Last Updated on 4 months by Christopher Jan Benitez
It’s hard to come up with new ideas for content.
Another blog? Perhaps some audio? Maybe we should stick to paid ads.
It might be challenging to keep your content fresh, but there are some great ways to do so without blowing your budget on a risky idea.
One of our favorite methods is employee integration. Getting those faces you sit next to every day on camera might be the best way to sell your products or entice brands to work with you. This article’ll cover some great ways to do just that.
Why should you integrate your employees into your content?
It’s no secret that content plays a huge part in which businesses and brands find success online.
Great content drives engagement and produces tangible results. It can take many forms, but creators and business owners often underestimate how great a source of content their own employees can be.
Employees are the lifeblood of your business, bringing hard work, perseverance, and creativity to their respective roles. Without them, you don’t have a business. This is why they shouldn’t go ignored in your content. If you want to tell the story of your business it makes sense to focus not just on your products and customers, but the people who make the magic happen.
The rise of influencer culture has taught us a few home truths about content.
- Audiences love an insight into other peoples’ lives
- Audiences want to engage with people just like them
Whether it’s businesses such as vetcompandpen.com putting veteran voices at the forefront of their operation to attract other former servicemen and women in need, or dollarshaveclub.com integrating their everyman owners into their viral ads, using genuine employees within your content is an inspired and proven way to improve engagement with your business.
Image Vet Comp & Pen
Interview and profile them
In a hyper-connected world where everyone is carefully curating their own personal brand, having strong personalities and stories associated with your business is essential.
That’s why interviewing and profiling your employees is such a great way to integrate them into your content and breathe life into your business. Whether you’re highlighting new starters or having existing team members discuss new trends and topics, this type of content is an essential part of modern brand building.
This content can take many forms. Alternatively, you can make:
- A quirky video
- A Q&A blog
- A vlog
- A podcast
Whatever works for your brand. But that part is important, ensure it actually works for your brand. If your audience isn’t going to listen to a 30-minute podcast, then make quick and quirky videos they can consume on the go or a blog that peers in that employee’s professional circle can link to.
Everyone has a unique story. Profiling them gives you an opportunity to tell that story while creating networking opportunities along the way.
Create ‘behind-the-scenes’ content
A peek behind the curtain is always appreciated.
From celebrity gossip to an expose, we always love to know what’s going on just out of view.
Your content doesn’t need to be that intrusive, but simply taking the camera behind the scenes of your operation can produce some stellar content that really puts your employees at the forefront of your marketing strategy.
If people can see the team behind the scenes and get a sense of their passion for their work, it will make them more comfortable parting with their money and working with you in the long term.
This is particularly important in ecommerce, where getting a hint of how a business handles every step of the order process, from product development to packaging, is key to earning consumer trust.
Take jean brand nakedandfamousdenim.com, for example. Through excellent behind-the-scenes content such as this video, the brand managed to not just offer insight into the quality of their products, but introduce key players in their business structure to their audience. In general, their use of contrasting pop-art imagery and industrial-inspired video of their team working on products help to build the brand through content and employee involvement alike.
Image Naked & Famous Denim
This is easy content to make and a brilliant way to get real faces on screen doing what they love. Whether you’re full on or subtle in your presentation of employees within your content, it still makes a difference. Just pick up a camera and start filming your day-to-day.
Hold social media Q&As
The concept of the Q&A has evolved significantly in the age of the internet.
While previously you would have to attend an event to hear someone insightful speak on their work or industry, now there are hundreds of similar events behind broadcasts around the world every day.
From Reddit AMAs to Facebook Live streams, social media Q&As have exploded as a versatile way for brands to interact with their audience and conduct important customer research about their questions and concerns.
If you’re a YouTube blogger, you can hold livestreams and invite people to ask their questions from there.
They’re also a great way to build the brand and personality of your business through employees.
Simply sticking your best public speakers in front of a smartphone or camera and having them answer some questions from your social followers is a great way to grow your brand and give a face to your business. It develops these people as advocates, someone that consumers, clients, and partners can picture next time they visit your website.
Best of all, working on this kind of content opens up new media opportunities. If your employees do particularly well and engage with your social following there’s no reason this can’t evolve into a regular segment, perhaps a series of vlogs or a podcast.
Make company events and socials more public
While you might look at celebrations and company socials as an opportunity for you to celebrate privately, letting your audience into the party can help them connect with your business on a deeper level.
Now, you shouldn’t look to integrate your employees into your content by shoving a camera in the face of personal moments and following them through a night out. The occasional video and pictures uploaded to your socials are enough to give people an idea of the personality behind your business and promote it as a fun place to work.
Letting people know you’re celebrating your successes will paint your business as one they want to work and shop with. That tinge of jealousy they see at a great company party will drive them towards your site to learn and spend more.
Conclusion
Everything you do online should be about making your brand more amiable and connect with your audience. Using your employees is a great way to do this because, at the end of the day, they’re real people too with diverse talents and personalities.
They might not catch on as YouTube hosts or have the social profile of an Instagram influencer, but they still help to boost your brand and establish your goals.