New Rules for Recruiting and HR: How Content Marketing and Video Are Transforming Talent Acquisition

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CandidateOver the past year, HR thought leaders have embraced and adopted marketing techniques and strategies — with good reason. The short supply of skilled laborers in many markets has forced organizations to aggressively identify and target both active and passive candidates, essentially promoting and differentiating their organizations and open positions from the competition. HR must now “act like a marketer.” With that, the challenges facing HR and talent acquisition leaders — particularly in the area of recruiting — are many of the same challenges today’s B2B and B2C marketing professionals are dealing with.

For years, content marketing expert David Meerman Scott, author of The New Rules of Marketing & PR, has shared his thoughts on the critical role that current, compelling, and engaging content plays in modern marketing and how to leverage online channels to deliver that content. As HR and recruiting professionals begin to act like marketers, they must apply the same “new rules” approach to talent acquisition.

Here are my own “Three New Rules of Recruiting and HR,” based on The New Rules of Marketing & PR:

Content Is King, and Video Rules Supreme

In modern marketing, the phrase “content is king” is often used. And today, that content is undoubtedly most often preferred to be in video form. Online video has exploded in popularity, especially among millenials and Gen. X-ers, and there seems to be no end in sight to this trend. By 2016, an estimated 1.5 billion people will be consumers of online video.  Moreover, after watching a video, 64 percent of people are more likely to buy a product online; isn’t it safe to assume that prospective hires could be similarly impacted by online video?

Using video recruiting for job descriptions, cover letters, interviews, and onboarding not only provides a more compelling experience for candidates, but it also conveys a company’s brand and culture in a more engaging and memorable way. As recruiting techniques shift to job-specific advertising — that is, competing and generating marketing buzz at the level of individual jobs — video will play a critical role in raising candidate awareness of employer brands differentiating recruiters and hiring managers from the competition.

HR experts and analysts agree. Recently, Bersin by Deloitte published a bulletin entitled, “The Next Generation of Video Technology in Talent Acquisition,”  which states:

“As organizations embrace myriad talent solutions to improve their hiring processes, we see a new wave of trends around video technology entering the marketplace … [A]dopting video can streamline talent acquisition (TA) processes, including enhancing the candidate’s journey — from posting job descriptions to onboarding employees.”

Reach your Candidates Directly, Wherever They Are

Engaged candidates want consistent delivery of interesting content. Both active and passive candidates will engage with, respond to, and ultimately share content if it is compelling and accessible. Therefore, your recruiting content must be relevant — and it must be mobile-ready, as research from ConnectEDU shows that 68 percent of 18-25-year-olds search for job openings from their mobile devices.

This approach allows you to engage candidates in real time. Share company performance information, press releases, news coverage, recent additions to the team, and exciting customer or product stories as they happen. A real-time conversation with candidates will actually build a relationship that keeps them interested in you, and it will reinforce your brand’s influence.

Social Is More Than Just Networks

For years, LinkedIn has dominated recruiting and HR’s approach to social media. This makes sense, given that the popular social network continues to be one of the most preferred sites for job seekers. However, talent acquisition leaders need a social strategy that does more than simply establishing a presence on one social networking platform. HR must be an active participant on a number of social sites, such as Twitter, Facebook, and Glassdoor, sharing relevant content for prospective hires. Recruiters can also provide blog content to company blogs — or better yet, companies can launch HR-specific blogs for candidates and new hires.

Today, social means much more than just networks. Collaborative communication among candidates, internal employees, hiring managers, and recruiters is a critical piece of any company’s social strategy. A personalized, engaging dialogue among these parties, combined with shared video across multiple channels, is a clear differentiator when it comes to the talent acquisition experience.

These are just a few “New Rules of Recruiting and HR” that embrace modern marketing techniques. They will set you apart from your competitors and provide an “unfair advantage” in recruiting top talent.

By Frank Moreno