Last week I realized that almost 50% of the leads we have at Froth & Fur are for recruitment videos. Maybe this has something to do with timing- we're coming up on peak recruiting season for lots of companies. But I think it's more than that.

I think recruitment videos are having a moment.

For instance, we just finished one for a financial services company in the Bay Area. They told me this video was the company's number one video content priority. Not the HR department's. The whole company's.

Then a few days ago I had an eye-opening conversation with a SoCal government entity about their recruitment goals and needs. They've been doing a ton of HR video in-house, but now they want to level-up.

Recruitment videos are becoming a front-seat priority for brands. It makes sense: unemployment is low, so it's become harder and harder for companies to attract the best candidates.

I also suspect that the rise of the Chief People Officer role at many organizations has contributed to the increased importance companies are putting towards recruitment videos. But maybe that's more correlation than causation.

And yeah, maybe I shouldn't have been surprised that recruitment videos were becoming a thing. Josh Oakhurst, a friend and the co-founder of a company acquired by recruitment platform Appcast had this to say:

Video is one of the most impactful tools that HR leaders have to demonstrate values and culture to prospective applicants. Studies show that recruitment branding matters- prospective applicants' feelings about working at companies can be harmed or hurt by poor recruitment content.

As the leader of a company that makes a lot of these kinds of videos, I have some tips if you want to improve your organization's recruitment video game:

1. Be You, the Real You

Too many recruitment videos have been storyless, generic acts of video-by-committee that never had a chance of really helping to move the needle.

But that's changing.

For instance, the financial services company we worked with last month? Their CPO values authenticity and employees' voices. They didn't want a tired corporate video. And that's why they hired us- they knew they'd get a real director who knows how to work with people, not just a videographer. And the story they chose featured an employee roundtable about what it's really like to work there. No holds barred.

So then I decided the format was still too formal. So I literally removed the table on the day.

I worked hard to get a conversation featuring a few great stories that showed what working at the company was all about. We dug deep: the process started weeks before the shoot with Zoom interviews so we could work with the employees and build trust.

We were rewarded on the shoot day by people who were open and trusting and willing to talk about not only their successes but also their struggles. All within the framework of the company's ethos.

Keeping it real helped prospective candidates see the human side of this large company.

2. You're Not the Hero

We all see ourselves as the heroes in our stories. So let the people who work at your company be the heroes. After all, Career Arc says that "Candidates trust the company's employees 3x more than the company to provide credible information on what it's like to work there".

Or maybe, especially if you're doing something a bit out of the box, consider making the prospective candidate the hero.

Your company or brand is better cast as the mentor (if you're into Joseph Campbell stuff), or more simply as the framework or helper who assists the hero on their journey.

3. Be Brave

One of the discussions we're having right now is very high stakes- the client has a big need for their recruitment marketing to blow past their old results.

And it's not like what they've been doing sucks. It's pretty good, actually. It's just that they absolutely need to reach goals that they're not yet reaching.

So they're being brave. They're looking at producing a TikTok series of recruitment videos with high-quality storytelling and production values. Even visual effects.

Because they need to really stand out to a very in-demand type of candidate.

Being brave depends on your brand and what's best for you. But one thing's for sure: if your recruiting videos are not moving the needle and helping you fill those seats at your company? You need to be brave enough to try something new.

4. Tell a Variety of Stories

Recruiting the best candidates is a bit like attracting a customer. It's a journey. So you need to look at it like a sales funnel. Video can and should be used at several points in your recruitment funnel.

Maybe you need a polished brand film, plus some well-crafted employee story videos. Maybe you need some curated UGC. Heck, maybe you need a social media comedy series that perfectly encapsulates your company's vibe while entertaining prospective candidates.

Every piece of video content should serve a need in your recruitment funnel, because it's the combination of things that get the best results.

The Wrap Up

We know effective recruitment videos improve applicant quality and culture fit. Monster says 78% of you believe video has helped improve the quality of your applicants. And 82% of HR professionals in Deloitte's Global Human Capital Trends believe that 'culture' is a competitive advantage. But most companies aren't making the most of it.

So show off that culture. Make your employees or the candidates the hero. Be brave and level-up your recruitment video game. And make sure you tell a variety of stories that connect with the best candidates at different points in your recruiting funnel.

Thanks for reading!

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Patrick Ortman is the CEO and founder of Froth & Fur, a boutique bicoastal video and animation studio that's worked with more than a dozen Fortune 500s, advertising agencies, and organizations to tell their stories from coast to coast. He's based in LA, and can often be found in NYC or San Francisco.