Can video advertising improve the impact and effectiveness of your recruitment? Take our scorecard.
Recruitment right now is very hard. I probably don’t need to tell you that. While the number of UK job vacancies is slowly falling, it is still high above the levels we saw before the pandemic, according to the ONS
To make it worse, there is a crisis in employee retention too. Last week, you might have seen PwC’s Workforce Hopes and Fears survey results being discussed. One of the headline findings was that close to a quarter of UK workers expect to change jobs in the next 12 months, driven by cost of living pressures. One in every four workers. Ouch.
Finally, to really compound things, most organisations just aren’t that good at recruiting right now. Last year, Josh Bersin’s Talent Acquisition research revealed that 75% of companies struggle to recruit effectively in today’s market.
So, what do you do, in the middle of this perfect storm of recruitment problems? You stop repeating the same old tricks that aren’t getting you results. You try something new.
The current environment makes businesses risk averse. But now is the time you must be bold. We are working with clients who are daring to be different in their recruitment marketing, to find novel solutions to their recruitment challenges.
A different audience.
Recruiters have a certain vision of their typical candidate. It’s a common approach to play to your perceived strengths. But if that was working, you wouldn’t be reading this.
You have to reach out to new audiences. Think of the kind of people you would rarely – or perhaps never – expect to see working in your industry. How and where can you reach out to them?
It’s also important to ask why those people don’t typically work in your industry. If there are barriers for some groups, can you break those down? For example, you could offer training for the underqualified or flexible working options for people with tricky schedules. Or maybe people just don’t see themselves represented in your communications. You can change that.
Here’s a recent example of one of our clients advertising to a new audience: Brighton and Hove Buses/Metrobus wanted to reach out to young people who might never have considered that they could be bus drivers. It is often seen as a job reserved for more experienced drivers and people used to driving larger vehicles. But this doesn’t have to be the case – all you need is a few years’ driving experience and willingness to learn. So, we worked with them on a completely new kind of campaign. Take a look at the Put Yourself in the Driving Seat case study to find out more.
A different style.
When you think of an industry, you can imagine the stereotypical kind of advert they might make. The problem is, so can your audience – and they are more likely to switch off if all they see in your recruitment content is business as usual.
All marketing – whether it is for cars, ice cream, yoga classes or jobs – needs to balance the familiar with the surprising. A familiar brand but a surprising approach. (If you have a few minutes, read this great Econsultancy case study of how the team at Confused.com approached this – and how they got it wrong before that.)
A fresh approach or an unexpected solution is also an effective way to motivate people to take action. Familiar habits and tired assumptions – these are big drivers of inaction in your audience. If you want them to act differently, you have to disrupt that.
So, mix up your style, stand out from your competitors, grab attention in an authentic way, offer output with a higher production value. We are working on a recruitment project along these lines with a client right now. But it’s secret at this point, so watch this space for more details in the near future.
A different offer
Can you offer something different? What can you provide that your competitors don’t? That might be the traditional stuff like salary and career development or something more intangible and values-based.
Alternatively, it might be offering something different to other jobs, which is valued by a specific audience demographic. For example, job security is lacking for young people and they also value work that is interesting and aligns with their values over high pay Whereas older workers who are juggling responsibilities and work/life balance often value flexibilityand autonomy in their role. These are broad examples and you can get much more specific – but you get the gist. Not all jobs will offer those benefits: if you can meet an audience’s needs, then don’t be shy: shout about it in your advertising.
We worked on another campaign with Brighton and Hove Buses recently that explores the lives of two bus drivers and how the job lets them live their best life. We are also in the middle of another project along similar lines for an ambulance trust. Follow us on LinkedIn to find out more, as we will be releasing case studies soon about both of these projects.
A different platform
Does most of the recruitment in your sector take place in the same places? Are you constantly jostling with your competitors for advertising space and eyeballs? Then look for opportunities to reach people in new ways and new places.
We are seeing clients jumping at new low-cost models for TV advertising that would have previously been out of reach for businesses of their size. As a result, they are standing out in their sector. They are seeing recruitment numbers jump. Find out more about how your business can make a splash in this space before it gets saturated.
Boosting your recruitment with unique video content
Recruitment doesn’t have to be a headache. We work with clients across a range of sectors to find the right video solution to their recruitment problems. Our clients stand out due to the unusually high production quality and original messaging in their video content. If you’re a forward-thinking organisation looking for a new approach to recruitment video advertising, get in touch with us today
