According to eMarketer, 80% of all consumer internet traffic by 2020 will be video. Video offers a unique way to engage job seekers and employees that offers a personal yet visual storytelling opportunity.

SXSW Conversations: Using Live Video for Recruiting & Branding

As part of the TalentNet Interactive conference in conjunction with SXSW, I hosted a panel discussing the use case, application and lessons learned when it comes to live video. While focused on talent acquisition and recruitment the panel provided insights from some of the best social media strategist who work closely with HR and recruiting but don’t operate directly in the department. The panelists included Michael Goldberg, former head of Talent for the American Heart Association; Beverly Jackson, VP of Social Media and Content Strategy for MGM Resorts International; and Carlos Gil, Head of Global Social Media for BMC Software.

What Live Video Platform Should Recruiters Use?

When it comes live video, there are a lot of options including Snapchat, Instagram Stories, Facebook Live, YouTube live streaming, Google Hangouts and Twitter Live also known as Periscope. Each of our panelists has experience with different mediums and has had success different ways. For example, the American Heart Association successfully uses live Twitter chats combined with live Periscope videos to showcase the company culture and answer candidate questions on the fly.

While a prominent Snapchatter, Carlos recommends that companies leverage Instagram Stories as his preferred medium to engage. Many panel questions centered around whether or not companies should use live video as an extension of the job description. All panelists agreed that live video is more about sharing about the company culture and provides an opportunity to meet team members and get to know the hiring manager.

Beverly provided some great insights when several audience members asked about how to get started and how to make a business case for using live video. As a VP for the company, she says has a great relationship with her boss who is very forward thinking and trusting. Not all of us are that lucky which is why I, personally like to lead with statistics and reports to help make a case. I like to create pilot or lighthouse programs that allow the leadership to feel safe that we are taking baby steps before we dive in headfirst.

How Live Video Changes Engagement with Candidate & Employee

There are a number of companies using live video with success for the purposes of employee engagemen,t including WalMart, who uses live video to talk to employees across the organization through their Facebook page as well as Southwest who also uses Facebook Live to talk to employees in private Facebook groups. Live video usage for recruiting and hiring is still relatively new, so it presents a great opportunity.

I’d love to see more companies using video as a way to engage and build relationships with candidates. They could serve as a virtual happy hour or job fair of sorts where the job seekers already within your ATS, social media or CRM can actively engage, ask questions and get to know not just the company culture but the employees. As culture fit becomes more important and as seen as a way to reduce employee turnover, live video presents a way to help set real expectations for both the candidate and the employer.

Because of limitations to posting on job board sites, live video isn’t available there. However, with little effort, companies could use YouTube to live stream directly from their company career sites, driving traffic to a property they own and are in full control of the brand. This is what I’d recommend to companies. Otherwise, we are just renting space on these social networks, and while I certainly think employers need to have a presence on social media, at the end of the day, it’s truly important to drive candidates to your job postings and CRM to allow for targeted opportunities to continue to foster engagement with candidates especially those purple squirrels that we all want to work at our companies.