also reflect your core mission and values. A well-thought-out script will ensure you achieve both authenticity and clarity.
Step 4: Choose the Right Video Type
Selecting the right video format is crucial to engaging your audience effectively. Popular types of employer branding videos include:
“Day in the Life”: Follow an employee through their workday to provide an inside look at your workplace.
Employee Testimonials: Share personal stories of employees to highlight your company’s values and culture.
Leadership Messages: Have leaders discuss the company’s mission and vision to inspire candidates.
Match the video type to your objectives and target audience. For example, a “day in the life” video might resonate more with entry-level candidates, while leadership messages appeal to senior professionals.
Step 5: Sourcing and Production
Decide how you’ll produce your video based on your budget and resources. Whether you work with a professional team or film in-house, these tips will help ensure quality:
Video Sourcing: Use reliable equipment, whether it’s a professional camera or a smartphone with stabilization tools.
Lighting and Sound: Invest in basic equipment like lapel microphones for clear audio and soft box lighting for a professional look.
Tools: Use editing software like Adobe Premiere Rush, iMovie, or Canva Video to polish your footage.
By carefully planning your video sourcing and production, you ensure a polished end product that reflects your brand values.
Pro Tip: Don’t let a small budget stop you. Authenticity often matters more than high production value, so focus on capturing real moments.
Step 6: Post-Production and Refinement
Post-production is where your video comes to life. Use editing software to:
Add motion graphics, text overlays, or animations to enhance engagement.
Include captions to improve accessibility and reach a wider audience.
Keep the final video concise and engaging. For most platforms, under two minutes is ideal.
Incorporate stock footage sparingly to add variety while keeping the focus on your company’s authentic story.
Step 7: Distribute and Optimize for Platforms
Once your video is ready, tailor it for each platform to maximize its impact:
LinkedIn:
Ideal for professional, in-depth videos (1–3 minutes).
Highlight key takeaways in the post to boost engagement.
Instagram and TikTok:
Create short, visually dynamic clips (15–60 seconds).
Use text overlays, trending music, and hashtags to align with platform trends.
YouTube:
Perfect for longer-form content (3–5 minutes), such as leadership messages or in-depth employee features.
Optimize titles, descriptions, and tags for SEO to ensure your video is discoverable.
Step 8: Prioritize Authenticity in Your Videos
Authenticity is one of the most important factors in creating impactful employer branding videos. Today’s candidates value genuine emotions and transparent storytelling over highly polished, corporate-style content. By showcasing real employees and their honest opinions, you create a stronger emotional connection with your audience.
Why Authenticity Matters
Increased Engagement: Authentic videos are more relatable and likely to be shared, increasing their reach on social media platforms.
Trust and Credibility: Job seekers trust what they see when it feels genuine, which builds confidence in your employer brand.
Alignment with Values: Highlighting your core mission and company values through honest storytelling ensures you attract candidates who align with your culture.
How to Ensure Authenticity
1 Feature Real Employees:
◦ Use unscripted interviews and testimonials to showcase authentic employee experiences.
◦ Encourage employees to share what they genuinely appreciate about working at your company.
2 Tell a Relatable Story:
◦ Focus on narration that highlights real moments in your workplace, such as teamwork, problem-solving, or celebrations.
◦ Avoid relying too heavily on stock footage or staged scenes, as these can come across as impersonal.
3 Capture Genuine Emotions:
◦ Moments like employees talking about challenges they’ve overcome or what motivates them are powerful for building employer brand gravity.
4 Be Transparent:
◦ Show both the highlights and the reality of working at your company. Candidates appreciate an honest portrayal over a picture-perfect image.
Measuring Authenticity’s Impact
Authentic content doesn’t just look good—it delivers results. Track conversion rates to see how many candidates apply after watching your video, and monitor social media engagement metrics like likes, comments, and shares. Authenticity inspires trust, which leads to higher-quality applications.
Best Practices for Employer Branding Videos
Avoid common pitfalls and follow these best practices to create videos that resonate:
Be Authentic: Showcase real employees and genuine moments. Overly polished or scripted content can feel inauthentic.
Keep It Simple: Focus on one or two key messages per video.
Engage Quickly: Hook viewers in the first 5–10 seconds with an intriguing question or bold statement.
Highlight Diversity: Feature employees from different roles and backgrounds to make your brand relatable to a wider audience.
Measuring Success
Once your video is live, track its performance to understand what’s working:
Views and Watch Time: Gauge how many people are watching and for how long.
Engagement Metrics: Look for likes, comments, shares, and clicks as signs of interest.
Conversion Rates: Measure how many candidates apply or engage with your brand after watching the video.
Use this data to refine future videos, ensuring they better meet the needs and preferences of your audience.
Start Building Your Employer Brand with Video
Creating employer branding videos is a powerful way to connect with candidates on a deeper level. By following this step-by-step guide, you can produce videos that authentically represent your company and inspire the right talent to apply.
If you’re ready to take your employer branding strategy to the next level, contact our team of experts for a consultation. Let’s create impactful video content that highlights what makes your company unique.