Long-Form Video is Vital
Employer branding videos that are long-form and feature compelling content expertly engage audiences.
There’s a lot of buzz about 15 second videos in the age of TikTok. And, all lengths of video content show increased engagement and views year over year.
But long-form video — which we at Stories define as over three minutes — shows the highest growth in viewership and posting by brands. In fact, recent data shows longer video is becoming a leading strategy for companies today as viewers embrace lengthier content.*
And, who these viewers are is key: they’re members of the targeted audience. Those who watch employer branding videos that are long-form and more detailed are viewers who are keenly interested in gathering more information about your company and culture.
Engagement doesn’t drop
Contrary to the popular narrative that “everyone’s attention spans are getting shorter,” recent data says otherwise. Engagement is about the same for videos less than one minute as they are for those that last up to five minutes: 50 percent.
Plus, the viewers who stay to watch the content after the halfway mark show the highest levels of engagement. In short, content that is compelling to the right people gets watched to the end.
Multiple stories keep viewers engaged
Of course, a five minute video from one single voice might lose a viewer’s interest. Compilation videos give candidates different perspectives from multiple team members.
For employer branding and recruitment marketing content, stories from across your company show candidates you provide a consistent employee experience, with implications into how you’re creating diverse and inclusive cultural experiences for all.
For instance, the global company culture video we captured for Dell Technologies weaves together voices from team members all over the world. It gives candidates insight into the global company culture, as well as local cultures and group cultures, too.
Long-form video can live on social
Just because a video runs longer than a typical Instagram Story or Snap doesn’t mean that it can’t thrive on your social channels. In fact, most social channels support video lengths longer than most recruitment marketing and culture content requires.
For example, LexisNexis just debuted this five minute video about their African Ancestry Network and Rule of Law Foundation Fellowship on their YouTube channel, embedded it on the program website, and shared it on LinkedIn. It’s receiving engagement on multiple channels, and features perspectives from all 12 Fellows, as well as program leaders and employee supporters.
Plan videos of intentional lengths, optimized per channel
Of course, you can’t just let the camera run for five minutes and throw something up haphazardly. Great content that captivates talent doesn’t just contribute to the noise, it has something meaningful to say.
That’s why intentional planning of your employer branding content and videos, of lengths optimized per channel, is important. Our content planning worksheet and guide outlines the stories you need to capture, including video lengths.
* 2021 State of Video Report, Wistia.