3 Ways to Incorporate Video into Your Recruiting Strategy

You can make recruiting videos that are engaging, authentic, and free. Riley Stefano, Culture Content Creator at HubSpot, shares how.

Take a minute and scroll through any of your social media feeds. (Go ahead, I’ll wait.) What do you see? Video. In fact, over 100 million hours of video are watched every day on Facebook alone. That doesn’t even account for the 10 billion videos watched on Snapchat daily, or the 500 million hours spent searching YouTube. It’s safe to say that video has found a new home online. You don’t have to turn on your TV or even Netflix to watch content anymore. Video has gone viral, and it’s here to stay.

So what does this mean for recruiters?

Good news. Candidates have more power in the recruitment process today; access to information is easier than ever thanks to sites like Glassdoor, Comparably, LinkedIn, and jobs websites. Companies have to be proactive about telling their story and using inbound recruitingmethods to connect with talent throughout the candidate journey. With video, recruiters have an opportunity to do just that with content that’s engaging, authentic, and free.

At the end of the day, recruiters need to start thinking more like marketers. We have so many resources at our disposal to share how amazing our companies are. We can bring our culture, people, and workplaces to life by giving an inside look into how we work. And what better way to do that then through video content? So, without further ado, here are three easy ways you can use video in your recruiting strategy.

1. Host a Facebook Live

Plus, these videos can be quick to film. Facebook recommends recording for at least 10 minutes, with more engagement growing the longer you stay “live.” However, the best part about Facebook Live videos is that once they’ve been recorded, the video is automatically posted right to your Facebook feed, making it an evergreen resource to show candidates what the culture and people are like at your company.

HubSpot’s employer branding channel, HubSpot Life, posts Facebook Lives about twice a week. We use it as a resource to help candidates solve career problems and offer advice on topics in the tech, marketing, and sales industries. We also feature senior leaders and executives to talk about different teams and cultures within the organization, and host “Ask Me Anythings” with these leaders for people just starting off in their careers, or just looking for a change.

There is so much content you can create and share that will help your company attract top talent. Take advantage of it. Check out WordStream’s Ridiculously Awesome Guide to Facebook Live to get started.

2. Make Your Job Description Pop

It’s no secret that video interviews are becoming a top recruiting practice, giving a face and personality to the black and white ink of a resume. Oracle has been practicing this method of interviewing for years. They use video software HireVue to not only assess a candidate as a culture fit, but also as a resource to recruit candidates from all over the world who might not be able to make it into the office.

Next, why not try out a video job description?

The average user will spend 88 percent more time on a website that has video. I’m not telling you to say so-long to the written job descriptions you’ll continue to share on websites like LinkedIn and Indeed. Take those descriptions and transform them into one to two-minute videos featuring the position’s hiring manager or recruiter. Explain what you want out of the job role, but also talk about the type of person you hope to hire. Are they a team player? Are they a hands-on learner? Do you want someone who’s more heads-down, or a social butterfly? Video lets managers dive a bit deeper into some of the soft skills that might make a candidate a great fit for the team as well as the job itself. It adds a personal touch, keeps the candidate engaged, and reminds us all that a candidate is interviewing you and your company just as much as you’re interviewing them.

3. Create Instagram Videos with Employees

Who better to share the inside-out of your company than your employees?

Employee Takeovers are taking over (pun intended) employer brand Instagram accounts. Take a scroll through feeds like Nestle, HubSpot Life, Zappos Culture, Facebook Life, and Trello, or even just searching on Insta for #employeetakeover. Many companies are starting to use their employees to speak to the culture of their organizations, giving each department and team a unique personality and voice within the company. It’s a great way to showcase your work’s best benefits and perks, or maybe some of the remarkable employee resource groups or initiatives and events happening at the office.

Video is here to stay, and it’s a completely free resource for recruiters to put their marketing and content skills to the test. Yes, I said marketing. A recruiter is both a marketer and a salesperson, sharing the content that will attract candidates to their business, and then selling them on the company and role.

Video’s power to engage is not so much a secret; it’s an untapped opportunity for recruiters to find remarkable new talent by showing rather than telling them about your office culture, your expectations, and what it’s really like to work at your company. So without further adieu: Lights, camera, action!

About the author

Riley Stefano is a Culture Content Creator at HubSpot. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow her on Instagram at @rileystefano.