How to Make Branded Interview Videos Professionally | Full Guide

Have you been looking for a way to share personal, original, and compelling stories about your business? A branded interview video is your answer. 

Branded interview marketing videos are the perfect way to promote your brand through the voices of people who know your business the best: your employees and customers. Although, branded interviews call for a professional production workflow that prioritizes recording quality, production value, and branding. 

In this article, we’re walking you through recording video interviews for your brand. You’ll find some inspiration for the kinds of interviews you could create and a practical guide to using Riverside to realize your vision. Let’s jump in. 

TL;DR 

• Branded interview videos are a type of marketing video that usually feature either your CEO, employees, or real customers. 
• They’re a great way to showcase your brand and drive home key messaging in a personal and human way. 
• You could share your brand history and customer stories, or announce the new launch of a product using this format. 
• Riverside’s intuitive platform helps you produce top-quality recordings remotely. And the Business plan is perfect for branded productions. 

What is a branded interview video?

A branded interview video is a type of marketing content.  As the term suggests, it’s an interview-format video shot by and for a specific brand. The interviewees are typically stakeholders in the company, whether they’re an executive leaders, an employee, clients, or customers. By nature, the topic of the video will relate in some way to the brand. 

Additionally, because they’re branded, the tone, visuals, and overall production of this type of interview video will be steered by the brand’s own identity and messaging. 

Why should you make branded interview videos?

Branded interview videos are becoming an increasingly popular format. Here are just a few reasons you should get involved: 

Personalize your brand & strengthen brand identity 

Videos are great for putting a ‘face’ to your brand name. By featuring real people who work for your business, you can humanize your brand in a way other marketing content doesn’t. 

Videos work to reinforce your key messaging and strengthen your brand identity in a different way: through both the interviewees’ words and the overall visual, audio, and production choices. 

This overall personalization is an effective way of connecting with audiences and building out a relationship with your target customers. 

Social presence & sharing 

Video is a hyper-shareable type of content. With the surge in short-form video taking over major social platforms, it’s worth creating content that will generate engagement and sharing on your own accounts. 

Types of Branded Interview Videos 

The ‘interview format’ is actually incredibly versatile. Where you decide to record and who you decide to interview will impact the overall feel of your branded interview video. 

Brand history & story 

A really effective way of using an interview format is sharing your brand’s origin story. By asking your company’s founder(s) to sit down and share how the brand came to life, you can create a really personal narrative that reinforces a positive image of your company. 

Customer stories

Though it’s tempting to toot your own horn, letting customers do it for you is far better. Interviewing your customers or clients about their positive experiences with your products or services is a great way to capitalize off third-party endorsement and build positive brand-associations. 

Case study 

Case studies are a more focussed version of customer success stories. This type of branded interview is where you sit down with one client and talk in depth about their needs prior to working with you, how your services addressed them, what their experience was, and more. 

This is an especially effective template for B2B businesses because you can hone in on clients that work in a specific industry to attract similar companies, for example. 

What it’s like working for your brand 

Interviewing your employees and asking about what it’s like to work at your company is a fantastic way to convince potential job candidates to send their applications in. 

Branded interview videos work well at giving authentic insight into what your company stands for. Especially because you can showcase what your brand values are and the kind of culture that exists within your company through your employees. 

By hearing what it’s like from real people, job applicants can get a feel for whether your company is the right fit for them and vice versa. 

Announcement or launch

Finally, an interview video is perfect for a new product launch or announcement. You can ask your interviewees to give the backstory to your new product or service and discuss all the new and exciting features. Plus, this kind of content will generate momentum and hype around your new offering on your socials.

Behind the Scenes / Product Development Video 

Another way to celebrate and promote the launch of a new product or service is to go behind the scenes. You can sit down and interview the key players involved in the development of your new product, asking them about what the process was like, what challenges they faced, and the general back-story. This is another way of offering your viewers an exclusive insight into your business in the voice of your employees. And it’s also a nice way to add context to your new product. 

Great Examples of Branded Interview Videos

To give you some inspiration, we’ve gathered a few examples of really strong branded interview videos of every kind. Let’s take a look: 

What it’s like to work at Microsoft

This Microsoft video features interviews with employees from across the business talking about their experience working there. The interspersed B-Roll makes the viewer feel like they’re walking around with the host on her work-day, adding to the immersion into the Microsoft world. 

Netflix’s core-values & company culture  

Netflix sat some of its employees down to talk about the company’s core values, culture and what it means to them. This interview video is clever because not only are the employees telling the viewer what Netflix stands for, but they each put a personal spin on how they interpret the company’s values. 

James Dyson’s Book Launch 

James Dyson launched his autobiography with an interview video featuring himself and others talking about his life and inventions. Again, the use of B-Roll with clips and photos of Dyson in his younger years reinforces the interviewees’ words and creates visual links back to the brand he’s built up over the years. 

Co-Op’s Behind the Scenes 

Allison Morgan from Co-Op’s Confectionary Product Development department takes us behind the scenes of how this British supermarket’s product development process works. 

Slack’s customer testimonial 

Through this interview with Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Slack showcases how its product has helped a pharmaceutical client to eliminate knowledge silos within their organization. Slack intersperses real customer testimonials with their own explainers about how their product works. 

Indeed’s Case Study with Sage

Indeed, the talent recruitment platform, sits down with their client Sage to talk about what their talent needs were, why they chose Indeed, and what their experience was. 

Udemy’s Founder Story 

Udemy leverages the interview format to talk to their founder about the company’s origin story. Eren Bali explains the interrelation between his own experiences and how they inspired him to found Udemy. 

Best software for branded interview videos

Recording a professional branded interview requires the right software. That means a platform that won’t let you down on quality and lets you brand your recording workflow - just like Riverside. 

Riverside 

Riverside is a browser-based remote recording software known for its studio-quality video and audio. It records participants locally, meaning everyone is recorded on their own device rather than over the internet. The result is smooth 4K video and 48kHz WAV audio recording that’s free from the effects of unreliable wifi connection. 
Let’s take a look at some of Riverside’s other features that make it perfect for recording your branded interviews: 

• Multitrack recording. Riverside records each participant onto an individual track, giving you far more control and freedom during post-production. 
• Browser-based. Riverside is browser-based, meaning neither you nor your guest need to download anything to get started. 
• Mobile app. Riverside also has a free Android and iOS app, so you can record from your mobile if needs be. Alternatively, you can set up your phone as an additional angle to add some dynamic shots to your interview. 
• Business Plan. The Business plan lets bigger teams work collaboratively on Riverside for smooth coordination. You also get the ability to manage and change your guests’ audio levels and input/output devices. 
• Branding. As part of the Business plan, you can add your own custom branding to your workflow. Add your logo to the Guest Lobby and your recording studio to give your interviewees an immersive branded experience. 
• Magic Clips tool. Let our Ai tool create social-media ready promotional clips of your branded interview as part of your recording workflow. These are perfect for sharing on your profiles and generating interest around your video. ‍
• Media board. Riverside’s media board lets you live mix and edit as you record. You can upload and include both audio and video clips in your recording session to save yourself time in post-production. ‍
• Easy to use. Riverside is intuitive and easy to use. There are no steep learning curves or illogical workflows, just easy-to-use features that enhance your user experience. ‍
• Seamless Editor. Use Riverside’s text-based video editor to save time on editing. During this stage, you can add your logo to your recording, customize the video interview’s layout and even add a background graphic. 

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How to make a branded interview video with Riverside

Here’s a brief guide to recording your branded interview with Riverside. 

Step 1: Make your Riverside account. If you have the budget, we’d recommend signing up for a Business account for access to enterprise specific features. 

Step 2: You now need to make a new studio for your recording session. Do this by clicking ‘+New Studio’ in your dashboard. Fill out a name for your studio and select what kind of recording you’ll be making: Audio or Audio and Video. 

Step 3: If you’re ready to record straight away, you can enter the studio. Don’t worry, though, you won’t land in the studio straight away. Riverside gives you the opportunity to check your appearance and make sure your equipment is properly selected. 

Step 4: When you’re ready, hit ‘enter studio’. When you’ve oriented yourself, it’s time to add your guests. You can send out the invite by copying the link or sending your guests an email directly. 

Step 5: When your guests have joined your session, it’s time to start your interview. Click the red record button to begin! 

Step 6: When you’ve finished up the interview, click the red button to ‘end session for all’. From there, you’ll be redirected automatically to your recordings page where you can see all your recording tracks. You can export and download your recordings for post-production or use Riverside’s in-built Editor. 

Adding your branding to your Riverside studio 

If you’re on a Business plan, you can also brand your studio so it looks more professional when guests join.

Step 1: After following the steps above and creating a studio, you can add your branded touch to it. 

Step 3: First, click on the Studio’s Settings icon. Head to ‘Design’ and then ‘Studio Logo’. Upload your brand logo. 

Step 4: On the day, when you’re ready to record, head to your studio. In the lobby, check your appearance, add your name and make sure the correct mic and camera are selected. 

Step 5: Invite your guests to your studio using the ‘copy link’ or ‘invite my email’ buttons on the right hand pane of your recording studio. 

Step 6: When your guests are ready, hit the red record button. 

Step 7: When your interview has wrapped up, click the red hang up button and click ‘end session for all’. 

Step 8: You’ll end up on your recordings page, where you can see all the various tracks. Download your recordings or head to Riverside’s in-built editor. 

Best practices on how to make a successful branded Interview video

Do be a stickler for your branding 

Don’t compromise on your branding. Since a branded interview video is a type of marketing content, you need to stay on message and ensure your visuals fully align with your brand identity. 

Don’t over-brand 

It’s essential to keep the branding tasteful and balanced. If you ‘over-brand’ your interview videos, you might dampen the content's ‘authenticity’ and ‘human touch’.

Don’t stick to a script

An interview’s beauty is its organic, original, and personal content. That’s where the valuable authenticity and compelling narrative come from. Preparing scripted answers can often detract from this, so as far as possible, encourage your guests to answer your questions in the moment genuinely. 

Do film B-Roll

As we saw in some of the examples of video interviews above, B-Roll can instantly elevate your content by reinforcing, contextualizing, and strengthening the interview dialogue. 

Don’t come unprepared 

Preparation is the name of the game when it comes to successful branded interview videos. This means you need to know what you’re filming, what you’re asking, and how your setup should look. You should also prepare yourself to brief your guests about what they should thoroughly and shouldn’t do. 

Don’t underestimate the importance of a good setup

A fatal mistake can be underestimating just how important a good setup is. We’re not saying you necessarily need all the top of the line equipment, but it’s definitely important to use tools that are designed to deliver high-quality recordings. 

FAQs on Branded Interview Videos

What do you need to film a branded interview video?

Filming a branded interview video doesn’t need to be difficult. All you need is a camera, mic, and recording software like Riverside. Believe us, that truly is enough to capture a studio-quality recording. 

What is usually asked in a branded interview video?

As we’ve seen, there are actually several different types of branded interview video. 

What should you avoid in a branded video interview?

It’s essential to stay on brand whenever you’re recording a branded video interview. Even if an interview is a more conversational format than other types of marketing content, it will still represent your brand when it’s published and consumed by customers. As such, it’s integral to keep the narrative, visual identity, and propping on brand as far as possible.