8 Ways to Grab Great Talent with Creative HR Videos

Navigating the job application process can be long and painstaking. But it’s even harder to be on the other end, working to find and recognize the best talent possible. If you’re an HR professional you know very well that there are multiple methods used to attract top candidates to your company. From posting on popular job boards, to taking advantage of employee referral programs, to attending networking events and job fairs, effective recruitment can take many forms throughout the hiring process. 

More and more we are seeing a shift in these methods. Recruiters are taking their HR marketing strategy to the next level by adding engaging video to their repertoire. It’s becoming so important to adopt a more inclusive approach when trying to attract talent, that 60% of HR professionals have already turned to video. If you’re in the 40% not yet using video, climbing aboard is pretty simple. If you’re already dabbling in this format, it’s time to ensure you’re creations get the best results and exposure.

We, at Promo.com, understand the need to appeal to the best recruits, and our recruitment video templates help to make your company uniquely stand out to job seekers. With the outstanding selection of human resources video templates and ready-made video resources that Promo.com provides, you can create perfectly tailored videos to target your audience with minimal effort and maximum creativity. 

Go after most wanted candidates with personalized videos

Headhunters and recruiters vigilantly go after individual candidates they feel are best suited to the job, and those top candidates have people courting them from all angles. That’s why, even in the individual outreach process, you want to find a way to set yourselves apart. Since videos motivate over 40% of viewers to take action, we can’t think of a better, more creative and captivating way to make a connection with highly desired candidates.

But will they want to join you? Rather than focusing on approaching these special job seekers via LinkedIn or email, sending a personalized video will work better than the traditional methods to grab their attention. Video also stays with them and helps them imagine themselves at your company. Think of a job seeker’s surprise when opening a recruiting video sent specifically to them, and finding a message that referred to them by name, referenced a fun fact or interest found on their CV, or appealed to something you saw on their social media profile. A pun about a viral puppy video they’ve shared is definitely going to be memorable and make an impression. Aside from sending a singing telegram to invite them to an interview, it’s hard to get more thoughtful and unique than that. 

A personalized video will not only show you’ve invested time and resources, it screams that you’re creative, which is a hugely attractive part of company culture to every potential employee. Not to mention it’s special, flattering, and shows the company is prepared to think outside of the box – always a good sign of things to come for those climbing aboard your team.

Brand your videos

Whether you’re running a paid ad to showcase an open position or shooting over a video via a 1-1 conversation, branding your video is essential. It is, in essence, an advertisement for your business. In this case, you are not overtly selling yourselves or a service, but you are working to associate a set of characteristics or values with your company and make your brand memorable. 

Unlike a traditional ad or flyer, a branded video takes your company to the next level of professionalism. No longer limited to an email signature, your video outro (aka final slide) can include your company logo and slogan – but even more – it can be set against compelling music or a unique call to action that just can’t be passed up. These branded touches do so much to help you stand out and create brand recognition among an audience, large or small. 

But it’s more than a closing logo that makes a brand. Your tone, colors, and visual language are all a part of how your company is viewed. Staying true to brand in your creative videos gives you another opportunity to show what type of company, and more importantly, team, you are.

Take a moment to consider what type of personality you want to attract to the role and who will gel best with the team, and storyboard accordingly. What (apart from your videos!) sets your company apart from the others who are going after the same job seekers? Showcase these qualities in your videos because the way in which you’re represented to your audience directly reflects your brand. 

Change up your tone with funny recruiting videos, add some flare, and stay interesting. A post on a job board or on LinkedIn may get passed around through hundreds or thousands of people (if you’re lucky!).

Often times candidates will use these platforms to apply to multiple positions at once without taking the time to really understand what makes each role and company truly different. Instead of being just another company on a list of many, a branded hr video will create buzz and move you to the top. It can also work to make an impact on viewers who are not currently job seeking. They’ll remember your company in the future, whether looking for a job down the line, becoming your client, or working in the same industry interested in creating a partnership.  

Give your audience what they didn’t know they craved

Beyond simply relaying the role and job requirements, think about what a job seeker wants to know and implement this into your HR marketing strategy. Consider including a shot of the office to help viewers imagine a physical place and get a sneak peek into what the office culture will be like. 

As employees spend the vast majority of their week at work, having a great work environment and office culture is extremely important to them. When applying to a job the traditional way, applicants have very little idea of what the office culture will be, even though this is one of the most important elements in the decision-making process and contributes greatly to employee happiness. Giving them a real glimpse of it will answer their underlying questions and hopefully quell any concerns. 

Picture seeing an HR video listing all the snacks in the kitchen or the names of all the office pets. This cuts through the heavy stuff by making it more relatable and actually pretty endearing. Having the manager or CEO say a few words also helps to paint a more complete picture. 

So often people apply to jobs because they have the skillset to fit the requirements, but after interviewing, they don’t feel they are a fit, or don’t feel excited at the prospect of continuing. Showing who you really are and what type of talent you already have at your company can be extremely attractive and can help candidates better imagine themselves working with you.

Use multiple clips or short videos in a job post bundle

Take your videos further than a single job ad. Start by making a string of short HR videos, each about a different topic, that work together as a bundle or package deal to attract candidates to a certain role both in an ad series or to be used for a social posting campaign. 

One video can be about the job requirements, one can be about the company culture (which can be used in a bundle for every new position), and one can be about company accomplishments and or background to help the candidate better prepare for their interview. You can include these video links in the captions, connecting each one in the series, and add them to your company’s YouTube channel, but more about that in a bit. 

Widen your social media network

When posting job openings on social media you’re not just competing with other HR posts, you’re also competing for attention with whatever content is going viral that day. Even the most ambitious job seekers can be easily distracted by cat videos and gender reveals of pregnant friends from high school. More fun and personal content will always take the lead. 

That’s why we don’t encourage you to get in front of the camera and rattle off bullet points about the job in a suit and tie – you’ve gotta have fun to work on the world wide web – and yes, that includes even traditional job platforms such as LinkedIn.

So to effectively widen your social network, and in turn your reach, we advise you to get comfortable exploring various styles. This is a professional endeavor, yes, but your videos don’t have to be so serious. Providing a few funny human resource videos for the applicant to explore is a great way to create engagement on your social channels and make a lasting impression. Utilizing HR promo videos on your social networks doesn’t just find you the best people, it exposes the best people to your company, making this a well-lit two-way talent seeking street.

Take this video and run (targeted ads) with it

You’re already posting to social media, but as we mentioned before, the competition is tough. In fact, we’ve seen a 20% decline in Facebook engagement on brand pages since early 2017. So put your game face on and get ready to cross the finish line with your rivals left in the dust. 

Taking your videos and running highly targeted social media ads with them is a smart and effective way to reach who you want, encourage the engagement you’re hoping for, and cut out all of the background noise. Coupling the effectiveness of a targeted ad with the potency of video marketing can prove to be powerful, and do a ton to make sure you don’t fall into that category of continually declining ad engagement. 

Adjust your social media settings to include your targeted audience and buyer persona (in this case there’s not an actual buyer, but an applicant) in order to go after your perfect job-seeking demographic. Highly targeted social media ads go after the right candidates, focus your approach, and can reduce your overall ad spending. It’s a win-win. 

Make YouTube your good friend

In addition to your company’s social channels, YouTube is a major tool that should always be utilized. As the third most visited site after Google and Facebook, YouTube is the epicenter for captivating videos and a place applicants will do due-diligence. Posting human resources videos on YouTube is an amazing way to stand out and in turn, attract the most interested and engaged candidates.  

After you post one video to YouTube, you’ll want to post another, and another. This is where the site’s playlist comes in. Here you can include every hiring video you make and upload. When assigned to the playlist, they’ll run on a loop so the viewer doesn’t have to search or click to play a new video – meaning all relevant videos will be right there for them without lifting a finger from the mouse. 

YouTube videos are also a great place to strategically sprinkle your SEO keywords. Google loves displaying relevant videos in the search results, and if your videos have the right keywords in their descriptions, more than one video from your playlist could be shown there. These video results capture the user’s attention faster than the linked search results, so this is definitely a practice you want to turn into a habit. Not to mention, when searching for your company on Google, (not even on YouTube directly) YouTube videos will actually show upfront and center, offering you the possibility of getting to Page 1 in a way written content never could. 

Give applicants the freedom to respond creatively

Because videos work so well to compel viewers to take action, it makes sense that you’ll be able to count on applications rolling in. Just remember, if you send a charming or funny HR video, it’s only natural for applicants to want to respond in a similarly creative or unique way. Understand that you’ve set the tone and be sure to allow them the space to give it back to you. Don’t forget to get on the same page with the rest of your hiring managers so that your team considers a creative response or interesting application as a win rather than unprofessional.

At the end of the day, recruiting with video is a thoughtful human resource marketing strategy that helps forge a connection between HR and the job seeker. So take advantage of the new connections you’re making. Your next stellar hire is likely among them.

Create your own HR video and find the best talent possible!