Analysis: like gangs, private military contractors, mercenaries and the military, extemists use videos beause they are persuasive and influential
In recent years, many organisations have invested in strategies to modernise the classic recruitment message 'we want you'. Extremist groups are no different, as they also need to recruit new members to ensure the group's existence. Videos are a useful medium to do this because they allow for personal engaging interactions between viewers and content.
But what might surprise you about recruitment videos created by extremist groups is just how similar these are in a strategic sense to those created and circulated by other organisations, such as gangs, private military contractors and mercenaries, and even the military. All four groups use videos to recruit because of their persuasive and influential qualities, often harnessed around a brand, because they make their organisation and message more memorable and desirable.
We often assume just because extremists create and circulate videos that they are efficient forms of communication and recruitment. Their effectiveness, however, is understudied. If a video does not reach an audience, for example, it will render even the most persuasive content ineffective. Ignoring the decisions content creators make in relation to how and by what means they communicate through underestimates the pre-production logic that goes into their creation.
From TED, Erin Marie Saltman on the push and pull factors that cause people to join extremist groups
Extremists, like other groups, face a difficulty in getting people to open, watch and respond to their messaging. Many think extremists use violence or the threat of violence to attract and engage their audience, but research has found that violence does not guarantee increased engagement. Extremists use very conventional means to engage their audience, relying on more traditional advertising techniques to do so.
The rationale behind this is that extremists, similar to these other groups, understand that they must compete for attention in the online environment, vying for notice alongside other online content, both violent and non-violent. Gaining attention within the cluttered online ecosystem requires, therefore, content that stands out, draws and maintains attention and engages the viewer. To be persuasive, content needs to generate interest, create an emotional response and encourage action.
Branding is one strategy used to do this as it attracts attention and enhances the clarity of the message. It helps target the desired audiences; builds a rapport, establishes trust, loyalty, legitimacy and authority in the eyes of the viewer. Branding also allows viewers to identify with a group more easily. Global firms have learned that branding reduces customer uncertainty, enhances customer satisfaction and confidence; thus, establishing legitimacy.
From The Economist, the rise of extremist far right gamers
It is for these very reasons that extremists, gangs, private military contractors and mercenaries and the military also use branding as part of their recruitment strategies. Its use helps enhance their legitimacy and facilitates such groups to engage their audience in a manner that creates an environment conducive to persuasion and recruitment.
Although research on how branding is used to engage and persuade new members in extremist groups is limited, many well-known extremist groups have a brand. For example, Nazism functioned as a brand. This brand helped strengthen German public opinion in the regime by manipulating the power of the brand through imagery and symbolism. Imagery and symbols, such as logos and flags, are omnipresent in extremist videos (as in the other groups' videos). Symbols add a level of novelty and newsworthiness to content in a way that engages audiences. Research also shows they are more powerful than the verbal when making arguments without evidence.
Content creators often reinforce images in the videos through music, speech and text. Videos make this combination of mediums possible, which adds to their effectiveness, and helps to communicate and connect with the viewer on a deep level, personal, social and/or cultural. This engagement is often personal because the meaning of their messages is not fixed, and resonates equally but differently with each viewer.
From BBC News in 2014, Google UK's Eileen Naughton on how YouTube has responded to extremist video content
Branding is also used to provide insights into elements of the group, such as structure, culture and attitudes. They link the brand to the values, goals, identity, ideologies, and actions of the group. This makes an organisation more memorable, which is useful when recruiting, because we are attracted to groups where there is a sense of identity, belonging, legitimacy and authority.
Like the other groups, extemists use video as a means for recruitment because they are persuasive and influential. To increase their effectiveness, they adopt traditional advertising techniques, such as branding, to ensure their videos reach and engage their target group.
Acknowledging the importance of this approach is essential, as it helps us to better understand the pre-production logic behind videos produced by extremist groups. This enables us to demystify these videos, and normalise the techniques used within them. Understanding these complexities is important because they are not designed solely to entertain, but also to persuade, so these insights have implications for responding to extremist content.
This piece is based on the author's PhD thesis Shared cues, different violence organisations: comparing visual recruitment strategies of extremists, gangs, PMCs/mercenaries, and militaries
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
