Home Depot using how-to videos to bond customers and staff

Communicators have heard the line before: All companies are becoming media companies. But becoming a media company means communicators have to find ways to create content worth publishing, and that can be tough.

Home Depot found a solution to that problem close to home. The home improvement chain is putting the accumulated do-it-yourself knowledge of its store employees to use in its how-to community, which launched last autumn.

With a blog, in-store videos and a forum, the people in those familiar orange aprons are connecting with customers and cementing Home Depot’s status as the place for home improvement know-how.

Employee involvement

Home Depot doesn’t overthink producing the content in the how-to community. Making a video is as simple as taking a Flip camera to the store floor and filming an expert as he or she answers a customer question, says Steve Holmes, senior manager of corporate communications.