When you look for a job where do you do it? On your phone, computer, tablet? There are so many different ways to consume media these days, but research shows that 90% of job-seekers will look for new positions on their cellphones. Job seekers are spending time on social media, where they can access content and comments about almost any company that is hiring. The key to grabbing their attention is short, vertical video.
You may think that while social media can be a helpful tool for marketing and advertising, it doesn’t have a place in the recruiting realm. That’s just not true: 68% of Millennials will visit a company’s social media sites before applying for a job. There, they may get their first impression of what you’re like as an employer (and they’re not too forgiving if they don’t like what they see). With Millennials and Gen-Z making up about ⅓ of the workforce and growing, your social media channels must entice the right candidates to apply.
A majority (80%) of job seekers use social media to search for their next position. That’s nothing to sneeze at. If your company has fallen behind in showing who they are on social media, candidates will take note. And while it may not necessarily be the deciding factor, it can certainly tip the scales.
Have we convinced you that your organization needs to get active and engaged on social media yet? Good!
But how can you make sure your videos are optimized for use on your social media channels? Make ‘em short and make ‘em vertical!
I know, I know, you’re thinking “I get why we should be on social media, but why would we want to use vertical videos?”
Trust me, I had this thought too! So has anyone who has ever worked in any kind of video production. Vertical video chilled me to my core. And while horizontal video may still be the norm for professional news outlets or television adverts, if your video will be on social media it should be shot vertically.
A whopping 90% of people who engage with videos on social media will do so on their mobile devices, instead of using a computer. That means your videos will be viewed on cell phones and tablets, where the preferred orientation is vertical.
Why does vertical work better on social media? Vertical video occupies a screen longer and takes up more of the screen than video shot horizontally, giving you more time to catch your audience’s eye as they scroll through the mountain of available content. You can make an amazing video but if it doesn’t grab viewers in the first few seconds it won’t get any traction. Even if you created a masterpiece, if it’s not optimized for social media it will fall victim to the internet algorithm, never to be seen again. That’s why more and more social media sites like TikTok and Instagram Reels are not only embracing vertical video but enforcing it!
The last step in optimizing your content on social media is to make sure it isn’t too long. Your company is great! And you want to share all of the things that make it special! As tempting as it is to tell candidates everything about your company in your videos, it could seriously hinder the results you see. As attention spans get smaller, so must the content we create. Research shows that videos that last longer than a minute have poor engagement when compared to shorter videos (under a minute).
So if you want job seekers to see your content and interact with it in the social media sphere, you should be investing in short, vertical videos.
Have we sold you yet?
If you think you could benefit from creating short, engaging, authentic videos for use on your social media channels, contact a WorkReels representative today, info@workreels.com.