Cisco Systems scores with live streaming video

#WeAreCisco’s groundbreaking talent branding program features real employees sharing the company’s culture and their own jobs and locations via employee takeovers on Snapchat, contributions to a blog and other social media programs. Having employees engage audiences over Facebook Live—the increasingly popular video streaming platform—was a natural next step, though one that created a certain amount of apprehension. That step, however, has won Cisco first place in the “Live Video” category of PR Daily’s 2018 Video & Visual Awards.

Live video is more real. In Cisco’s case, it was also incredibly successful. Beginning as a pilot program, the goals were based on assessing the value of engaging via streaming video. To its credit, Cisco also settled on the social/video metric of attention rather than the wholly unsatisfying, all-but-meaningless tally of impressions.

The talent branding team was very selective in identifying employees for the pilot, training and preparing them for the experience. It was an exercise in trust, because letting employees livestream over Instagram meant giving them the password to the 25,000-follower Instagram account.

The streams were promoted with both organic and paid content, as well as through Instagram Stories shared on “Live Days,” featuring the topic and broadcast time.

In 2018, eight Facebook streams generated 123,000 video views and nearly 39,000 minutes watched. On Instagram, 21 videos got an average of 114.2 views each and 537.2 replays within 24 hours, with people watching for an average of 15 minutes. Viewership increased dramatically with 11 Facebook livestreams in 2018 and 18 Instagram Live takeovers, including one featuring high-school interns.

Once again, Cisco has shown how trusting employees can deliver big results.

Congratulations to the talent branding team of Carmen Collins, Casie Shimansky, Lauren Grimaldo and Macy Andrews.