Video Job Descriptions: Understanding Which Platforms Are the Best for Recruiting
- Melissa Morse
- Nov 28, 2018
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 5, 2024
If you’re jumping onto the video job description bandwagon, you may be wondering which platforms are the best for video recruitment. Here is a breakdown of some of the avenues you can post to and whether they’re a good fit for these types of videos.
Which Platforms Are Best for Video Recruitment?
Video Recruitment on YouTube
The most obvious place to post your recruiting videos is YouTube, but it is important to note that YouTube has a higher bar than other social media platforms. The quality tends to be higher, and the publishing schedule needs to be more regular. On the plus side, YouTube continues to reign supreme in video content and also functions as a search engine, meaning more people are likely to see your stuff.
Video Recruitment on Instagram
If you’re trying to attract younger generations to your workforce, it’s time to think outside the box and move on to different social media channels that younger generations are using. According to Pew Research, 71% of American adults, aged 18 to 24, now use Instagram, compared to just 68% of all Americans who say they prefer Facebook. If your company has a huge following on Instagram, this is a perfect place to recruit the next generation of workers.
If you’re just getting started with video job descriptions, you can try using Instagram’s “stories” feature. It’s short-term content that automatically deletes after 24 hours, meaning that any mistakes or imperfections will soon be forgotten. There’s absolutely no bar; you can be as candid or off-the-cuff as you wish. As long as you have a smartphone and a strategy, you can do Instagram stories well.
Video Recruitment on Facebook
Facebook is a great platform to share videos on, as it prioritizes video content and allows you to work on a larger monitor (vs. Instagram, where you’re limited to your phone). Facebook also features a “live” function, similar to Instagram stories.
While the thought of going live might seem intimidating, it’s a good fit for companies that want to host Q&As or encourage audience participation. Going “live” may be a good option, specifically from a Q&A aspect, but we do not recommend using the live feature for video interviews out of privacy concerns for the candidate.
Video Recruitment on LinkedIn
From a recruiting standpoint, LinkedIn would be an obvious choice for displaying video job descriptions, as most workers use this platform to showcase their professional lives. According to Pew Research, LinkedIn remains especially popular among college graduates and those in high-income households. Some 50% of Americans with a college degree use LinkedIn, compared with just 9% of those with a high school diploma or less.
No matter how you choose to implement video, taking advantage of one or more of these avenues will allow you to expand your candidate pool by showing job seekers what your company has to offer. It’s also wise to do a little research on which platform you end up using; this way, you’re getting your content out to the correct audience. However, we suggest that you utilize all platforms in the same way so as to avoid potential discrimination claims like we’re currently seeing with targeted ads on social media.
To learn more about implementing video job descriptions, check out these articles:
“Video Job Descriptions on a Budget: Yes, It Is Possible!”
“Tips for Recording Video Job Descriptions on a Budget”
If you attended Elena Valentine’s RecruitCon 2018 session on creating video job descriptions, you won’t want to miss her RecruitCon 2019 workshop. Valentine will be partnering with Katrina Kibben of Three Ears Media to discuss the power of storytelling. In this hands-on workshop, you’ll learn how to design and deliver recruiting messages through storytelling. Click here to learn more or to register today!