How to Increase Candidate Reply Rates by 8x

Nowadays, the best candidates have more options than ever before; you can't rely on organic applications, you have to be proactive and find the best talent yourself.

This has made sourcing and engaging candidates a crucial part of every recruiting team's workflow. In fact, our State of Talent Acquisition 2017 Report suggests that sourcing might be the most important source of hire in 2017!

"Replies" are a critical currency for sourcing teams.

The more replies you get from top talent, the bigger your pipeline, the more candidates you can submit to interview and the better your hiring options will be.

So how do you get more replies? The answer? Video.

Video is fast becoming an important tool for sales and marketing departments who want to engage consumers effectively. Reps are seeing 5x higher open rates and 8x higher open-to-reply rates. And they’re just getting started; video is hugely popular (94% of consumers watched a video online last week), so this is a huge opportunity.

There's huge potential for recruiters to follow in the footsteps of sales and marketing departments and leverage video to increase response rates.

Here are a few areas where video can make an immediate impact in your interactions with candidates:

Using video to source candidates

When you reach out to a candidate for the first time, it's essential that you stand out. Remember, your message has to fight for attention in a crowded inbox.

Unless your Google, Microsoft et al, it's likely that your prospect is unfamiliar with your company. You need to capture her attention, and educate her on _why _she should care about you and your company.

This is where video comes in.

96% of consumers find videos helpful when making purchases online. We know that the way that consumers are starting to research companies in the same way as they do any other major purchasing decision, so it's likely that video content will be equally effective to introduce and market your company to new candidates.

If you're sourcing millennial candidates, video could be even more effective as a sourcing tool. Research shows that younger people identify with video content: 40% of 18-24 year olds watch videos on their smartphone more than 10 times a week.

Include the word "video" in your subject line: people engage with videos far better than text, 94% of consumers watched a video online last week

Add a video thumbnail to your email text: this is one of the best ways to increase the number of people that "click" on your emails

Make it personal: don't just rely on the video to get the job done, make sure the content of your email is personalized.

Give someone a reason to respond: few candidates will be interested in making a lateral move. Make sure your job is a step up in responsibility, role or compensation.

Using video to nurture candidates

Not every candidates you speak to is interested.

You shouldn't abandon these candidates though. We live in a fast paced, “job-hopping” society – within a year or two it’s more than likely that they’ll be on the move again.

You do need to stay top-of-mind to keep building the relationship and be there when it comes time for them to make a decision. The videos you send should consistently articulate 2 things:

_Why _someone would want to work for you?

_Who _you are (i.e. what differentiates your company)

Think carefully about the kind of videos that help you achieve these 2 goals. They could include:

Employer branding content: videos that highlight a company's EVP (here are some great examples)

Employee generated content (e.g. video testimonials): candidates trust 52% of the content that employees share

Make sure every video you send is hyper-relevant. Recruiters should keep detailed notes on candidates that they've spoken to in the past, and share content that is genuinely helpful.

Educate: every piece of content you share should be helpful and educational. Remember, your goal is to build a relationship.

Encourage dialogue: the best nurture campaigns are conversations, not one-way broadcasts. Judge the success of your reps by the number of replies they get

Use engagement metrics: while the ultimate goal of your messages should be "replies", it's still important to see whether candidates are engaging with your content. Monitor open rate and video views to track this metric.

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