Company culture videos are a powerful way to humanize your employer brand. And in a competitive job market, they can significantly enhance your ability to attract and convert top talent. 

But what makes a company culture video truly impactful? In this post, we’ll explore best practices for creating a compelling culture video that helps you stand out with your target audience as an employer of choice.

What is a company culture video? 

A company culture video is a powerful employer branding tool that showcases the employee experience and workplace environment at that company. Company culture videos humanize your employer brand and drive engagement with candidates and team members.

While company culture videos are often thought of as a single compilation video, an organization can have many company culture videos to highlight the various aspects of the employee experience: team dynamics, office locations, work-life balance, diversity and inclusion, and employee value proposition brand pillars, to name a few. 

There are many creative approaches to the company culture video, but featuring real employees is a best practice. It is the most authentic way to give insight into your workplace culture and build trust with candidates. 

Why should you create a company culture video?

By showcasing what makes their workplace unique, company culture videos enhance brand perception, increase candidate engagement, and ultimately improve hiring outcomes.

Recent studies tell us that: 

• 82% of candidates consider employer brand and reputation before applying for a job in 2023 — a 7% increase from 2018 (CareerArc)
• 95% of a message is remembered when delivered in a video (Insivia)
• LinkedIn posts receive 20x more shares if it includes a video (LinkedIn)
• Job postings that feature a video receive 34% more applications (CareerBuilder)

These statistics tell us that top talent proactively seeks insight into your employer brand. And, that company culture videos are more likely to be remembered than words on a careers site. 

What are the elements of a successful company culture video?

Successful company culture videos aren’t made by accident. They need to incorporate several key elements to best represent the organization’s values, business objectives, and employee experiences:

1. Authenticity: The video should convey the true essence of the company’s culture. While it’s tempting to be more aspirational in the portrayal of your company culture, an authentic representation builds trust and ensures that candidates’ expectations match the reality of the workplace — a huge driver of employee satisfaction and retention.
2. Storytelling: Real employee stories—not testimonials—are proof of your culture in action. Employee stories make the video more memorable and create an emotional connection. 
3. Visual Appeal: ​​Using a mix of candid footage of the workplace, interviews, team members on the job, and photos can help bring the company culture to life and enhance the overall effect of your video. 
4. Strategic Alignment: The best company culture videos align your culture’s strengths with your audiences’ interests and pain points. For example, if your top candidates care about work/life balance and your culture excels in this area, making flexibility a key theme in your company culture video would be a smart choice.

Who should be featured in a company culture video?

Real employees, not paid actors, should be featured in your company culture videos because they genuinely understand what it’s like to work at your company. Their authentic stories help candidates envision themselves in similar roles, offering the valuable insights they need to make informed career decisions.

As you select the employees to be featured in your video, representation is key. Look to feature a variety of tenures, job categories, locations, and backgrounds to show how your culture is experienced throughout the company. 

Your talent attraction strategy should be factored into storyteller selection, too. Select employee participants who represent key positions, locations, or talent personas that are important to your objectives. Candidates want to see employees who remind them of themselves. So, by including these perspectives you’ll drive more engagement with the audiences that matter most. 

For example: If hiring engineers, new grads, and ramping up your Chicago office are key priorities, make sure an engineer, early career professional, and a member of the Chicago office are included in your employee storyteller list. Just don’t feature only early career engineers from Chicago if you’re looking to create a company culture video that speaks to the universal experience of working at your company. 

How many company culture videos should you have?

The number of company culture videos a company should have depends on company size, talent goals, and the sophistication of its employer brand and recruitment marketing strategy. 

At a minimum, every company should have one comprehensive video that provides a broad overview of the company culture, including core values, mission, and what makes the workplace unique. If you have an employee value proposition, your EVP should shine through in this overview video. This video should be a compilation video that features a variety of team members.

When you’re ready to go beyond the culture overview video, expand to Brand Pillars, DEI, Team Storytelling, and Talent Personas. See the graphic below for more insight.

By having a mix of these videos, companies can address various aspects of their culture and appeal to a broad audience. For most companies, having 3-5 culture videos is sufficient to cover the key elements, though larger organizations with a more robust employer branding strategy may benefit from a more extensive library.

Should my culture video be scripted or unscripted?

The decision to script or not script your company culture videos depends on the message you want to convey and the overall tone of your employer brand. 

A scripted company culture video is one where the content is carefully planned and written in advance. This approach ensures that all key messages, company values, and branding points are consistently communicated — but may feel less authentic and fail to build trust with your audience. Using real employee stories and visual storytelling is the best way to maintain that emotional connection within a scripted video. 

An unscripted company culture video relies on natural dialogue, most typically captured via facilitated interviews with employees on-camera. This approach emphasizes authenticity and often results in a more relatable and engaging video — but risks missing key points.

To ensure effective communication in an unscripted video, you can pre-interview employees and create a general outline before filming. This planning helps guide the conversation while allowing employees to speak naturally, ensuring that key messages are conveyed clearly.

Regardless of which you choose, putting employee stories at the heart of your video will be the best way to communicate culture and build an authentic connection with candidates and team members. 

How long should my company culture video be?

A company culture video should ideally be between one to three minutes long. This duration is optimal for a few reasons: 

• Attention Span: Viewers’ attention tends to drop off after the first few minutes, especially for online content. 
• Conciseness: A 1-3 minute video forces you to focus on the most important aspects of your company culture, making the content more impactful and easier for viewers to remember.
• Versatility: Shorter videos are more versatile for sharing across various channels like social media, your company’s website, and job postings. They can be quickly consumed by potential candidates without demanding a significant time commitment.
• Engagement: Videos within this length are more likely to be watched to completion, which increases the likelihood of viewers absorbing the entire message and taking the next step, such as applying for a job or exploring more about the company.

If you find yourself struggling to fit all the topics you’d like to cover into three minutes, consider dividing your messages across multiple videos to create the most impact for your audience. 

Where should I share my culture videos?

You should share your company culture videos everywhere candidates interact with your employer brand. Your career site and social channels are a clear choice, but don’t miss out on other places to reach talent such as email campaigns, recruiting events, and even your internal communications channels.

By distributing your culture videos across many channels, you expand your audience reach and stay top of mind for active and passive candidates alike.

Need company culture videos but don’t know where to start?

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