The Benefits of Utilizing Broadcast Media for Employee Testimonial Advertising Campaigns
By: John Tannheimer, Media Strategist
This is the third article in a series of three.
In this three-part series, we have been examining how broadcast can be a powerful medium for employer branding, direct response, and employee testimonials. Part three of this series will focus on how this advertising vehicle can be used to facilitate successful employee testimonial campaigns.
One of the most effective ways to understand the true essence of a company is through the voices of actual employees. This can be accomplished with employee testimonials—which provide jobseekers with invaluable insights from, and information about, a company’s employees. Employee testimonials have proven to be a very powerful vehicle for recruitment purposes. It is understood that hearing from company employees provides jobseekers with a more intimate look at, and better understanding of, what they can expect from a position of interest. When jobseekers are actively seeking a new career, it is very difficult for them to understand the real culture and personality of a company. They are informed of their work responsibilities and duties; however, an understanding of the overall atmosphere of the organization is just as important to know before jobseekers are willing to accept a change in career. Employee testimonials provide this key element by giving the candidates a window into company culture through real-life employees to whom they can instantly relate.
Although employee testimonials have been a successful recruitment tool for company campaigns, mainly through print media as well as on company websites, incorporating employee testimonials into broadcast media has many advantages as well. The one thing that is more effective than reading employee testimonials is hearing and/or seeing them, which is exactly what testimonials incorporated into radio, television, or other broadcast media such as online video and podcasts can do. What makes employee testimonials in broadcast media so effective is the realism and authenticity which they possess—it is this realism that jobseekers need to hear and/or see in order to truly believe and connect with the employee as well as their message.
In these media overloaded times, it can be difficult for a candidate to trust something that is written about a company; however, it is much more compelling when he/she can actually hear and/or see it being said. People can easily pickup on a genuine employee testimonial—if you try to make real people act, you will end up with a testimonial that sounds rehearsed and fake. In order to achieve the realism it takes to produce a successful testimonial, you need to hear and see real people, speaking of real situations in an unrehearsed fashion.
The live, interactive nature of broadcast media creates a bond with the listeners/viewers and the employee giving the testimonials. The potential candidate can easily pickup on the honesty of what the employees are conveying, which creates trust. Once this trust is established, the jobseeker becomes involved in their career (or work) experience. They sympathize and relate when they hear the employee’s real-life situations and feelings about the day-to-day routine and overall experiences within an organization.
The true power of employee testimonials in broadcast media comes from the real and genuine recommendations. The people providing these recommendations are not paid actors; they are real-life employees with whom candidates can feel a human connection. A study by Henley Centre reported that 76% of customers often choose a product or service based on a recommendation. But do people trust recommendations from radio and television? The answer is yes. A study published by Radio Days 2 found that consumers trust information from television 5% more than from print media, and information from radio 24% more than print media.
Good testimonials are interesting to listen to/watch and are more believable than voice-over announcer spots. They shed light on the intangibles of the workplace. It is not hard to differentiate between a paid actor or voice-over and a real person expressing his/her opinions and his/her their experiences.
Successful employee testimonials are a great benefit for any recruitment advertising campaign; however, incorporating these testimonials into your broadcast media message can only strengthen these benefits by giving the testimonial more realism and credibility. By combining employee testimonials with broadcast advertising, you can be sure that your message will connect with the qualified candidates you seek.
Contact Shaker's Integrated Media Services (IMS) department at IMS.broadcast@shaker.com to see how we can help you meet your employment needs.
