Creating an employer branding video: a 5 step guide for companies

If a picture says more than 1,000 words, a great video might say more than a lengthy career page. So, it’s no surprise that the number of employer branding videos has increased over the last few years. Companies use them to stand out among their competitors and attract and retain great employees. 

But what makes a great employer branding video?
And what steps do you need to consider when planning one for your company?

Our little guide has you covered, so let’s dive right in!

What is employer branding?

Employer branding is everything your company does to manage and influence the perceptions others—(potential) applicants, your current employees, or other essential stakeholders—have about you as an employer. Employer branding aims to give them an idea about your products or services, your company values and what it might look like to work for you.

With an employer branding video, you can vividly illustrate all the above. Voices of employees, shots of the office or remote infrastructure potentially accompanied by some background music allow candidates to understand your activities and culture fully. If done well, employer branding videos transmit positive emotions and create excitement—and are more successful than written text only. Stories Incorporated finds that job postings with video have a 34% greater application rate than those without. Plus, you can share them on various channels to reach a larger audience.  

Now that we understand the power of employer branding videos let's explore the key steps to create one that truly represents your company. 

5 steps towards your ideal employer branding video 

Step 1: Get your basics right
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Before losing yourself in writing a script or thinking about which employees or actors to include in your video, make sure you have your basics right. 

An employer branding video communicates what is core to your company, so you want to ensure you know the answers to the following questions:

• What are our purpose, vision and mission?
• How can you describe your company’s culture?
• What is your Employee Value Proposition (i.e. What does your company offer to its employees)?

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Step 2: Define your goal and audience

Once you’re clear about who you are and what you offer, you need to decide about your video’s goal and audience:

• What do you want to achieve? You might want to think about it this way: “Our video will be successful if it …”. Your options to finish the sentence are manyfold: … helps us to attract talent and increases the number of relevant applications? … improves our brand image? … showcases our culture?
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• Who are you trying to reach? Be specific about who’s the audience of your video. Do you have a recruitment focus? Then you need to consider what talent you’d like to attract: What language are they speaking? Will they focus more on the content of their potential job or on the people they’ll work with? Do you want to address them directly by providing a call to action?

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Step 3: Choose your “type”

The next step is to think about the type of video you want to create. You can interview your company’s leadership, show a peek behind the scenes, feature employee testimonials or work with actors or animations… the options are endless. 

There’s no right or wrong, but the format you choose must align well with your company and the goals you want to achieve with your video

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Let’s show you what we mean: We took a closer look at four employer videos to give you a taste of what is out there and use to discuss your intended “type”

Example 1: The “funny and authentic one” - Life at Figures

Figures is a French compensation management platform that was founded in 2020. They’re currently a team of 35. Here’s an overview of their video:

• What do we see?
  ‍Figures shows their employees as testimonials and prominently features their CEO Virgile Raingeard. We can see their open-space office with many plants, music posters and a guitar on the wall—quite the start-up feel. The video seems to be recorded with simple technical equipment.
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• What do we hear?
  Figures illustrates the team’s diversity by letting employee testimonials speak their respective languages, accompanied by English subtitles. 
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• What’s standing out?
  ‍This video is full of self-irony: Virgile doing assisted pull-ups, employees speaking from behind a plant, mocking each other because the Figures logo resembles Facebook and paying the CEO for a cup of coffee. But see for yourself ️😊
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• Our résumé: The video successfully lives up to Figures’ value “Why so serious?: You don’t have to be serious to do serious work. We value fun in our day to day and we try not to be boring in our communication”. It mainly provides an insight into this aspect of Figures’ culture.

Example 2: The “personal and content-driven one” - RealTalk@ZEISS

ZEISS is a German technology company in the optical and optoelectronic industry with more than 38.000 employees. Here’s an overview of their video:

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• What do we see?
  ZEISS shows their employees as testimonials. They sit in front of a white background and there are quick cuts from one employee to another. It is a visually simple but clearly technically advanced type of video.
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• What do we hear?
  The employees dive into what ZEISS is about, what work areas they engage in and how they are united in their desire to get to the bottom of things (e.g. “Is this a cancerous cell or not?”). They emphasise that they’re the best in their industry and that each team member brings their respective superpower. What type of team member is not working for them? Those who focus only on their personal advancement or put themselves above the team. They mostly speak German, but there are also some English statements. Most of the music resembles that of a suspenseful movie scene. The video ends with a clear call to action directly addressed to candidates: apply now!
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• What’s standing out?
  This is a minimalist video in the sense that it fully focuses on what the employees say—there’s no distraction in the background. It puts the employees front and centre.
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• Our résumé: ZEISS video has a strong content focus and is on the more factual end of things, it illustrates the variety of roles and disciplines in the company. It also brings across that employees are motivated by their innovative and challenging work while strongly valuing collaboration. 
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Example 3: The “cool one” - Work #LikeABosch

Bosch is a German technology and services company employing more than 400.000 associates worldwide. Here’s an overview of their video: 

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• What do we see?
  ‍Bosch decided to work with actors for this video. They’re wearing casual clothes, styled like cosmopolitan hipsters. We can see them in a range of working settings in a rather stylized fashion. At regular intervals, questions like “You're looking for a job with a mission or a vision” or “You like to work flexibly?” and the statement “Work like a Bosch” are displayed. The last sequence shows a written call for action, encouraging applicants to find their perfect position in the company.
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• What do we hear?
  Contrary to our other examples, nobody is speaking in this video. You can just hear the catchy sound of the "Like a Bosch" song.
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• What’s standing out:
  This video could almost be a music video as there’s a lot of emphasis on styles and moves. It also illustrates the flexibility Bosch provides to its employees in terms of work location by smartly combining traditional and home office settings.
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• Our résumé: The video is on the fancier and more polished end of things. It’s very successful in placing the slogan “Like a Bosch” in your head and making it stick. 

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Example 4: “The cinematic one” - SodaStream

SodaStream is an Israel-based manufacturing company best known for its carbonation product with close to 4.000 employees. Here’s an overview of their video: 

• What do we see?
  Former SodaStream CEO Daniel Birnbaum takes the viewer on a walk through the company’s office and warehouse. He starts by stating SodaStream’s mission to save the world from plastic waste. Birnbaum tells us they’re looking for new “people that can move mountains” when bumping into The Mountain from Game of Thrones who regularly reappears throughout the video. In the following sequences, Birnbaum shows us the qualities of their ideal employees. When leaving the warehouse, Birmbaum is joined by dozens of employees and emphasises the team’s diversity. At the end, a written statement calls on the viewers to “join the revolution”.
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• What do we hear?
  Birnbaum is the narrator in this video telling us directly about the company values and employees they’re looking for. His voice is accompanied by dramatic music that makes the viewer feel a sense of urgency.
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• What’s standing out?
  This video covers a lot: Birnbaum takes us along through the company and lets us peek at some people and the work environment. The video is quite focused on Birnbaum as the CEO—and, of course, SodaStream hired a recognizable actor.
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• Our résumé: The video combines serious and light-hearted elements and provides a comprehensive overview of SodaStream’s mission and recruitment needs. It has a communal and forward-looking touch encouraging candidates to become part of something big.

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These four examples give you a glimpse of the diversity of employer branding videos. The companies chose to emphasise different aspects of who they are as employers, which will speak to different audiences.

Do you have many big ideas now? Let’s see which of them you can implement!
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Step 4: Conduct a reality check

Once you have a better idea of what your ideal employer branding video will look like, you need to conduct a reality check. We recommend you consider the following questions:

• What budget do you have available and how do you plan to invest it?
  Your budget will influence the scope, delivery time and “polishedness” of your video. More budget might give you more options, but there are also powerful lower-budget videos—so no need to despair should you need to spend conservatively.
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• How much time do you have to complete the video?
  ‍You need to consider your deadline and how much time your team can invest in the process. Depending on your urgency, you might need to get extra help.
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• Will you do everything in-house or find an agency to support you?
  Your timeline and budget will be decisive in answering this question. Thanks to modern technology and depending on your team’s skills, there’s a lot you can do yourself. An agency will bring extra expertise and will likely produce a more polished video for you.
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• Do you want to show actors or real employees?
  There are (dis)advantages to both options: Real employees can be more authentic, but it might also be difficult to convince them to get in front of a camera and you might get into a tricky situation if they leave your company. Your decision will depend on what feels right and what is more feasible for your specific endeavour.

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Step 5: And action!

Most important decisions are made and you’re ready to roll!
Here’s what you’ll need to do next:

• Develop your concept and script (core message, tone, etc.)
• Plan and organise your production (location, equipment, personnel, etc.)
• Shoot the video!
• Allow time for edits and post-production
• Spread the word by sharing your new video widely

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Congratulations! If you took these steps, you hopefully created a video that you like, that represents what your company stands for and that helps achieve your goals. 

👉 Would you like to get some support in laying the foundations for your employer branding video?
Get in touch with us. We would love to support you in defining your EVP (Employer Value Proposition), personas or overall employer branding strategy.