How to Make an Employer Branding Video as a Remote Company
Everyone wants to be the coolest kid in school.
While most kids were voting on superlatives for Most Likely to Succeed (read: Most Likely to Work at a Company on the Receiving End of a Class Action Lawsuit) and Best Looking (read: Least Developed Personality), we were handing out superlatives for Most Resourceful and Most Likely to Do Actual Cool Shit.
That’s why we don’t think the coolest employers in the neighborhood are the ones throwing the most money at their branding campaigns. It’s all about thinking smart, thinking efficiently, thinking resourcefully.
If you’re a remote or even hybrid workplace, the idea of an employer branding video may make you feel hot in the wallet. But like I said, it’s about being resourceful.
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How to make an employer branding video with remote employees
Candidates, especially those interested in working for a remote or hybrid company, want to know that people are on the other side, so we recommend companies use real employee faces in their videos. With that in mind, let’s get started.
1. Get clear on the message you want to send + how you will distribute
Before you start capturing video, identify the type of video you want to create. Do you want a brand anthem that looks at your company from 30,000 feet? Do you want a video aimed at a specific candidate demo, like early career talent? Do you want to promote hiring for a specific department? Do you want to show prospective hires the kinds of projects they could work on? Your answer might be some combination of these.
Message goes hand-in-hand with distribution. If it’s about attracting early career talent, social media is a good platform. If it’s about building a brand anthem, you might distribute on social, your career page, and on Glassdoor.
No office? No problem! Watch this LeagueApps video for visual inspiration.
2. Plan your video
You don’t have to be Stephen King to come up with a good story for your video. (In fact, you know what, it’s probably best that you’re not.)
Let’s use this example: You want to create a video aimed at recruiting early career talent to your UX team.
Your story plan might look something like this:
Opening frame reads: Ever wonder what it’s like to work on the CoolKids Inc UX team?
Junior UX designer answering the questions: How did you get this job? What do you like about working at CoolKids? Give an example of a project you worked on in the last 12 months, one that you’re particularly proud of.
Manager-level UX designer answering the questions: How did you get promoted from junior to manager? What will that mean for your career trajectory?
UX design intern answering the questions: What have you learned during your internship? Give me an example of a project you worked on this semester.
Closing frame reads: Be one of the CoolKids. Learn more about UX careers at coolkids.co/uxteam.
Estimated length: 2.5 minutes, vibe: upbeat/countercultural
You will be shocked to learn that I have not won an Oscar for screenwriting. The point is: If I can do this, you can do this. Your job is to show your audience of young UX professionals who they’ll be working with, what they’ll be doing, and how it will help their career.
3. Designate your resources
Even if you don’t pay an external agency to create your branding video. It will cost something—someone’s time and/or the money to pay an editor to cut the video. Get clear on who/what you need to make it happen.
This is actually where remote companies have an advantage. You’re under no pressure to bring people into the office, get them to sit still in front of a camera, and cater to their diva-like coffee demands. To capture your employees talking about their jobs, just record a video interview or have them record themselves on their phones.
4. Prep your on-camera talent
To achieve some kind of consistency among employee videos, provide participants with guidelines on how to record themselves. For example:
Orient your phone vertically. (This is especially important if you’ll be distributing your video via social)
Choose a simple background like a solid-color wall or lovely green trees. Just make sure the sun isn’t directly behind you so we don’t blind ourselves.
Speak loudly and clearly, but also naturally. (Be cool, OK?)
5. Get to Work
To polish your work, you need a video editor or video editing software. You might work with an agency (like Uncubed!), a freelancer, or someone in your company who’s got some editing chops (check the marketing department).
Whoever you work with, get on the same page regarding the finished product before they start editing. Maybe walk them through that killer video plan you wrote.
6. Repeat as needed
Look at all those young blades you added to your UX team! Now do it again for operations, for sales, or for (gasp!) HR.
Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza writes about workplace culture, DEI, and hiring. Her work has appeared in Fast Company, From Day One, and InHerSight, among others.
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