How can you make sure that your employer videos are watched, appreciated and shared by your target candidates? It all starts with the content.
Making sure you plan your content for engagement in the early stages of your project will set you up for better results when the time comes to hit publish.
Here are our tips to help you produce recruitment video content that your candidates will actually watch:
Be authentic
If you aren’t authentically representing your company in your videos, your candidates will see through it straight away.
So make sure the messaging of your video comes across as real and genuine. If it seems fake, it’s not likely to resonate with the audience you’re trying to reach.
Define the key parts of your Employer Value Proposition (EVP) which you want to highlight, and find subtle ways to weave them into the video. When exploring this with clients, we often refer to the common phrase “show don’t tell”.
For the parts of your video which are interviews or people speaking to the camera, this also usually means ditching the script. Most people aren't professional actors but can talk passionately and engagingly about their professional lives when asked.
Try to interview real people in your company about their experiences and let them speak freely. Don’t forget you can edit things out later if they don’t match the tone or message of the video.
Candidates will appreciate seeing the real side of your company. When authentic, the messaging you’re trying to communicate will resonate much better. This will lead to candidates have a better understanding of your company, helping to increase the relevance of applications.
Be creative
There’s no point in rolling out a recruitment video that’s exactly the same as all the other employers in your space. Remember that candidates are likely to watch several employer videos as part of their job search. Find some unique ways to make sure candidates don’t tune out.
Don’t be afraid to experiment with less traditional formats and techniques. How can you make the visuals more engaging?
Furthermore, consider whether there are different storytelling techniques that you could experiment with. If you’re working with an agency, be sure to get them involved in coming up with creative ideas that will help you stand out.
Have a story to tell
Humans instinctively connect with people and their stories. Connecting with your audience on a human level will help to make your video more engaging.
By weaving someone’s story into your employer video, you’ll make the content more relatable, interesting and personal.
Could you get a current employee to tell a story about how working at the company has helped them? Maybe they've been able to learn something new or develop themselves in a particular way? Could you find someone to tell the story of their first day at work and how they found the experience? Share a story that your candidates will be able to relate to.
Answer candidate’s questions
What do candidates actually want to find out about your company? Which parts of your recruitment campaigns need a bit more explaining?
If you’re producing videos for the later stages of the hiring process, create video content which speaks directly to what information your candidates want to know. This will immediately make them more engaging and useful to your audience.
Working out what information to address in a video starts with research. Look back at what some of the common questions candidates contact your team about. Speak to recent applicants and hires to find out what they wish they knew more about when they were applying.
Keep it short
The total duration of the content will affect the engagement it generates. Recent research by Vidyard found that videos under 1 minute long were most likely to keep online viewers engaged for the full video.
The more snappy and concise you can make your message, the more likely viewers will stick around.
Remember that the level of engagement that you can expect from your candidates will increase as they move through the candidate journey.
When they first come across your recruitment content on social media, they’re likely to only watch a short amount of your video before they decide to click a call to action or continue scrolling. Make sure to bear this in mind when deciding how long your video should be.
To create an engaging recruitment video that your candidates will love, remember the following tips:
