Imagine this—your most recent recruiting video has gone viral.
Views jump from hundreds to thousands. Social shares continue to increase, and suddenly you’re being featured on sites like Gawker and CNN.
It may sound too good to be true, but for one recruiting department it was reality.
It was late summer of last year when Hillsboro PD began their search for a new police chief. As part of their recruiting campaign, the department decided to include a quirky, memorable video. They worked with a production company and created one of the most notorious recruiting videos to date.
The video, which cost the city $9,000 to make, has been featured on news sites and blogs across the internet, gained global coverage on BBC, and attracted over 60 applicants from more than a dozen states.
While it would definitely be valuable to get thousands of eyes in front of your employment brand like that, the reality is it’s just not that easy. Scoring a viral video is a unique combination of strategy and pure chance. Not to mention, the advantages of having the resources and time to invest.
So while we can’t guarantee these tips will take your video to national coverage and beyond, we can promise these key elements can greatly improve your odds of increasing viewers.
The first step to creating a great video is understanding your audience. If you don’t identify who you are targeting, your message will be neutral and won’t reach anyone. Understand the demographic, their interests and their frustrations. Then, create a clear and quick message that genuinely aligns with your target viewer. Also - plan out social campaigns by deciphering what platforms will reach your target audience and the best time to deliver your video.
When people share a video, it’s usually because they found it engaging. They were pulled in by the subject matter, attracted to its characters or intrigued by its plot. The key here is that you use your video to tell a story. Be creative with your message by planning out different scenarios that could communicate it. Use your company’s input to choose what story works and start executing.
Anytime a person opens up a video, they immediately look to its length and decide if it’s worth the wait. Ten minutes or more? See ya! Three minutes or less? Okay, I’ll give it try. Keep your video as short as possible without losing the meat of the story. Editing may be the hardest process, but it’s worth the effort. Short videos spread faster.
While most recruiting videos never go viral, there are a few key strategies you can leverage to improve your video’s viewership. Make a plan for your marketing strategy, create an engaging story and keep your video as short as possible to guarantee the best results.
