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As we’re edging close to our tenth week of The Focus, what better time to reflect and recap on our last few episodes. We’ve had some incredible guests throughout the series ranging from SEO experts and employer brand strategists, to viral marketers and storytellers. And there’s been no shortage of expertise in the last few weeks.
It's no secret that video is now firmly embedded in the recruitment marketing mix. So these three episodes are geared towards helping you implement, attract and measure the impact of video in your own organization. Learn how to get fit for video implementation and position your comms strategy for success; find out what it takes to build a healthy customer success chain and how people are adopting video for the long-term; finish with refining your SEO strategy and attracting passive candidates with authenticity.
The Focus | Episode 7
Guest: Steven Kosakow, Head of Global Talent Acquisition at Dynatrace.
Topic: How to get fit for video implementation and position your comms strategy for success.
The evolution of communication with candidates is fascinating, we’ve gone from faxing to texting in what feels like a heartbeat. Steven suggests we should view our communication with candidates just like we all consume media online. It’s the real content that makes us stop, not the gloss and shine. The status of the job board and its relevancy is also up for debate as we're presented with so many other more meaningful platforms for engagement and thumb stopping moments.
‘’We went from this post and pray world where job boards ruled to now a place where job boards are still a thing but we’re using video to supplement or enhance what the candidate is most interested in. We even text with candidates now.’’
Steven believes that recruiters are professional communicators, in the end it’s all about authenticity and creating an open dialogue between you and a candidate. Video is a great way to break down any walls and create a more impactful interaction.
‘’When a candidate is choosing between two opportunities they might not hold their cards as close because they feel a genuine connection with you. Video is different and in many cases it’s memorable.’’The Focus | Episode 8
Guest: Bodin Pollard, Head of Customer Success at VideoMyJob
Topic: What it takes to build a healthy customer success chain and how organizations are adopting video for the long-term.
Bodin has been in customer success before it was even dubbed the on-trend name. For 9 almost 10 years, he’s figured out the needs of his customers ahead of time and delivered long-term sustainable growth for his accounts and his own employer.
‘’The common phrase in customer success is, their success is your success. A good customer success chain measures the health of their accounts and makes sure that each customer account actually achieves its objectives. With an initial investment we can significantly reduce the cost overtime of what it took you to actually adopt the technology and deliver great strategies, the goal is that clients become self-sufficient.’’
VideoMyJob is a tool built for recruiters by recruiters, however overtime Bodin has noted that the customers who really adopt video have seen the value in the many types of video working together harmoniously and feeding into the overall brand engagement. With the customers who don't adopt easily, the biggest challenge he has found is helping them get over themselves.
‘’My brief stint in film and TV certainly taught me to just accept me for who I am and that the external stuff is actually not what really matters. It’s about the message and what you give to others. So one of the biggest challenges is getting customers to shift their thinking away from themselves and to focus on the message. Connecting the right message to the right audience is what will determine the success or failure of your video.’’
The Focus | Episode 10
Guest: Jim Stroud, Video and Recruitment pioneer.
Topic: Getting SEO traffic that you deserve and attracting passive candidates with authentic video.
Sourcing candidates online since 1997 and podcasting since 2002, it’s safe to say that Jim Stroud has been ahead of the game for quite some time. Classically trained in cinematography and filmmaking, he has pioneered the impact of video in recruitment marketing. Attracting passive candidates is a common challenge in the talent industry and Stroud says this doesn’t just happen overnight, it takes years, however an understanding of SEO can help speed up the process.
‘’When it comes to the basics of SEO, think like a human being and understand what type of information is of value to the person you want to attract. One way to do this is to start typing on Google and see what suggestions you’re served. From the four or five suggestions you can say okay people are searching a lot for this type of question or information, let me create a video that fits that suggestion.’’
Other than recalling the first time he saw YouTube and his disgust for cringe-worthy corporate videos, Stroud also takes Stephen through some alternative SEO strategies you might be yet to consider.
‘’I would go to a site like Quora, look at the most popular questions related to a keyword and then develop videos around that question. If someone has a question, they may not ask their co-worker for advice on how to because they don’t want to seem inadequate or not highly skilled, so they’ll go to YouTube or Google and try to find an answer.’’
‘’If you look at your competitor's videos, analyze their descriptions and tags then you could use similar keywords and phrases in your video settings. So if someone looks at my competitor's video, my video will pop up on the right hand side, effectively getting your competitor to help you recruit.’’
