Is YouTube Right for Your Recruitment Campaign?

August 28, 2023

Maybe you’re already using Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to reach potential job candidates and promote your employer brand. You’re on the right track, but you’re still struggling to raise brand awareness from the top of the recruitment funnel. The solution? YouTube recruitment marketing.

Why do you need to introduce video into your recruitment strategy? With so many companies competing for talented employees, you need to go the extra mile to strengthen your brand in a tight market. Recruitment marketing videos not only help you attract candidates at the top of the funnel, but they’re also valuable tools to deliver an engaging candidate experience throughout the recruitment process.

Ready to take your recruitment strategy to new heights? Here’s everything you need to know about YouTube recruitment marketing to captivate your ideal job candidates.

 

Why Do Recruiters Need YouTube?

Video marketing is an incredibly powerful tool that recruiters can use to attract potential job candidates—and the numbers back this up. According to marketing statistics, 80 percent of talent professionals report that video marketing boosts application volume, while 78 percent report that it helps increase applicant quality.

Chances are, your marketing team is already using video content to promote your products and services. But when it comes to recruitment, video is a must-have asset to reach the best job candidates, raise awareness, and drive engagement. Video also offers an amazing opportunity to share employee stories and strengthen your brand. In fact, viewers retain 95 percent of a message when they watch it in videos, compared to just 10 percent when reading text alone.

Still on the fence about YouTube marketing? Here’s how recruitment videos can help expand your candidate reach so you can fill your talent pipeline with skilled prospects.

  • Video raises top-of-the-funnel awareness. The top platform for discovering new brands (see: raising awareness) has changed drastically over the past decade. Today, research shows that Gen Zers are turning to video-based platforms like YouTube and TikTok to learn about—and engage with—new brands. In other words, if you want to connect with Gen Z candidates, you’ll need to go where they’re already spending time: YouTube.
  • Videos are an effective storytelling tool. With video marketing, you can transform boring, static content into a dynamic, scroll-stopping story. For example, instead of listing job requirements as a long list of bullets, you can create YouTube videos where the hiring manager and team leader discuss the aspects of the available job position.
  • Videos boost views and applicants. With so many organizations vying for the best candidates, it can feel impossible to get your job ads in front of the right people. The good news? With YouTube videos, you can capture the attention of passive candidates, drive more prospects to your website, and encourage skilled candidates to take action.

 

How to Use YouTube for Recruitment Marketing

Now that you know why video marketing is essential, how can you amplify your employer brand with effective content? Whether you’re looking to upgrade your current video strategy or just getting started on YouTube, here are some ideas to help you get started.

 

1. Showcase Your Company Culture

Want to give prospective job candidates a glimpse behind the curtain? Show them what it’s like to work with your organization by showcasing your company culture. After all, when it comes to attracting top talent, company culture is becoming increasingly important. According to a recent study, 46 percent of job seekers prioritize company culture over salary when considering a new job.

By creating videos that highlight the company’s values, mission, and work environment, you can help potential job candidates determine whether they’ll be a good fit with your company. This can be incredibly effective for filling your talent pipeline, as job seekers want to get a sense of the culture and environment they’ll be working in before they accept an offer. From your company’s values to day-to-day operations, recruitment videos paint a picture of what sets your organization apart from others.

Culture-focused YouTube videos can be especially effective for companies that have unique or innovative cultures that set them apart from their competitors. By showing off your culture through video, you’ll attract loyal, long-term employees who match your company’s values and mission.

 

2. Create Job-Specific Videos

Whether you’re looking to fill a few positions or scrambling to find the perfect fit for an open position, job-specific videos can be your marketing MVP. These videos provide detailed information about a job’s requirements, responsibilities, and qualifications. Basically, they’re an attention-grabbing alternative to traditional job descriptions that can keep prospective candidates engaged and encourage them to take the next step with your company.

By creating these videos, you’ll give potential candidates a better understanding of what their role requires and what they can expect if they’re hired. If you’re not sure where to start, try using videos to highlight the specific job duties and responsibilities of an open position. For instance, if you’re hiring for an open sales position, you can showcase a “day in the life” video of a current salesperson. This way, you’ll paint a picture of what the job entails and help candidates determine whether they’d make a good fit for the role.

At the same time, job-specific YouTube videos can be a great way to attract passive job seekers who aren’t actively looking for a new job. By sharing your videos on social media platforms, job boards, and your company’s website, you’ll reach a wider audience of potential candidates who might not have been familiar with your company before. This can be especially helpful if you’re hiring for niche positions or competing for talent in a highly competitive industry.

By providing a clear understanding of what’s expected from the position, you can ensure you’re attracting candidates who are suited for the job. This can also help weed out candidates who aren’t a good fit for the position and attract those who are truly interested (and have the right skills and experience) for the position.

 

3. Share Stories from Current Employees

If you’re not already using recruitment videos to share employee stories, here’s your sign to start. By creating videos that feature your current employees talking about their experiences working for your company, you can give potential candidates an authentic view of what it’s like to work for your organization.

During sit-down interviews with employees, you can ask about their career journey with your company, their long-term career goals, how employee benefits have helped them, and even their advice for future workers.

Here, your main goal is to give candidates an inside look into life at your company. By sharing diverse experiences from current employees across different roles, tenures, and departments, you’ll show candidates what your people are like and what value your company offers.

These videos can also help humanize your company and make it more relatable to potential candidates. By seeing and hearing from current employees, candidates can get a sense of the company’s values and culture and determine whether or not it’s a good fit for them—and that can make all the difference between a potential candidate and a long-term employee.

 

Build Awareness With YouTube

Modern job candidates want to connect with your employer brand through video content—and you only have one chance to make a great first impression. When you impress prospective job candidates with scroll-stopping recruitment videos, you’ll take one step closer to converting them into loyal employees.

So, what are you waiting for? Download our self-audit checklist and schedule a discovery call with our team to kickstart your recruitment video marketing strategy with conversion-worthy YouTube videos.

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