How to Effectively Use YouTube for Recruiting

Since its launch in 2005, YouTube has come a long way, and the shift in the platform's popularity and use has been significant. These days YouTube is the go-to site for nearly all kinds of video content - from entertainment to education. While effective use of the platform leads to viral-worthy status and thousands, even millions, of views, use it wrong and you will be left wondering, why you are barely reaching several hundred hits.

On YouTube both content and technical execution matters greatly and can affect, how well-received the video is. The convenience of YouTube hasn't been overlooked by recruiters as well, and in order to reach the desired audience - potential job applicants, that is - it is absolutely essential to understand what will serve the purpose and what will eventually lead to the video ending up in the forgotten depths of YouTube. By ticking a few important boxes, you can easily stand out among your competition and attract the desired talent.

1. Call to action matters

Let's get straight to the point. What's the purpose of your video? Essentially, almost all videos on YouTube serve one purpose - to achieve conversions. Unless your video motivates action, no amount of money you pour into producing your video will prove to be worth it. If you want your viewers to do what you want them to do, never ever forget about CTA. Creating a video advertising a particular job? Direct your views in the direction of the application form. As the attention span gets shorter and shorter proportionally to all the information we have available, your viewers should never have to spend time wondering, where they can find what you are directing them towards. It should be obvious.

2. More Views Don't Guarantee Success

Contrary to popular belief, when it comes to using YouTube for your hiring purposes, views aren't everything. This goes hand in hand with the aforementioned point about CTAs. Unless your viewers are taking your desired action and following through with applications or sharing the video to someone who might, all you'll have will be a video with thousands of views but no real conversions. Thus in order to understand the success of your video, you first need to define your metrics (CTA clicks, job applications, reaching target audience etc.) and then see, how it follows through.

3. Choose the Right Ad Format For Your Purpose

Not all ads are created equal, we know that. On YouTube, in particular, where a variety of ad formats are available, knowing which one to choose will have an effect. Since you are trying to attract a particular demographic to your video in the hopes they will apply for the job, you need an ad that's the right length as well as one where you pay only for the views that reach the end meaning your budget doesn't get wasted on viewers, who aren't likely to pay attention. TrueView ads are a great option since they can be skipped and you don't have to pay for every single view - only for those that reach the end.

4. Put Your Team First

Business leaders and CEOs certainly exude confidence but to truly speak to a potential job applicant you need to put your team first, people who will be their coworkers. They are the ones who can highlight the realities of the job and the company in the most relatable way possible. A prospective applicant needs to be able to put themselves in the shoes of your current employees.