Why Online Video Needs To Be Part Of Your Recruitment Marketing

YouTube recently celebrated its 10th birthday. Yes, we have been watching cats and dogs falling off skateboards and little babies biting other peoples’ fingers for a long time now!

Whilst we can all relate to the type of content that YouTube had when it first launched there are far more business related topics now. You only have to look at the success of the TED Talk videos to see the quality of the speakers and content.

Online Video Growth

2019-online-videoWith CISCO predicting that by 2019 online video will account for 90% of all Internet traffic it makes you wonder why Recruiters aren’t using online video to promote their company and current vacancies?

Far too many companies today still only have traditional text based job adverts and these are the type of adverts that look exactly the same as everyone else’s! This is not what every job seeker wants. Many job seekers would ideally like to watch a video about your company, your jobs and understand why your business is different.

So Why Aren’t Recruiters Making The Most Of Online Video?

The reasons why Recruiters aren’t using online video in recruitment usually comes down to three main areas:

  • Don’t have the right equipment
  • Too expensive
  • Too complicated

Today, literally any business can create their own recruitment videos using the equipment they already have. For example, most smartphones have at a HD quality built-in video camera which can record high quality videos suitable to post online.

To show just how good smart phones have become a broadcast TV advert for the new Bentley Mulsanne (which costs around $300,000) was filmed and produced last year using only an iPhone 5s and edited on an iPad Air!

Compared to professional camcorders smart phones are inexpensive, easy to use and can produce comparable (and in some cases better) results. And as far as video hosting is concerned you can upload and host your videos on YouTube for free and share them across your social media channels.

Stand Out From The Crowd

With it becoming more and more difficult for companies to stand out from the crowd to attract candidates the use of visuals (both images and videos) is clearly the way forward. When was the last time a text only post on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter got your attention?

Reasons For Having A Video

Whether you want to produce your own videos or commission an external partner to create them for you need to be very clear as to why you are using online video and who your target market is. You also need to be clear as to what action you want them to take from watching the video e.g. register with you / telephone you?  These are key parts of the whole process because you can produce the best quality video and content in the world but if it doesn’t talk and appeal to your target market then it will be completely wasted.

It Isn’t Too Late To Get Started

Even though YouTube has been around for 10 years there is still time to get started with online video to gain a competitive advantage. As the stat from Cisco shows online video will be practically everywhere by 2019. So its time to act quickly if you want to gain that competitive advantage.

Written By Mike Taylor

Mike helps companies attract targeted candidates through Online Video Marketing & Jobcasts | Founder Of JOBSRadio.co.uk

Free Webinar – How To Use Online Video To Attract Targeted Candidates

The use of online video is growing all the time and is now officially the fastest ever growing form of online media. In fact Cisco recently predicted that online video would account for 84% of all Internet traffic by 2018!

If you are on social media yourself you would have no doubt noticed the increase in the amount of videos shared on sites like Facebook and Twitter?

If you haven’t started using online video yet then there are some great ways to combine online video and social media to target your ideal candidates.

Free Webinar

We will be sharing those ideas on Monday 15th June between 3pm and 3:45pm UK time when we run our free webinar called –  How To Use Online Video To Attract Targeted Candidates.

Register Here

To register for this free event simply click here to register.

We look forward to “seeing you” on the 15th June!

Mike Taylor

mike taylor - web based recruitment

 

 

How Recruitment Videos Can Help Get Your Jobs Noticed And Shared

Having video on your website and sharing those videos through social media can certainly help you expand your reach and visibility. With the launch of our cost effective video service we can help recruiters gain an important competitive advantage, help them get their recruitment advertising to stand out from the crowd and literally “bring their jobs to life.”

If you look outside of recruitment a lot of business related videos are used to raise awareness or attract the viewer to a new product or service e.g. a video trailer for a new film or a video promoting the latest smartphone. The great thing about these types of videos is that they usually contain compelling (unique) content to engage the viewer.

As far as recruitment is concerned far too many companies still only have traditional text based job adverts that appear the same as everyone else’s whereas job seekers are now expecting to be able to watch a video about your company, your jobs and why your business is different.

Why Use Online Video To Attract Candidates?

  1. Grabs Attention – Most job seekers won’t read everything that is written on a webpage but they are likely to watch a video if you have one and it looks of interest.
  2. Multiple Modalities – Online video appeals to different learning styles enabling job seekers to absorb information in different ways. Some people absorb information best if they hear the message, some prefer to see the message and some prefer to read the message. Online video covers all three different learning styles.
  3. One To One Connection – You can convey both emotion and personality in online videos allowing you to connect with your views on a one to one basis.
  4. Share On Social Media – Online videos are one of the most shared items on social media which means you are easily able to extend your reach and visibility.
  5. SEO Rankings – It is becoming more and more common for videos to appear on the first page of the Google search results. In many cases an online video can appear higher in the search results than a companies’ own website!

Suggested Uses For Recruitment Videos

There are a number ways that videos can be used in recruitment:

  • Ongoing Vacancies
  • Graduate Vacancies
  • Seasonal Vacancies
  • Individual Job Vacancies
  • Recruitment Events
  • Company Profile / About Us
  • Video Testimonials
  • Video Blog Posts / Video Podcasts

New Video Service

With our new video service we create 60 to 90 second videos that talk about the company and the available jobs. The videos can then be uploaded to a jobs/careers website and posted to video sharing sites like YouTube as well as being shared across social media.

Over the last few years online video has really gained in popularity and according to Cisco by 2018 around 84% of all internet traffic will be video based! So it really is time to start using video to attract candidates and promote your company or risk getting left behind!

Further Information

To find out more about how to use recruitment videos to gain more visibility and extra reach for your job vacancies call Mike Taylor today on +44 (0) 1962 883754 or email: videos@web-based-recruitment.com

mike taylor - web based recruitment

 

Mike Taylor

Web Based Recruitment Launch Online Video Training Course For Recruiters

Web Based Recruitment have launched a brand new new video-based training course aimed at helping Recruiters take advantage of the massive growth in online video as a cost effective way of attracting targeted candidates.

Online video is growing at a faster rate than any other form of media and show no signs of slowing down. In fact Cisco are predicting that by 2018 a massive 84% of all internet traffic will be video based!

Today, online videos are one of the most popular shared items on social media which can in turn increase the visibility and reach of a recruiting company and their vacancies.

Also, with the dramatic growth in online video it is only natural that job seekers don’t just want to read about a job vacancy, they want to watch and listen to what the job is all about and what the recruiting company has to offer.

Video Based Training

The training is delivered online and has been designed to take Recruiters on a step by step journey covering:

INTRODUCTION
• Why use online video in recruitment?

PURPOSE & MESSAGE
• Planning what you want your message to achieve
• Identifying your target market
• Scripting your video for maximum results

SHOOTING YOUR VIDEO
• Choosing the right audio and video recording devices
• Deciding on the best equipment for you and your budget
• Top tips when shooting
• Alternatives to in-person videos

EDITING & POST PRODUCTION
• How to edit and brand your video for maximum results
• How to prepare your video for uploading to the web

PUBLISHING YOUR VIDEO
• Setting up and personalising your free YouTube channel
• How to upload your video to your website or blog
• Publishing your video on video sharing sites e.g. YouTube
• Maximising the visibility of your video content through social media sites

VIDEO MARKETING
• Key strategies for optimising your videos for the search engines
• Using targeted advertising to get your videos in front of your ideal candidates

Also included in the training are examples of the different types of recruitment videos currently being available online.

For further information visit our online video training courses page

Mike Taylor

Why Using Online Video Should Be A Priority For Recruitment In 2015

We are only just over 2 months into 2015 and already there are some staggering stats around about the growth of online video.

For example, did you know that in relation to YouTube:

  • YouTube has more than 1 billion users
  • 300 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute
  • Half of YouTube views are on mobile devices
  • The number of hours people are watching video on YouTube each month is up 50% year on year
  • Mobile revenue on YouTube is up over 100% year on year

However, one of the most interesting stats was that toward the end of 2014 Facebook had more direct video uploads than YouTube! (source ReelSEO)

Facebook-video-uploads-by-type-2014-606x206

Online Video Ads

The upoading and sharing of videos on Facebook continues to grow at a very, very fast rate but did you know that there is also great opportunity for Recruiters to use a combination of Online Video Ads on both Facebook and YouTube to target their ideal candidates!

We will be covering how to do that at our upcoming Video Recruiting Workshop on the 24th March 2015 where we will take you through How to Create Recruiting Videos to Target Your Ideal Candidates.

To find out more visit our Video Recruiting Workshop page or click on the banner below:

videorecruitingworkshop-24-03-2015

Target Your Ideal Candidates With Candidate ATM

We are pleased to announce that we have today officially launched our new Social Media Advertising service Candidate ATM.

Candidate ATM (Audience | Target | Message) has been designed to enable Recruiters target their ideal candidates through a combination of Social Media Advertising and Online Video.

One of the major challenges for Recruiters in 2015 will be targeting and attracting their ideal candidates and this is where Candidate ATM can help.

Our Candidate ATM service enables you to quickly get your recruiting message in front of your ideal candidates. These are typically the kind of candidates who aren’t actively looking to change jobs (as they already have a job) and they typically don’t tend to have their CV or resume registered with job boards.

Also, by using online video as part of a targeted campaign companies are able to communicate and engage candidates in a much more effective way than they can with traditional text-based advertising.

If you have any questions about Candidate ATM then please feel free to contact me as follows on +44 (0) 1962 883754 or email at: mike@web-based-recruitment.com

Mike Taylor

5 Simple Steps To Create Your Own Recruiting & Job Videos

5-steps-create-recruitment-job-videosIn a candidate-led market companies can no longer just rely on their reputation or brand to attract job seekers. With so many job openings now available to job seekers companies will need to differentiate themselves from their competitors to attract the best talent.

One way for a company to stand out is to use online video as part of their talent attraction strategy.

Why Online Video?

Back in 2005 it was difficult to create and publish video on the internet. Not only did you need to have a camcorder to produce videos but broadband internet access wasn’t universally available which meant that videos were slow to download as well being very expensive to host online.

That gradually changed overtime with the introduction of YouTube (with free video hosting and easy upload of videos) and the fact that mobile phones started to incorporate a video camera as part of their features. In fact a modern smartphone can produce stunning HD quality video footage which would have cost many thousands of pounds/dollars back in 2005.

Today, online video is seen as a natural way to deliver a message and has become the fastest growing form of online advertising.

So why use online video in recruitment? Here are just a few reasons why:

  • Can add personality to your company and brand
  • Gives insights into your company, people, culture and values
  • Videos can rank highly in the search engines (especially with Google who own YouTube!)
  • Videos are Mobile Friendly
  • Can be shared on Social Media

Different Types of Video

There are many different types of videos that can be used in recruitment as part of a talent attraction strategy. These include (but are not limited to):

  • A single “talking head” video ( a person talking directly to the video camera)
  • A conversational two person interview
  • A whiteboard or animated video
  • A photo/video montage video
  • A screencast video using screen recording software
  • A live or pre-recorded webinar

You can view some examples below:

Step 1 – What Is The Purpose Of Your Video & Who Are Your Target Market?

Before starting it is essential for you to understand what the purpose of your video is and to have clearly identified your target market.

  • Who is your video aimed at?
  • Where will you find your target audience?
  • What action do you want them to take as a result of watching your video? For example, email you / register / phone you?

The purpose of a video will vary from company to company based on their own requirements, but generally online videos will be used to:

  • Raise awareness
  • Build relationships
  • Profile current employees
  • Give insight into your company culture and values
  • Generate job applications

This first step is absolutely key because if you get your purpose and target market wrong you could have the best produced video in the world but it will not produce the results you wanted as it won’t been seen by your target market!

Step 2 – Content: What Is Your Video About?

Once you know the purpose of your video it makes it far easier to work out your content strategy.

The typical content for recruitment videos includes:

  • Promoting specific job vacancies
  • Promoting ongoing job vacancies
  • A “day in the life of” employee video
  • Sharing educational content

Make sure you have an outline script before you start. It can save you time and keep you on track!

Step 3 – Shooting Your Recruitment Videos

As previously mentioned a lot of modern smartphones now come with a HD quality video camera which means that you are able to shoot your video without having to purchase a separate video camcorder. The latest digital SLR cameras also have a built in HD quality video camera.

When shooting your video it is essential to end up with a high quality audio recording. Whilst you can use the built-in microphone on a smartphone or digital SLR camera the quality is much lower than a professional microphone.
In fact, Danny Boyle (Hollywood film producer for Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours and many other successful films) once said “One thing I have learnt is that 70% of the movie is sound” which just goes to show how important the sound is to the success of a film.

When planning to shoot your video it is also important to check the background layout, background noise and lighting as all three of these have the potential to ruin your video if not checked first.

Don’t Want To Be On Camera?

In addition to shooting videos which include one or more people there are other options available that don’t include being on camera.

For example, you can create a presentation in PowerPoint by adding text, images, video clips and a voiceover and then producing it as a video to upload online.

There are also a number of web-based video services where you can use their templates to add your own text images and video. You then simply hit the submit button and it will produce the video for you.

Step 4 – Editing Your Recruitment Videos

Once you have finished shooting your video the next step is editing.

If you shot the video on your smartphone in one take you may want to upload the video straight from your smartphone to a video sharing site like YouTube.

However, if you took different shots at different times you will need to edit the video first before uploading it. Whilst editing you may also want to edit your video with titles, branding and royalty free background music.

A lot of the smartphones today come with a built-in video editor which you can use or you can transfer the video from your smartphone to a professional video editor to make your changes. Some of the popular video editors include iMovie for a Mac and Sony Vegas Movie Studio for a PC.

In addition there are now a number of free web-based video editors available which are simple and easy to use.

Step 5 – Publishing Your Recruitment Videos

Once you have completed editing your video the next step is to publish the video online. There are a number of places you can do this, including your own website and various video sharing sites including YouTube and Vimeo.

Once the videos have been published you can then start to share then through your various social media channels.

Further Information

If you are interesed in finding out more about how online video can be used in your company, or you would like some help in getting started, then please feel free to contact me for a chat.

Mike Taylor

Using Online Video To Promote Your Jobs & Company

online-videoI’m looking forward to speaking at the brand new In-House Recruitment Expo next week in London on the 20th-21st January 2015.

On the second day (Wednesday 21st January 2015) I will be speaking about “How To Use Online Video To Promote Your Jobs & Company.”

Online Video is currently one of the most underutilised social channels on the Internet and there has never been a better time for Recruiters to start using online video to attract targeted job seekers.

According to Cisco by 2017 Online Video will have a 69% share of all consumer internet traffic. This will make it more popular than Facebook and Twitter!

With the increasing number of job vacancies Recruiters need to find a way for their company and vacancies to stand out from the crowd and promoting jobs through online video can certainly help Recruiters achieve that aim!

In the masterclass session I will be covering:

  • Why online video is no longer an optional extra
  • Top tips for creating engaging recruitment videos
  • How to market your videos to attract your ideal job seekers

Free Event

If you  haven’t booked to go to the expo yet you can book your free place by clicking here.

I look forward to seeing you there!

Mike Taylor

What Are Your Three Wise Recruiting Strategies For 2015?

From reading various research and prediction type articles over the last few weeks it is clear Recruiters are confident that the number of vacancies in 2015 will continue to rise. However, Recruiters seem less confident in being able to find and attract enough quality candidates to fill those roles.

So as a Recruiter what three recruitment strategies should you have in place to increase your recruiting success next year?

3wise

Here are my three suggestions for 2015:

1.    Mobile Recruiting

If you don’t want to risk losing candidates to your competitors in 2015 then at a minimum a mobile enabled web site is an absolute “must-have”.

I am still staggered by the number of companies who either don’t know how many job seekers visit their website from a mobile device or simply don’t care enough to do anything about the lousy candidate experience.

Not only are they wasting some of their advertising costs (because candidates can’t search and apply for a job from their mobile) they also run the risk of damaging their brand at the same time.

Job seekers today are expecting companies to have a mobile-enabled presence and are getting less and less tolerant of those companies that don’t.

2.    Online Video

Just like job seekers are expecting companies to have a mobile-enabled presence the same is starting to happen with online video.

At the moment not many companies have an online video presence which means that if you start using online video yourself in 2015 it can still give you a competitive advantage.

But online video doesn’t have to be expensive. Whereas a professional corporate style recruiting video can cost many thousands of pounds/dollars (and they do still have their place) today you can have videos created in many different styles and at a much lower cost.

Here are a couple of examples of videos we have created recently:

However, when deciding to have a video produced it is important to understand why you are doing it? Is it to:

  • Raise Awareness?
  • Build Relationships?
  • Generate Job Applications?

Plus, what action do you want people to take as a result of watching your video?

  • Email you?
  • Register with you?
  • Phone you?

Remember, having a video just for the sake of it (without working out “why”) can be worse than not having a video at all.

3.    Social Media Advertising

The key to social media advertising from a recruiting point of view is the ability to target people by demographics, geography, interests etc. and social media sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube all allow you to do this.

If you want to get your recruiting message in front of your ideal candidates then using paid advertising on these various social media sites can work really well.

Advertising on YouTube will really start to take off in 2015 as awareness grows that it is not just a channel for big multi-national companies to advertise on.

However, as people on YouTube are able to skip your ad after only 5 seconds the key will be to grab the viewers attention in the first 5 seconds so that they keep on watching and ultimately (if they are still interested) click though to your website.

What Are Your Three Wise Recruiting Strategies For 2015?

Having shared mine, what are your three wise recruiting strategies for 2015? Feel free to leave your feedback below.

Using Visuals To Make Your Vacancies Stand Out From The Crowd

The word Talent on a Cork Notice Board

The UK now has the highest number of total advertised vacancies (900,000+) since the recession. That’s 200,000 more than this time last year (Source Adzuna).

This rise in the number of vacancies will inevitably mean that some companies will find it even more difficult to recruit in areas of skill shortages.

So what can companies do to make sure they stand out more than their competitors when competing for talent?

The Visual Internet

We know that the Internet changes all the time as new websites, tools and techniques are introduced. As a result the users expectations naturally change as well, including both active and passive job seekers.

As the internet gets more visual every day gone are the days where text only job adverts were acceptable.

Just like Mobile Recruitment (where companies are now expected to have a fully mobile enabled web presence) there is an expectation today for more than just a boring text based job posting, whether on a job board or a company website.

The Most Shared Media

If you spend time on Social Media you will have no doubt seen an increase in the number of graphics, photos and videos being shared? This shouldn’t really be a surprise as they are the most shared items on Social Media.

Graphics Example

Here is an example of a graphic I saw last week via Twitter for a Recruitment Agency: UnitingAmbition

phones4u

(For readers outside the UK this graphic is for Phones 4U, a High Street retailer that went into administration causing 2,400 job losses and the closure of 362 stores).

What I liked about it was that it was simple and straight to the point, plus you knew straight away who it was targeted at. It was also a topical story in the media so awareness was already very high.

Examples like the one above are quite straight forward to create but making them part of a regular visual recruitment marketing strategy makes their impact even better!

Online Video Example

Here is an example of a video we produced which was designed to help promote a company and raise awareness of what they do.

Again, it simple and straight to the point, so by the end of the video you knew who they were, what they did and how to contact them.

Plus, we got them in the top 2 on YouTube for their chosen search terms!

The Time is Now

At the moment there are still not that many companies making the most of graphics, photos or online video in recruitment so there is still the opportunity to be different.

However, that opportunity won’t last forever so the time to act is now if you want your vacancies to stand out from the crowd.

Ready To Find Out More?

If you’d like to find out more about how to use visual marketing as part of your recruitment strategy for 2015 and beyond then feel free to contact me for a free initial chat.

Simply email me at: mike@web-based-recruitment.com or call me on: +44 (0) 1962 883754.


recruitment-liveRecruitment Live – Excel – 25th/26th November 2014

If you’d like to find out more about one of the largest forms of Visual Marketing – Online Video – then I am running a free training session on both days at Recruitment Live, the brand new event for recruiters.

The session is called: “How To Use Online Video To Promote Your Jobs & Company” and you can find further information about the sessions by clicking here and scrolling down to Web Based Recruitment..

I hope to see you there!

Mike Taylor