However, in today’s economy of large, global corporations, C-suite executives often seem elusive and untouchable. Videos are able to bridge this gap to create a personal, “face-to-face” connection between employer and CEO.
CEO Face Time
Many employees may feel that their company’s CEO is hidden away in an office somewhere, making decisions about the future of the company without communicating with employees. And that feeling isn’t entirely misguided. CEOs and leaders of large, medium, and even small-sized companies can’t be everywhere at once. As much as they may want to, putting in “face time” with every employee may simply not be possible.
Videos offer employees a similar sort of “face time” with the CEO without the leader’s physical presence. Whether an employee is in Beijing or Sydney, they can see and experience the New York-based CEO talking to them firsthand. Whether the leader is discussing a cultural shift or a public relations nightmare, the video shows his or her personality, expressions, and inflection in a personal way. The leader can look directly into the camera as if looking into the eyes of the employees. This creates a trusting, intimate connection that will build a rapport between employee and leader.
Consider training videos, which are a key tool for boosting new hire retention. A CEO welcoming new members to the team creates an intimate conversation, where new employees feel cared for and understood. They see the CEO firsthand and become immediately aware with how he or she discusses the culture of the company.
Listen to the CEO of The Clorox Cleaner and the highest rated CEO on Glassdoor, discuss the values of Clorox and of his people. From just this single video, you can gain a sense of the values that Brenno builds for his company.
When To Include The CEO
In which kinds of videos should your CEO and leaders make an appearance?
In short, you can use a CEO in any video where brand voice is present. This could be both for dissemination within the company, like training videos, or for marketing purposes, like an “about us” video. We sometimes recommend that a CEO be present in client testimonial videos to show the relationship between the brand and their clients.
With video, the CEO and leaders can discuss:
• The mission and values of the business
• The purpose behind the founding of the business (if they are also the founder)
• What they believe the company culture is and why
• The goals of a new transformation or strategy
• News of the company, good and bad
• Their passions
• Their experiences at the company
• How they got to where they are
• The obstacles they’ve had to overcome
Think of a CEO video as a company-wide memo with personality and presence.
Using your CEO and leaders in your video puts a face on the company. It helps to reveal vision, mission, and values firsthand. Video enables leaders to build a brand voice with engaging, effective top-down communication processes. Whether creating in-house or marketing videos, demonstrating a strong team of leadership proves a strong organization.
Put your CEO in your next video. Contact us to discuss how a leadership video would best work with your content marketing strategy.