YouTube’s popularity is reflected in its more than 1 billion unique users each month, and 100 hours of video uploaded every single minute. Thanks to that vast audience pool, videos can boost company visibility and, when used correctly, be a compelling way to tell a business’s story. How can recruitment agencies create video content to market their business that stands out from the crowd and generates real value for them?

So, what makes a recruitment agency video work? Here we share our top five tips for the right approach.

1. Pinpoint your recruitment company’s audience and answer their questions.

Start off by surveying your recruiters and sales team about the questions they hear most frequently. Then put yourself into your ideal candidates’ and clients’ shoes and answer those questions, including the types of job placements you offer and the benefits of working with your agency.

According to Anna Wright, a social media consultant for LinkedIn, the content itself needs to remain clear and informative, staying away from a sales focus. A ‘non-salesy’ approach should be clear about what the agency does, opportunities for advancement, the types of jobs the company typically needs to fill and the desired background of candidates they’d like to hire.

2. Highlight your recruitment firm’s differentiators.

Your next step is pinpointing what makes your recruitment company different from the others out there. From the niche industries you specialise in to proven results, show your audience why your company should be their number one choice for recruiting. Leverage video to connect with your audience, highlight your success stories and prove the value you can offer in finding the right talent for the right job. Highlight any awards you may have won and specific industries you target.

3. Incorporate sound, personality and your recruitment agency’s culture.

Now that you know your audience and differentiators, it’s time to think about adding pizzazz to your content. What makes your company different? Add engaging, occasionally amusing interviews and catchy music.

Include clips of compelling interviews with top clients, successful candidates and internal employees to add personality and charm to your video.

4. Add interesting visuals to support your recruitment firm’s success.

You may choose to include some hard data in your marketing video, which is fine as long as you don’t let it slow down the video’s pace and energy. At points in the video where you’re offering statistics or general information, use interesting visuals, animated graphics, and presentations to support the ‘talking head’ who’s delivering your data, and your message.

Your audience doesn’t want to see one person drone on—after seeing the person who’s talking, cover what they’re saying with valuable, pertinent graphs, grids, bullet points and video. For example, if your interviewee is discussing statistics regarding the percentage of successful placements, you could show short animated graphics then return to the interview video, with the interview audio continuing throughout.

5. Develop a compelling story about your agency.

You may have heard the saying, ‘Facts tell, stories sell.’ This is particularly true when you’re creating your marketing video. Recruitment firms need to focus on the interesting story they can tell and who the main characters are.

If possible, focus on a successful client or candidate, or have one of your employees serve as the narrator for the video. Then, create a compelling story that connects to your target audience with energy and style.

Video content can be a powerful vehicle for getting your message out to numerous candidates and clients. When done well, video allows your recruitment agency to connect with your audience on multiple levels—a personal touch as well as statistics and data that prove your value.