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In this blog post, our awesome graphic designer and social media coordinator share their top tips and insights for creating video recruitment ads that will stop candidates from scrolling and get them clicking.

1. Images are everything!

Take a moment and scroll through your social media news feed. Think about your eye movement. What makes you slow down or stop scrolling?

Great visuals capture attention so much better than text. And, you don’t need a professional photographer or videographer to create great video ads. Authentic images go far these days, especially in the context of social media. In fact, they often get better results than super glossy, high production images.

Select footage and images that don’t immediately flag your campaign as an ad as people will immediately scroll past these. How? Match the aesthetics and style of content posted on the platform so your campaign doesn’t stand out like a sore thumb in the feeds. Fitting in with the crowd is a good thing in this scenario!

2. Keep text to a minimum

Keep your text short and snappy. People aren’t going to wait around to read slides full of text. Prioritize information that would be of greatest interest to candidates and present it in the most concise way possible.

Example: “Great salary + company car”

Tip: Questions make for great hooks to keep attention captive.

3. Use images that are relatable to your target audience

People relate to people! Images of employees are usually more engaging in a recruitment video ad than images of a swanky office or top-of-the-line products. The recruitment video ads where we’ve seen the highest engagement (shares, likes and comments) have been those that featured employees on the job.

Added bonus: The higher the engagement with the ad, the more brownie points you will score with algorithms as they signal popularity and relevancy.

4. Keep it short and sweet

Attention spans aren’t necessarily getting shorter (consider the amount of screentime TikTok, Facebook Watch and YouTube get) but it is getting selective. The challenge, then, is to capture attention in the first 2 to 3 seconds so your ad doesn’t get scrolled past, skipped or fast-forwarded. We’ve found keeping your video between 9-15 seconds hits that sweet spot of getting a punchy message across without boring your audience.

Another top tip? Fast-paced videos retain attention longer. People are more likely to stop and rewind or rewatch a video than wait for slow slides to transition over.

5. Ensure there’s a clear call to action

At the end of the day, this is why you’re advertising; to get applications. Make sure this is the main message of the video and that it’s simple and clear. Don’t overload your ad with information to the point where it’s unclear what the takeaway is for the viewers.

Facebook reports having the call-to-action phrase (e.g., Apply Now or Learn More) show up on the video itself results in higher response rates.

6. Balance frequency with fresh creative

Creative fatigue is industry-speak for “I’m sick of seeing this ad again” and it’s kryptonite for ads. Hitting creative fatigue can drive up advertising cost, create negative brand associations and plateau ad performance (fewer clicks, traffic and applications). You want your message to be seen by your target audience enough times for the message to work its magic and lead to action, but the creative needs to feel fresh otherwise you’ll end up being that annoying ad that just won’t go away.

Luckily, the solution is quite simple: rotate creatives. Instead of relying on one video ad to run for a month or longer, rotate multiple different video ads to keep the experience fresh and impactful.

7. Make sure your branding is clear

Being consistent with how you apply your branding is critical.

Why does this matter?

Because you want to be remembered and instantly recognizable! Keep the colour palette the same, keep within a set font family, and keep how you apply your logo consistent. The magic number to keep in mind here is 5 seconds. Facebook reports that users have a stronger recall of ads that focus on the brand early and clearly.

You’ll see this pay off later when a viewer is in a job searching mood, and they remember the ad they saw on Facebook that’s stuck with them.

8. Make sure your advert looks good on mobile

Candidates are more than likely going to see your video ad via a mobile device. Check how your video looks on a phone and in different placements (e.g., sidebar, feed, stories) to ensure the ad looks good. Most platforms have a preview feature that allows you to get a taste of the viewer experience.

These are the questions you should be asking:

• is the text too small?
• does the aspect ratio work? (Square and vertical formats are best for mobile screens.)
• does it work without sound? Does it need captions? (On Facebook, 80% of users report reacting negatively to mobile video ads on their feed that play loudly.)

9. Support your video ad with a great careers’ website and active social media pages

You’ve created a great video ad that’s garnering a lot of interest and engagement. But what happens after they’ve clicked on your ad? Are you still holding their interest or are you losing them once they've clicked on your ad?

The ad is only the first step in the candidate journey and the steps that follow need to be equally engaging if you want candidates to hit that “submit” button.