An effective meet the team video does so much more than simply introduce members of your team. It breathes life into an organization; it entertains, engages and reassures. By highlighting the personalities within a company, it connects with customers and clients in ways that are hard to match with more traditional methods.
We instinctively understand that the power of human connection is also well documented by psychological research. Studies into the effectiveness of television commercials have found that ‘likeability’ and ‘relatability’ boost effectiveness by around 75%.
This is why ‘Meet the Team’ films are such an important part of a successful video content strategy. And as more services are managed online and remote work grows, the importance of building strong human connections has never been more important.
So here’s a look at how you can make that happen.
What is a ‘Meet the Team’ film?
A ‘Meet the Team’ film is a short video package that provides a snapshot of the key workers within an organization. It will often complement the information on the ‘Meet the Team’ page of a company website. Either a video content agency or an in-house marketing team can create and handle them.
There are no rules about what a ‘Meet the Team’ film should or shouldn’t be but they are typically short and snappy, usually lasting between one and three minutes. They aim to create a general ‘feel’ of the people behind a business and to convey its values and culture.
The videos can be used in a variety of ways:
- Website
- Social media
- Onboarding
- Presentations/bids
Often multiple versions of a ‘Meet the Team’ will be made for different formats and purposes.
What are the benefits of a ‘Meet the Team video?
The basic benefit is as a simple and powerful way to connect with customers and clients. But the specific benefits will depend on exactly what you want the content to achieve. You may want to demonstrate expertise and trustworthiness or it could be more of a way to show off creativity and a fun place to work.
Here are just some of the potential benefits:
Creating Connections
A core benefit is simply creating a human connection, one which emotionally engages with people. Getting a glimpse of the people behind a business helps build the ‘likeability’ and ‘relatability’ that drive engagement.
Establishing Expertise
It can be an effective way to show the knowledge, expertise and qualifications of your team members. For sectors such as health, law and manufacturing it provides valuable reassurance.
Attracting Talent
Showing off your team can be a great way to recruit talented employees. It helps to draw people towards an organization as well as helping to attract people that will fit in with the company culture.
Building Culture
With more work being remote, a ‘Meet the Team’ video can play a crucial role in building a company culture. Many organizations use them as part of the onboarding process to convey company culture to new starters.
Demonstrating Creativity
For creative industries, it can be a way to demonstrate innovative thinking and a team’s ability to think ‘outside the box.
Tips to make an effective ‘Meet the Team’ video
For a video to be effective, you need to start with a general idea of what you want to achieve. Which of the benefits outlined above do you want to target? An effective video will tick multiple boxes but it’s important to know what your primary goal is going to be.
You need to think about whom you want to speak to, how you want them to feel and where the video is going to be used. By considering all of these factors before any kind of filming starts, you can build an effective brief that outlines the general objective of your ‘Meet the Team’ video.
A clear brief acts as a solid foundation on which a great film can be created. Here are some general tips on how to make that happen:
Find the right partner
Once you have a clear brief, you need to turn that vision into a reality. For most organizations that will mean calling on the services of a video content agency. It’s worth taking the time to find the right match because a good agency will do much more than just film.
The best agencies will work with you to identify the best ways to achieve the objective set out in the brief. Professionals suggesting different styles and approaches that are tailored to creating a specific outcome will help broaden your ideas. They can also provide a fresh perspective of your organization and your team.
They can help to draw out the personalities and stories within your team that will help to create an effective video. By bringing in an external video creator, it helps to avoid some of the office politics that can occur when deciding who should be featured.
Make your team part of it
The most important aspect of a ‘Meet the Team’ video is authenticity. To achieve this, the featured team members need to be confident and comfortable. This means making them feel a part of the process and not that it’s being imposed on them from above. Being filmed is something that many employees will feel anxious about.
A good video content agency will find an interview format that puts people at ease and gets the best from them. One way to achieve this is to film people while they are doing work-related activities rather than being placed in a more formal interview setting.
By involving the team in the process and finding ways to make them feel confident and comfortable, you can capture the kind of authentic responses that make effective video content. It doesn’t need to be a polished interview, it just needs to show them as people you can connect with.
Dare to be different
The aim of a ‘Meet the Team’ video is to provide a glimpse of the people behind your organization but how you do that is up to you. You can keep it simple and use a conventional approach or you can try something a bit quirky and different.
The style and format you choose can act as a showcase of the creativity and innovative thinking of your team. By making it a fun process that your team feels a part of, you can start to come up with ideas for themes, styles and formats that help to set content apart.
One effective method Kartoffel Films uses to build authenticity is to include snapshots of interviewees between the formal interview. Whether it’s an off-the-cuff comment or someone struggling to stifle the giggles, these small human moments can help to create a strong human connection.
Maximize the benefits
A ‘Meet the Team’ film is typically created with a specific purpose in mind. But if you’re investing time and resources into content creation, it pays to think about how different ways you can maximize the benefits of that content.
If you identify these before filming then different versions can be easily created for different uses. You may have one edit for your website and a shorter, snappier version that’s designed for social media sharing. This can be done within the edit or with slightly different content.
It’s also worth thinking about future-proofing formats so that they are easy to update if any changes need to be made such as adding or removing a team member. Thinking about these things before a video is shot can help save a significant amount of time and resources.
Keep it real
Whatever style or format you choose, the most important quality of a ‘Meet the Team’ video is authenticity. A 2019 survey of more than 1,500 consumers found that 90% valued authenticity as a crucial quality they look for in a brand.
So you want to portray your organization in the best possible light but try too hard to create an idealised image of your company and you risk losing that core human connection; of coming across as superficial and inauthentic.
This is just as true when using a standard corporate approach as it is for something quirkier; what matters is that people feel they are getting a glimpse at the real people behind the corporate logo and slick looking website. While all the elements of the ‘Meet the Team’ video are important – setting, lighting, music, editing etc – it’s important not to lose sight of the need for authenticity.
Summary: Create your connection
So to make a great ‘Meet the Team’ video you need to know what you want to achieve and you need video creators who can achieve it. Working with an external video production company is particularly effective for a project of this nature because it provides a fresh perspective on what makes your organization special.
Find the right partner and they will help you through the whole process. They can make it a fun and creative experience which allows your employees to shine. And at the end of the process, you have an effective video that neatly captures the special qualities of your business.
If you want some ideas on what can be achieved, take a look at some examples here: https://kartoffelfilms.com/blog/best-meet-the-team-videos/
