The 3 Stages of Using Video in Your Employment Brand...
November 22, 2010
Let's face it - using video to enhance your employment brand is easy and hard. Let's break down the reality:
--It's Easy- You've got cameras like the Flip Mino out there, which just so happens to be perfect to deliver web-quality video, which is how you're going to use video in employment branding anyway. With that in mind, video has never been easier. You don't have technology excuses, the only excuses left are related to...wait for it...you...
--It's Hard - You want to weave video into your employment branding efforts? Then you need to have your flip camera with you daily. It takes discipline, and that's not even mentioning the fact that you have to be enough of a culture hound to stick the camera in someone's face without apology. The discipline and extroversion required make weaving video into your branding efforts hard, even if the technology is there.
Still, the only excuses left are related to you and to your hangups. So, once you acquire the discipline to treat video like email when it comes to tools you use, and get over your hangups with sticking the camera in someone's face, you'll go through the following 3 stages of using video in your employment brand:
Stage 1 - Rookie: You film some testimonials of employees saying your company is great.
Stage 2 - Culture Capture: You film actual events and conversations within your company in a non-scripted fashion, giving the external audience an actual taste of what your culture is like.
Stage 3 - You start making fun of yourself as an entity, meaning you have a sense of humor and don't take yourself too seriously.
Which one is best? I'm still learning, but it's clear to me that companies that never migrate past Stage 1 don't ever fully realize the potential of video, and the testimonials can be counter-productive if they don't appear spontaneous enough. Stage 2 is the sweet spot - companies that do a good job of capturing "a day in the life" within their company have the best chance at making video a tool that allows candidates to feel like they're involved in the conversation.
Stage 3 is a graduate level course. The ability to make fun of yourself and be looser than your competitors can make a big difference, but you can't do ONLY Stage 3. You've got to rely on the day-to-day stuff captured in Stage 2, then mix in some Stage 3 content.
So, if you're starting out, get to Stage 2 quickly, then mix in some Stage 3.
Want some examples of Stage 3? Here's a clip from NBA all-star Steve Nash, where he's asking for your all-star vote, with clips of him making AWFUL plays mixed in. Nice.
The point? You should watch videos like this and think about what you can pull off in your own environment to get to Stage 3 when it comes to employment branding via video.
Get to work in 2010, Tarantino...
I like the break down of stages of of video use but looking at this from the bird's eye, if a company gets beyond the first stage, I'd say they're headed in the right direction. Constantly trying to improve one's processes and procedures is the mark of a progressive company and one I'd love to be apart of.
Posted by: Eric Guess | December 15, 2010 at 10:02 PM
Video interviewing is actually easy and especially when it comes to branding! You brought up most of the points that video interviewing brings to branding. As a not video interviewing also signficantly reduces time to hire, travel costs, and finds quality candidates. It also offeres a powerful candidate experience where replicating the candidate experience replicates the brand.
I would recommend looking at www.hirevue.com
Posted by: Leilani | May 04, 2011 at 05:13 PM